scholarly journals Group selection management in conifer forests: relationships between opening size and tree growth

2004 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 630-641 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A York ◽  
Robert C Heald ◽  
John J Battles ◽  
Jennifer D York
Keyword(s):  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Group Selection ◽  
Douglas Fir ◽  
Research Station ◽  
Radial Increment ◽  
Theoretic Approach ◽  
Seedling Height ◽  
White Fir ◽  
Sugar Pine ◽  
Giant Sequoia

Replicated circular openings ranging in size from 0.1 to 1 ha were cleared in 1996 at Blodgett Forest Research Station, California, and planted with seedlings of six native species. After 5 years of postharvest growth, heights were measured and analyzed according to species, opening size, and location within opening. The sequence of mean height from tallest to shortest, according to species, was as follows: giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum (Lindl.) Buchholz) > incense-cedar (Calocedrus decurrens (Torr.) Florin) > Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco var. menziesii) ≈ ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex Laws.) > sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana Dougl.) ≈ white fir (Abies concolor (Gord. & Glend.) Lindl.). To describe the influence of openings size on seedling height, we use an information-theoretic approach to select from competing models that predicted fifth-year height from group selection opening size. Asymptotic fits (modeled with Michaelis–Menton curves) were selected for giant sequoia, ponderosa pine, sugar pine, and incense-cedar. Quadratic fits were selected for white fir and Douglas-fir. Linear models predicting increasing growth with opening size were consistently ruled out for all species. Although a marked depression in seedling-height growth occurred along the edges within the openings, mean annual radial increment of the 90-year-old border trees surrounding the openings increased by 30%, compared with other canopy trees in the forested matrix between openings.

scholarly journals Influence of Ash Substrate Proximity on Growth and Survival of Planted Mixed-Conifer Seedlings

2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 117-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. York ◽  
Zachary Thomas ◽  
Joseph Restaino
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Douglas Fir ◽  
Mixed Conifer ◽  
Basal Diameter ◽  
Growth And Survival ◽  
Sugar Pine ◽  
Giant Sequoia ◽  
Height Gain

Abstract To address uncertainty in the performance of seedlings planted in and around postburn substrates, we systematically planted seedlings in the center of, on the edge of, and outside ash substrate footprints following burning of logging residue piles and monitored growth and survival for a decade. Five species (Douglas-fir [Pseudotsuga menziesii], giant sequoia [Sequoiadendron giganteum], incense-cedar [Calocedrus decurrens], sugar pine [Pinus lambertiana], and ponderosa pine [Pinus ponderosa]) were planted in a regenerating mixed-conifer stand in the Sierra Nevada range of California. There was a positive effect of ash substrate proximity on growth that was immediate and persisted for 10 years for every species except incense-cedar. Seedlings planted in the centers of ash substrates consistently outgrew (in both height and basal diameter) seedlings that were planted either on the edges of or outside ash substrates. Douglas-fir had the greatest height gain (+47%), followed by giant sequoia (+28%), sugar pine (+23%), and ponderosa pine (+17%). Basal diameter differences were similar. No effect of ash proximity on survival was detected. Planting seedlings in the centers of ash substrates led to exceptionally larger trees by the time the stand had developed enough to apply a precommercial thin, a relevant milestone for managed stands.

scholarly journals Deterioration of Fire-Killed Timber in Southern Oregon and Northern California

1996 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 125-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eini C. Lowell ◽  
James M. Cahill
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Douglas Fir ◽  
Northern California ◽  
Percent Loss ◽  
White Fir ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Sugar Pine ◽  
Second Year ◽  
One Year

Abstract Deterioration of fire-killed timber in the coastal mountains of southern Oregon and northern California was monitored over a 3 yr period (1988-1990). Defect was identified and measured on felled and bucked sample trees by using Scribner and cubic scaling rules. Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), grand fir (Abies grandis), white fir (A. concolor),ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), and sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana), covering a wide range of geographic areas, site conditions, and tree size and age, were studied. One year after death, Douglas-fir, sugar pine, and ponderosa pine had lost about 1% and the true firs 5% of their cubic volume. The sapwood of the pines was heavily stained. The occurrence of sap rot and weather checks increased the second year. Percent loss in all species was correlated with small-end scaling diameter. A logistic regression model predicting the incidence of cull was developed for use on logs that have been dead for 3 yr. West. J. Appl. For. 11(4):125-131.

