Treesearch

The potential for baldcypress (Taxodium distichum var. distichum) and pondcypress (T. distichum var. imbricarium) plantations has been further evaluated through two silvicultural and genetic studies in Florida. On a flatwoods site, initial bedding+compost, which resulted in better early growth and survival than just bedding, and in turn no bedding, enhanced soil properties and plantation productivity through 16 years with stand basal area averaging 179 square feet per acre at a 10- x 3-foot spacing and 136 square feet per acre at a 10- x 6-foot spacing and associated tree diameters at...

A challenge for managers of bottomland hardwood forests is the lack of information about economic tradeoffs among different management approaches. This study evaluated economic tradeoffs, in terms of timber revenue, between even- and uneven-aged management approaches in four common bottomland hardwood forest types in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley (LMAV). Even and uneven-aged management scenarios were simulated using the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service Forest Vegetation Simulator. Data from 107 stands, representing a wide-range of initial conditions, were acquired from...

Continued emphasis on woody biomass production under short rotation woody crop strategies has focused on both hybrid poplar and eastern cottonwood. The advantages of hybrid poplars in comparison to eastern cottonwood include superior rooting, better wood properties, and the ability to grow well on upland sites. Unfortunately, one specific disease, Septoria musiva, which results in stem canker and mortality, has shown to be the most serious impediment to the use of hybrid poplars in the Southern United States. Although disease still ranks as a significant problem in the Southern United...

Nontimber forest products (NTFPs) provide cultural ecosystem services for peoples throughout the United States and its affliated territories. Cultural ecosystem services of NTFPs are those tangible and intangible functions that contribute to the traditions, livelihoods, and wellbeing of social groups including, but not limited to, indigenous and minority communities (Daniel et al. 2012, Hernadez-Morcillo et al. 2013). The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) recognized six services of ecosystems necessary to support cultural landscapes and traditions: heritage values, cultural identity,...

Nontimber forest products (NTFPs) encompass a broad variety of edible, woodbased, decorative, and medicinal goods derived from various plant and fungus parts (Chamberlain et al. 1998). NTFPs provide signifcant economic benefts to users in the United States; however, many of these values have not been systematically researched or quantifed (Alexander et al. 2001). Interest in assessing the economic value, impact, and potential of NTFPs surged in the 1990s and early 2000s probably in part because of controversies over the impact of timber harvest on endangered species and other conservation...

Increases in temperature and changes in average rainfall will change conditions for wild and cultivated NTFPs. The increased variability in rainfall is likely to favor adaptable and invasive species. Even where forest cover is intact or agroforest cover is complex and continuous, heavy rainfall can cause mass wasting events that devastate watersheds.

Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantations represent the largest surface of managed forest in the Southern United States. Over the last 3 decades, forest productivity has been increased as a result of intensive management and improved genetics. Many studies have shown the effects of fertilization and competition control in early ages (1 through 10) on yield of intensively managed loblolly pine stands. However, few studies have looked at the long-term effects of these practices on the inherent site productivity and carrying capacity. The Consortium for Accelerated Pine Plantation Studies...

To improve watershed quality, there was interest in converting a retired zoysiagrass (Zoysia spp.) sod farm in central Arkansas into hardwood forest. Six vegetation control options for glyphosate and sulfometuron methyl were tested for pre-planting vegetation control to foster water oak (Quercus nigra L.) and green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marshall) establishment while protecting water quality at the site. Including sulfometuron with glyphosate in a fall pre-planting application was the most effective for providing vegetation control through the first growing season after planting. A...

Since 1930, approximately 2.5 million ha have been disturbed by surface mining in theUnited States. On many mine sites reclaimed since the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 bothcompacted soils and aggressive nonnative plant communities are common, and sites may require remediationin order to establish forests (Burger and others 2013). Planted grasses and legumes can compete strongly withplanted tree seedlings, and there is a need to identify herbaceous species that are compatible with reforestation(Franklin and others 2012). Browse damage to planted tree seedlings can be...