Vegetation trends in a young ponderosa pine plantation treated by manual release and mulching

Abstract

On an above-average site in northern California, a complex plant community was treated by manual release in 2- and 5-foot radii, one and three times. Mulching with a small (3-footsquare) paper / asphalt mulch and a control were additional treatments. Results for a 10-year period are presented for shrubs, a subshrub (whipplea), ferns, forbs, and grasses. No single category of competing vegetation dominated during the study, and competition to planted ponderosa pines was from all vegetation combined. In spite of large amounts of competing vegetation, the pines dominated in all trials, especially if the treated area was large and the treatment was often. Ponderosa pine seedlings in plots grubbed to as-foot radius three times had statistically larger diameters and heights than counterparts in almost all other treatments. The cost of applying this treatment was $402 per acre, the highest of all treatments, but reasonable compared to similar application in other plant communities. Much information on density, foliar cover, and height of each category of vegetation is presented, which in turn portrays changes ina developing plant community in a young ponderosa pine plantation.

Citation

McDonald, Philip M.; Fiddler, Gary O. 1997. Vegetation trends in a young ponderosa pine plantation treated by manual release and mulching. Res. Paper PSW-RP-234. Albany, CA: Pacific Southwest Research Station, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture; 15 p