Treesearch

In 2009, a mesic mixed-oak forest in West Virginia treated with two prescribed fires (2002-2003 and 2005) to eliminate a shade-tolerant understory was characterized by 7,500 seedlings/acre ≥1.0 foot tall of oak (Quercus spp.), maple (Acer spp.), black birch (Betula lenta), and yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) combined. Maple was the most abundant group before burning but thereafter, maple (1,192/acre), oak (1,557/acre), and yellow-poplar (1,597/acre) seedlings ≥1.0 foot were approximately equally represented. Black birch was the single most abundant species (3,337/acre). Following...

Coppice with two to three reserve trees per acre is the generally accepted practice (GAP) for rotating oak stands on nutrient-poor, sandy sites (colloquially called "scrub oak sites") in Wisconsin. The future stocking of the stand is therefore dependent predominantly on stump sprouts with varying levels of contribution from advance regeneration. Two groups of sites (four cut in 1998 and four cut in 2006) were measured to examine the success of the stump sprouts. On the sites harvested in 2006, more than 85 percent of stumps had sprouted during the first year after harvest (Mujuri and...

Determining the defects located within a log is crucial to understanding the tree/log resource for efficient processing. However, existing means of doing this non-destructively requires the use of expensive x-ray/CT (computerized tomography), MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), or microwave technology. These methods do not lend themselves to fast, efficient, and cost-effective analysis of logs and tree stems in the mill. This study quantified the relationship between external defect indicators and internal defect characteristics for red oak logs. A series of models was developed to predict...

Laser scanning of hardwood logs provides detailed high-resolution imagery of log surfaces. Characteristics such as sweep, taper, and crook, as well as most surface defects, are visible to the eye in the scan data. In addition, models have been developed that predict interior knot size and position based on external defect information. Computerized processing of complete log shape data, combined with predicted internal defect information, promises to reduce waste and improve grade recovery in primary breakdown operations. RAYSAW is a hardwood log sawing research tool that processes high-reso...

Bare-root, container, and root production method (RPMTM) seedlings of Nuttall oak (Quercus texana Buckley) and cherrybark oak (Q. pagoda Ell.) were planted on lands damaged by Hurricane Katrina in southern Mississippi to compare the height growth, groundline diameter (GLD) growth, and survival of the different planting stocks. Two study areas were divided into three replicates containing six treatment combinations with 100 seedlings per replicate. Tree shelters were used on half of the bare-root seedlings to determine their effect on height, GLD growth, and survival of the seedlings....

Prescribed burning of two mixed-oak (Quercus spp.) stands in northwestern Pennsylvania 4 and 5 years after the final removal cut of a three-step shelterwood sequence was investigated. One stand was burned with hot mid-spring fire in May 2005 and the other treated likewise in May 2006. Understory inventories 3 years later showed reductions in black birch (Betula lenta) and red maple (Acer rubrum) seedlings and sprouts by 90 and 50 percent, respectively. Conversely, northern red oak (Q. rubra) reproduction was largely unchanged, as was that of black cherry (Prunus serotina). These stands now...

This paper describes the current state of the U.S. economy and provides general and statistical information on forest products production, trade, consumption, and prices. Market developments are described for sawn softwood, sawn hardwood, softwood log trade, wood-based panels, paper and paperboard, fuelwood, forest product prices, and housing starts. Policy initiatives that can affect domestic markets and international trade in wood products are also discussed. Data are provided through the end of the year 2011 with estimates for 2012 and forecasts for 2013.

Remote sensing has many applications in forestry. Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) and high resolution aerial photography have been investigated as means to extract forest data, such as biomass, timber volume, stand dynamics, and gap characteristics. LiDAR return intensity data are often overlooked as a source of input raster data for thematic map creation. We utilized LiDAR intensity and elevation difference models from a recent Morgantown, WV, collection to extract land cover data in an urban setting. The LiDAR-derived data were used as an input in user-assisted feature extraction to...

The use of remote sensing to identify forest species has been ongoing since the launch of Landsat-1 using MSS imagery. The ability to separate hardwoods from conifers was accomplished by the 1980s. However, distinguishing individual hardwood species is more problematic due to similar spectral and phenological characteristics. With the launch of commercial satellites with 1-meter panchromatic and 4-meter multispectral resolution or better resolution the potential exists to distinguish individual tree crowns and thus tree species. We attempted to distinguish five hardwood tree species:...

Past research estimates that more than 1 million tons of oak logging residues go unused in West Virginia each year. Much research has been done investigating potential products and markets for this underutilized resource. West Virginia is home to an oriented strand board (OSB) producer that consumes large volumes of small diameter, low quality round wood. However, the use of oak species is limited because of their undesirable physical properties. Much of this rejection is due to the poor strandability of oak and the production of significant volumes of fines during the stranding process....