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Abstract
An afforestation system which utilizes the pioneer species eastern cottonwood (
Populus deltoides Bartr. ex Marsh.) as a nurse for slower growing, disturbance-dependent species is under evaluation as a forest rehabilitation tool on former agricultural land in the Lower Mississippi River Alluvial Valley, USA. The primary objectives of this study were to quantify understory light availability in the eastern cottonwood plantation, and describe the photosynthetic light response of interplanted Nuttall oak
(Quercus nuttallii Palm.) seedlings. Photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) measured in the understory of a 3-year-old cottonwood plantation was 43 percent of full sunlight, and was sufficient to meet leaf saturation requirements over 29 percent of the diurnal cycle. Oak seedlings established in the cottonwood understory showed no change in blade area, and minimal shifts (
Citation
Gardiner, Emile S.; Schweitzer, Callie J.; Stanturf, John A. 2001. Photosynthesis of Nuttall oak (
Quercus nuttallii Palm.) seedlings interplanted beneath an eastern cottonwood (
Populus deltoides Bartr. Ex Marsh.) nurse crop. Forest Ecology and Management. 149: 283-294
