Treesearch

The band of trees within 30 m of roads (i.e., roadside forests) is often left unmanaged during traditional forest management activities because of liability concerns about inadvertently causing a vehicular accident or damaging utility lines during harvests. The trees in these same neglected forests often cause extensive utility outages and road blockages during extreme weather. Building on the prescriptions developed in Connecticut , the authors, utility companies, state foresters, highway departments, and forest landowners initiated a collaborative project—Stormwise—that is developing and...

The shelterwood burn technique is becoming more accepted and used as a means of regenerating eastern mixed-oak (Quercus spp.) forests on productive upland sites. Preparation is important to successfully implement this method; part of that preparation is selecting the proper fuel model (FM) for the prescribed fire. Because of the mix of leaf litter and logging slash, FMs 6, 8, 9, 10, and 11 may be appropriate representations of oak shelterwood stands for planning prescribed fires. This study compares fire behavior in oak shelterwood stands to BehavePlus-generated predictions for these FMs....

Enrichment plantings using large oak seedlings of regional sources may promote superior survival and growth compared to direct seeding or standard nursery seedling material. This study evaluated the survival and growth of planted 1-0 northern red oak (Quercus rubra L.) seedlings among 11 families and 3 seedling size classes (small, average, and premium). Seedlings were planted in April 2005 in a deer exclosure in a failed clearcut in Pike County, PA. After 7 years, survival averaged 84 percent and was greater in the premium than either the small or average size classes in 2 of the 11...

A set of eight microsatellite markers was used to genotype 25 black walnut (Juglans nigra L.) clones within the Purdue University germplasm repository. The identities of 212 ramets were verified using the same eight microsatellite markers. Some trees were mislabeled and corrected as to clone using analysis of microsatellite markers. A genetic dendrogram was constructed to show the degree of genetic relatedness between clones. Two additional dendrograms, one based on crown architecture traits and the other on tree size and form traits, were also built and compared with the genetic dendrogram...

The U.S. secondary woodworking industry has shown signs of improvement after the steep losses in sales volume associated with the housing crisis that began in 2007. Employment in several sectors has begun to increase, suggesting that companies that survived the downturn are positioning to increase sales growth. It is likely that investment plans to improve firm-level productivity or capabilities are also gaining momentum. The objective of this paper was to ascertain investment activities in the secondary woodworking industry based on a survey of "Woodworking Network" magazine subscribers...

In 2001, we initiated a study in Jackson County, AL, to examine shelterwood prescriptions in mixed mesophytic upland hardwood forests located on the escarpment of the mid-Cumberland Plateau. We were particularly interested in testing a shelterwood method that was successfully applied in other upland hardwood systems to recruit Quercus into competitive size classes. In the midstory herbicide shelterwood (MSW) we used an herbicide to inject more than 380 stems per acre (SPA) in three stands; average diameter of killed trees was 3.5 inches diameter at breast height (d.b.h.). After 8 growing...

Midwestern bottomland hardwood forests are often composed of species that are capable of sprouting vigorously, yet relatively little is known about sprout development within these mixed-species systems. This study describes stump sprouting of midwestern bottomland hardwood species in the first 3 growing seasons after a clearcutting with reserves (∼2.0 m2/ha of residual basal area) treatment. Our results revealed that sprout development varied between species and between small and large parent trees over the 3-year study period. Stumps of American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis L.),...

When regenerating oak or mixed-hardwood forests in southern Indiana, oak (Quercus spp.) stump sprouts are vital to sustaining their presence and long-term dominance. In 1987, a study began in the Hoosier National Forest in southern Indiana. The study goal was to predict the sprouting potential and dominance probability of oaks. Before clearcut harvesting, we sampled 2,188 trees of five oak species—white oak, chestnut oak, black oak, scarlet oak, and northern red oak. Measurements were taken before and 1, 5, and 25 years after clearcut harvesting. We used logistic regression to develop two...

Mass loss and nutrient concentrations of northern red oak (Quercus rubra) and white oak (Q. alba) wood stakes were measured 30 months after their burial in the upper 10 cm of soil in a regenerating forest after harvesting and soil disturbance. Disturbance treatments were two levels of organic matter (OM) removal (only merchantable logs removed or removal of all woody material plus forest floor) with two levels of soil compaction (C), not compacted and severely compacted. Treatments were arranged in a factorial design with each treatment plot split with and without vegetation control (VC)....

Bottomland afforestation is frequently unsuccessful, partly because of low-quality planting stock and low soil fertility following row cropping. In autumn 1999, two 16.2-ha fields at two conservation areas in central Missouri were seeded to redtop grass or allowed to revegetate from the seedbank. In spring 2004, one of five nitrogen (N) treatments was applied to one row of five-row tree plots planted in 2000 with all combinations of bare-root and root production method (RPM) seedlings of swamp white oak and pin oak. In late July 2006, foliar N averaged 1.83 percent after annual application...