Slash disposal and seedbed preparation by tractor

Abstract

Creating ground conditions favorable to regeneration immediately after the final harvest cutting is basic to forest management wherever advance growth is deficient. Ponderosa (Pinus ponderosa Laws) and Jeffrey pine (Pinus jeffreyi Grev. & Balf.) seeds require bare mineral soil for satisfactory germination. Pine seedlings, whether from natural seedfall or planting, survive and grow vigorously only when free from competition with other vegetation. This article describes methods used and reports the cost of site preparation in recent years at the Blacks Mountain Experimental Forest in northeastern California and the Stanislaus Experimental Forest in the central Sierra Nevada. Performed as one step in the harvesting and regeneration of experimental areas, the operation cost $37 per acre in 1955, or less than 25 cents per thousand board feet harvested.

Citation

Gordon, D.T. 1956. Slash disposal and seedbed preparation by tractor. Journal of Forestry. 54(11): 771-773.