Soil carbon and nutrient pools in Douglas-fir plantations 5years after manipulating biomass and competing vegetation in the Pacific Northwest

2011 ◽  
Vol 262 (9) ◽  
pp. 1722-1728 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Slesak ◽  
Stephen H. Schoenholtz ◽  
Timothy B. Harrington
2010 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 254-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Slesak ◽  
Timothy B. Harrington ◽  
Stephen H. Schoenholtz

Experimental treatments of logging-debris retention (0%, 40%, or 80% surface coverage) and competing vegetation control (initial or annual applications) were installed at two sites in the Pacific Northwest following clearcutting Douglas-fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco var. menziesii) stands to assess short-term effects on tree N acquisition, soil N supply, and total soil N. Vegetation control treatments began in the first year after harvest, and logging-debris manipulations were installed 2 years after harvest. Annual vegetation control increased foliar N concentration and content in most years at both sites, which was associated with higher available soil N and increased soil water content. Logging-debris retention treatments had no detectable effect on any of the foliar variables or soil available N at either site. There were no treatment effects on total soil N at the site with relatively high soil N, but total soil N increased with logging-debris retention when annual vegetation control was applied at the site with a low initial soil N pool. Competing vegetation control is an effective means to increase tree N acquisition in the initial years after planting while maintaining soil N pools critical to soil quality. The effect of logging-debris retention on tree N acquisition appears to be limited during early years of stand development, but increased soil N with heavy debris retention at certain sites may be beneficial to tree growth in later years.


2015 ◽  
Vol 398 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 281-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Slesak ◽  
Timothy B. Harrington ◽  
Anthony W. D’Amato

2002 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 1057-1070 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda E Winter ◽  
Linda B Brubaker ◽  
Jerry F Franklin ◽  
Eric A Miller ◽  
Donald Q DeWitt

The history of canopy disturbances over the lifetime of an old-growth Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) stand in the western Cascade Range of southern Washington was reconstructed using tree-ring records of cross-dated samples from a 3.3-ha mapped plot. The reconstruction detected pulses in which many western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.) synchronously experienced abrupt and sustained increases in ringwidth, i.e., "growth-increases", and focused on medium-sized or larger ([Formula: see text]0.8 ha) events. The results show that the stand experienced at least three canopy disturbances that each thinned, but did not clear, the canopy over areas [Formula: see text]0.8 ha, occurring approximately in the late 1500s, the 1760s, and the 1930s. None of these promoted regeneration of the shade-intolerant Douglas-fir, all of which established 1500–1521. The disturbances may have promoted regeneration of western hemlock, but their strongest effect on tree dynamics was to elicit western hemlock growth-increases. Canopy disturbances are known to create patchiness, or horizontal heterogeneity, an important characteristic of old-growth forests. This reconstructed history provides one model for restoration strategies to create horizontal heterogeneity in young Douglas-fir stands, for example, by suggesting sizes of areas to thin in variable-density thinnings.


1990 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 86-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark E. Kubiske ◽  
Marc D. Abrams ◽  
James C. Finley

Abstract Cut Douglas-fir Christmas trees grown in Pennsylvania from Rocky Mountain seed sources and coastal trees grown in the Pacific Northwest and shipped into Pennsylvania were compared for keepability. Following various cold treatments, the cut ends of trees were placed in water in an indoor display area. Coastal trees placed in a freezer at - 29°C for 24 h had 89 ± 5.1% (mean ± standard error) needle loss after one day of display, while Rocky Mountain origin trees exhibited only 3 ± 2.0% needle loss after 1 day and 50 ± 5.6% needle loss after 18 days. Coastal produced trees exposed to temperatures > - 12°C had 50 ± 9.8% needle loss at the end of the experiment, while Rocky Mountain trees ended with 22 ± 3.2% needle loss. Four additional treatments consisted of trees placed on an outdoor lot and periodically moved indoors to simulate Christmas tree market activity. Again, there was a significant difference between trees from coastal and Rocky Mountain sources, with 57.2 ± 4.3% and 11.8 ± 1.2% needle loss after 3 days, respectively. By the end of the 23 day experiment, the coastal trees were essentially devoid of needles, whereas Rocky Mountain trees had an average of only 20% needle loss. Coastal trees also exhibited a very noticeable loss of color and lustre. North. J. Appl. For. 7:86-89, June 1990.


Geoderma ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 350 ◽  
pp. 73-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel G. DeBruler ◽  
Stephen H. Schoenholtz ◽  
Robert A. Slesak ◽  
Brian D. Strahm ◽  
Timothy B. Harrington

1999 ◽  
Vol 5 (S2) ◽  
pp. 1240-1241
Author(s):  
M. Apple ◽  
A. Soeldner ◽  
R. Hamill ◽  
K. Tiekotfer

Old-growth Douglas-fir trees in the Pacific Northwest are venerable giants that often live for 500 years and reach heights of over 75 meters. Their needles are relatively ephemeral and small but have the important role of interacting with the atmosphere in order to transpire and photosynthesize. Within the photosynthetic mesophyll tissue of Douglas-fir needles, there are large, non-living cells with lignified secondary cell walls that are known as astrosclereids. Apparent channels in the secondary wall may provide a route for exchange or transport of materials between the astrosclereid lumen and mesophyll cells or the vascular cylinder. Astrosclereids may be involvev d in storage of secondary metabolites such as tannin and may develop in response to fungi, mistletoe, or other pathogens. More knowledge is needed about the development, structure and function of astrosclereids.Needles were collected from sapling and old-growth Douglas-fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii, (Mirb.) Franco, trees at the Wind River Canopy Crane in Carson, Washington and from three sites in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon in 1997 and 1998.


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