Litter dynamics in two Sierran mixed conifer forests. I. Litterfall and decomposition rates

1988 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 1127-1135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Stohlgren
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Litter Decomposition ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Leaf Litter Decomposition ◽  
Decomposition Rates ◽  
White Fir ◽  
Mixed Conifer Forests ◽  
Sugar Pine ◽  
Giant Sequoia

Litterfall was measured for 4 years and leaf litter decomposition rates were studied for 3.6 years in two mixed conifer forests (giant sequoia–fir and fir–pine) in the southern Sierra Nevada of California. The giant sequoia–fir forest (GS site) was dominated by giant sequoia (Sequoiadendrongiganteum (Lindl.) Buchh.), white fir (Abiesconcolor Lindl. & Gord.), and sugar pine (Pinuslambertiana Dougl.). The fir–pine forest (FP site) was dominated by white fir, sugar pine, and incense cedar (Calocedrusdecurrens (Torr.) Florin). Litterfall, including large woody debris <15.2 cm in diameter, at the GS site averaged 6364 kg•ha−1•year−1 compared with 4355 kg•ha−1•year−1 at the FP site. Compared with other temperate coniferous forests, annual variability in litterfall (as computed by the ratio of the annual maximum/minimum litterfall) was extremely high for the GS site (5.8:1) and moderately high for the FP site (3.4:1). In the GS site, leaf litter decomposition after 3.6 years was slowest for giant sequoia (28.2% mass loss), followed by sugar pine (34.3%) and white fir (45.1%). In the FP site, mass loss was slowest for sugar pine (40.0%), followed by white fir (45.1%), while incense cedar showed the greatest mass loss (56.9%) after 3.6 years. High litterfall rates of large woody debris (i.e., 2.5–15.2 cm diameter) and slow rates of leaf litter decomposition in the giant sequoia–fir forest type may result in higher litter accumulation rates than in the fir–pine type. Leaf litter times to 95% decay for the GS and FP sites were 30 and 27 years, respectively, if the initial 0.7-year period (a short period of rapid mass decay) was ignored in the calculation. A mass balance approach for total litterfall (<15.2 cm diameter) decomposition yielded lower decay constants than did the litterbag study and therefore longer times to 95% decay (57 years for the GS site and 62 years for the FP site).

Symptom expression in conifers infected with Armillaria ostoyae and Heterobasidion annosum

2004 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 1210-1219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel W Omdal ◽  
Charles G Shaw, III ◽  
William R Jacobi
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Lateral Roots ◽  
Douglas Fir ◽  
Root Disease ◽  
Heterobasidion Annosum ◽  
Armillaria Ostoyae ◽  
White Fir ◽  
Pine Trees ◽  
Old Trees

Crown symptoms and other aboveground variables were examined on 36 Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco.) (40–209 years old), 46 white fir (Abies concolor (Gord. & Glend.) Lindl.) (36–165 years old), and 97 ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex Laws.) (64–220 years old) trees in northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. Root systems of all trees were excavated to determine extent of root disease. Symptoms observed on infected trees, including reductions in height growth, changes in foliage characteristics, and crown dieback, worsened as the number of infected roots increased. Trees with aboveground symptoms had a significantly higher (p < 0.05) number of infected lateral roots than trees without symptoms. In mixed conifer stands on the Archuleta Mesa, Colo., four qualitative crown symptoms were used to accurately detect Armillaria ostoyae (Romagn.) Herink and (or) Heterobasidion annosum (Fr.) Bref. infection of Douglas-fir (21/22, or 95%) and white fir (19/28, or 68%). Similarly, 61% (48/79) of the A. ostoyae infected ponderosa pine trees on the Jemez site, N.M., were detected using the qualitative Thomson vigor rating system. Discriminate analysis, using more thorough variables and analysis, resulted in correct infection classifications of 82%, 85%, and 78% for Douglas-fir, white fir, and ponderosa pine, respectively, suggesting that aboveground variables are reasonable indicators of root disease.

