Supplemental treatments to aid planted Douglas-fir in dense bracken fern

Abstract

Why do some forest lands restock quickly and well after timber cutting but others do not? Answers have been slow in coming--partl y because of empiricism in research, partly because of the problem's general complexity, A part of the general problem concerns the poor survival of, planted Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var, menziesii) on cutovers densely infested with western bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum pubescens). Though there is some evidence that bracken can serve an effective "nurse" cover to Douglas-fir, 1/ a generalization about bracken's protection of natural or planted seedlings would be misleading under certain conditions, On sites where bracken grows to 6 feet in height, as in Washington's coastal zones, growth and survival of planted trees is effectively reduced, 2/ and natural regeneration is virtually eliminated.

Citation

Dimock, Edward J., II. 1964. Supplemental treatments to aid planted Douglas-fir in dense bracken fern. Res. Note PNW-RN-11. Portland, OR: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Experiment Station. 10 p