Silvical characteristics of incense-cedar
| Authors: | G.H. Schubert |
| Year: | 1957 |
| Type: | Technical Paper |
| Station: | Pacific Southwest Research Station |
| Source: | Technical Paper 18. Berkeley, CA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, California Forest and Range Experiment Station |
Abstract
Incense-cedar (Libocedrus decurrens Torr.) is one of the most distinctive trees in the mixed conifer stands of western United States. Its range extends from the southern slope of Mt. Hood in Oregon southward in the mountains to Lower California. It occurs in the Cascade Ranges and Siskiyou Mountains in Oregon, the Coast Ranges and the Sierra Nevada in California, where it extends into western Nevada near Lake Tahoe, and in the Hanson Laguna Range and Sierra de San Pedro Martir in Lower California.
The total net volume of live incense-cedar sawtimber on commercial forest land in the United States was estimated at 13,296 million board-feet in 1952--9,725 million of it in California. The rest was in Oregon (3,557 million) and Nevada (12 million). The value of incense-cedar in virgin stands is relatively low because of extensive decay in overmature trees. However, in managed, second-growth stands properly protected from fire and logging injury, incense-cedar should be sound. It will probably increase in commercial importance because of its suitability for soft, easily-worked lumber.