Effects of application rate and cold soaking pretreatment of Pisolithus spores on effectiveness as nursery inoculum on western conifers

1983 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 533-537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabel F. Alvarez ◽  
James M. Trappe
Keyword(s):  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Application Rate ◽  
Douglas Fir ◽  
Application Rates ◽  
White Fir ◽  
Mycorrhiza Formation ◽  
Bare Root

Ponderosa pine (Pinusponderosa Dougl. ex Laws.), Douglas-fir (Pseudotsugamenziesii (Mirb.) Franco), Shasta red (Abiesmagnified var. shastensis Lemm.), and white fir (Abiesconcolor (Gord. & Glend.) Lindl. ex Hild.) seedlings were inoculated in a bare root nursery with basidiospores of Pisolithustinctorius (Pers.) Coker & Couch. The spores were applied at three rates with or without cold–wet pretreatment of 7 or 21 days. Pretreatment did not affect spore efficiency as inoculum. Only ponderosa pine responded to inoculation. Inoculations in the greenhouse with a wider range of spore application rates revealed that a higher concentration of spores was needed to induce an increase in growth and mycorrhiza formation of Douglas-fir than ponderosa pine. These levels were much higher than those used in nursery inoculations.

Litter dynamics in two Sierran mixed conifer forests. II. Nutrient release in decomposing leaf litter

1988 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 1136-1144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Stohlgren
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Litter ◽  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Nutrient Release ◽  
Conifer Forests ◽  
Mixed Conifer ◽  
Acid Detergent Fiber ◽  
White Fir ◽  
Mixed Conifer Forests ◽  
Sugar Pine ◽  
Giant Sequoia

The factors influencing leaf litter decomposition and nutrient release patterns were investigated for 3.6 years in two mixed conifer forests in the southern Sierra Nevada of California. The giant sequoia–fir forest was dominated by giant sequoia (Sequoiadendrongiganteum (Lindl.) Buchh.), white fir (Abiesconcolor Lindl. & Gord.), and sugar pine (Pinuslambertiana Dougl.). The fir–pine forest was dominated by white fir, sugar pine, and incense cedar (Calocedrusdecurrens (Torr.) Florin). Initial concentrations of nutrients and percent lignin, cellulose, and acid detergent fiber vary considerably in freshly abscised leaf litter of the studied species. Giant sequoia had the highest concentration of lignin (20.3%) and the lowest concentration of nitrogen (0.52%), while incense cedar had the lowest concentration of lignin (9.6%) and second lowest concentration of nitrogen (0.63%). Long-term (3.6 years) foliage decomposition rates were best correlated with initial lignin/N (r2 = 0.94, p < 0.05), lignin concentration (r2 = 0.92, p < 0.05), and acid detergent fiber concentration (r2 = 0.80, p < 0.05). Patterns of nutrient release were highly variable. Giant sequoia immobilized N and P, incense cedar immobilized N and to a lesser extent P, while sugar pine immobilized Ca. Strong linear or negative exponential relationships existed between initial concentrations of N, P, K, and Ca and percent original mass remaining of those nutrients after 3.6 years. This suggests efficient retention of these nutrients in the litter layer of these ecosystems. Nitrogen concentrations steadily increase in decomposing leaf litter, effectively reducing the C/N ratios from an initial range of 68–96 to 27–45 after 3.6 years.

Ultraviolet-B radiation effects on early seedling growth of Pinaceae species

1981 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 244-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan V. Kossuth ◽  
R. Hilton Biggs
Keyword(s):  
Biomass Production ◽  
Loblolly Pine ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Radiation Effects ◽  
Douglas Fir ◽  
Ultraviolet B ◽  
Root Weight ◽  
Radiation Level ◽  
White Fir ◽  
Noble Fir

