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Abstract
Many upland oak forests are approaching economic and biological maturity. This has led to concern over species composition following stand regeneration. A case study of hardwood regeneration was established in 1984 in central Connecticut to study the effects of cutting method on regeneration composition. The six harvest treatment plots (4-6 acres) were on medium quality sites (SI=60). Harvest treatments were: shelterwood, diameter limit, coppice with standards, commercial clearcut, silvicultural clearcut, and uncut control. Regeneration was sampled by species and height class prior to harvest, and 5 and 12 years post-harvest using 16-28 1/300 acre plots per treatment. Preharvest inventories found fewer than 50 oaks/acre ≥ 5 feet tall, much less than the 433/ac recommended for the western branch of the Central Hardwood region. However, oak regeneration accounted for 13 percent (150 oak/acre) of codominant and dominant trees 12 years after harvest on the silvicultural clearcut plot. This strongly suggests that there should be regional standards for evaluating oak regeneration. All treatments, except diameter limit, increased regeneration density. Shelterwood, but not other partial cuts, increased the number of oaks ≥ 5 feet tall. Five years after the shelterwood cut red maple and black birch densities had also increased by 88 percent and 1500 percent, respectively. Clearly, this will increase the competition oaks experience following final harvest. Partial cutting should not be prescribed when management goals include obtaining oak regeneration in future stands.
Parent Publication
Citation
Ward, Jeffrey S.; Stephens, George R. 1999. Influence of cutting methods on 12-year old hardwood regeneration in Connecticut. In: Stringer, Jeffrey W.; Loftis, David L., eds. 1999. Proceedings, 12th central hardwood forest conference; 1999 February 28-March 1-2; Lexington, KY. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-24. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 293 p