Seven coniferous species were grown in the Duke University phytotron under five ultraviolet-B (UV-B = 280–320 nm) radiation regimes for 11 weeks. The irradiation regimes were 765, 680, 637, 310, and 28 mW•m−2 as summed over the 280–320 nm UV-B waveband. The UV-B radiation source was FS40 Westinghouse sunlamps filtered with cellulose acetate for four treatment irradiation levels and clear Mylar for the control. Biomass production of lodgepole pine (Pinuscontorta Dougl.), loblolly pine (Pinustaeda L.), noble fir (Abiesprocera Redh.), ponderosa pine (Pinusponderosa Laws.), and slash pine (Pinuselliottii Engelm.) was significantly reduced at the highest UV-B radiation level and somewhat less at the lower levels. These species were rated as slightly susceptible (5–25% reduction in biomass). Biomass production of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsugamenziesii (Mirb.) Franco) was unaffected, and white fir (Abiesconcolor (Gord. and Glenn.) Lindl.) biomass was increased significantly by UV-B radiation at 310, 637, and 680 mW•m−2 UV-B radiation levels. Root weight tended to be reduced more than shoot weight, thereby decreasing root:shoot ratios significantly in certain UV-B regimes. Leaf area declined significantly with increasing UV-B radiation for all species except white fir and Douglas-fir. At the higher UV-B irradiance levels, height was significantly reduced when compared with the Mylar control on loblolly, lodgepole, ponderosa, slash pines, and noble fir, respectively. Height of Douglas-fir was not altered and height of white fir was increased significantly at the lowest level of UV-B radiation tested.

Fomesannosus stump colonization and fungus development in the California mixed-conifer type

1976 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard S. Hunt ◽  
Fields W. Cobb Jr. ◽  
John R. Parmeter Jr
Keyword(s):  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Douglas Fir ◽  
Mixed Conifer ◽  
Sugar Pine ◽  
Colonization Patterns ◽  
Wood Bark ◽  
Fungus Development

The pattern and rate of colonization of ponderosa pine (Pinusponderosa Laws.) stumps and stump roots by Fomes annosus (Fr.) Karsten were determined by sampling inoculated stumps periodically. Colonization occurred in the sapwood and wood–bark interface. Downward growth was fastest in the wood–bark interface and large stump roots were completely colonized in less than 1.5 years. Comparisons were made among colonization patterns and rates in ponderosa pine, sugar pine (P. lambertiana Dougl.), and Douglas–fir (Pseudotsugamenziesii (Mirb.) Franco) stumps.Conidiophores were observed only during the early periods of bark loosening and were produced in 'tubes' and beetle galleries of inoculated and non-inoculated stumps. Mycelial plaques formed during the later stages of bark loosening in both inoculated and non-inoculated stumps. Basidiocarps developed on inoculated stumps within 1.5 years and on older non-inoculated stumps.

Estimating seed crops of conifer and hardwood species

1992 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 832-838 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip M. McDonald
Keyword(s):  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Douglas Fir ◽  
Rating System ◽  
Visual Rating ◽  
Seed Crop ◽  
Hardwood Species ◽  
Sugar Pine ◽  
Pacific Madrone ◽  
Total Seed ◽  
Seed Crops

Cone, acorn, and berry crops of ponderosa pine (Pinusponderosa Dougl. ex Laws. var. ponderosa), sugar pine (Pinuslambertiana Dougl.), Douglas-fir (Pseudotsugamenziesii (Mirb.) Franco), California white fir (Abiesconcolor var. lowiana (Gord.) Lemm.), incense-cedar (Libocedrusdecurrens Torr.), California black oak (Quercuskelloggii Newb.), tan oak (Lithocarpusdensiflorus (Hook. & Arn.) Rehd.), and Pacific madrone (Arbutusmenziesii Pursh) were evaluated over a 24-year period (1958–1981) from an area in northern California by an easy to use visual crop rating system. Seed-trap data, also for 24 years, were gathered for four conifer species. Together, these data provide the wild-land manager with knowledge on seed-crop quantity, quality, and timing. The visual rating system involves visually estimating the amount of fruit in trees and the proportion of trees with fruit, and ranking the crop by species. Regressions of sound seed and total seed on seed-crop rating are provided for the two species with the most seed crops: ponderosa pine and Douglas-fir. Regressions were significant at the 1% level, and coefficients of determination ranged from 0.58 to 0.76.

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