scholarly journals Difference in Regeneration Conditions in Pinus ponderosa Dominated Forests in Northern California, USA, over an 83 Year Period

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 581
Author(s):  
Sushil Nepal ◽  
Bianca N.I. Eskelson ◽  
Martin W. Ritchie
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Sustainable Forest Management ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Management Scenarios ◽  
Forest Inventories ◽  
White Fir ◽  
Class 1 ◽  
Decision Making Processes

Forest inventories based on field surveys can provide quantitative measures of regeneration such as density and stocking proportion. Understanding regeneration dynamics is a key element that supports silvicultural decision-making processes in sustainable forest management. The objectives of this study were to: 1) describe historical regeneration in ponderosa pine dominated forests by species and height class, 2) find associations of regeneration with overstory, soil, and topography variables, 3) describe contemporary regeneration across various management treatments, and 4) compare differences in regeneration between historical and contemporary forests. The study area, a ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosae Dougl. ex P. and C. Law) dominated forest, is located within the Blacks Mountain Experimental Forest (BMEF) in northeastern California, United States, which was designated as an experimental forest in 1934. We used 1935 and 2018 field surveyed regeneration data containing information about three species—ponderosa pine, incense-cedar (Calocedrus decurrens (Torr.) Florin) and white fir (Abies concolor (Grod. and Glend)—and four height classes: class 1: 0–0.31 m, class 2: 0.31–0.91 m, class 3: 0.91–1.83 m, and class 4: >1.83 m and <8.9 cm diameter at breast height. We used stocking as proxy for regeneration density in this study. We found that historically, stocking in the BMEF was dominated by shade-intolerant ponderosa pine in height classes 2 and 3. Two variables—overstory basal area per hectare (m2 ha−1) and available water capacity at 150 cm, which is the amount of water that is available for plants up to a depth of 150 cm from the soil surface—were significantly associated with stocking, and a beta regression model fit was found to have a pseudo-R2 of 0.49. We identified significant differences in contemporary stocking among six management scenarios using a Kruskal–Wallis non-parametric one-way ANOVA. Control compartments had the highest stocking followed by burned compartments. In contemporary forest stands, recent treatments involving a combination of burning and thinning resulted in high stocking in height classes 2 and 3. Overall, the stocking in historical BMEF stands was higher than in contemporary stands and was dominated by ponderosa pine.

Intertree competition in uneven-aged ponderosa pine stands

2003 ◽  
Vol 33 (9) ◽  
pp. 1719-1726 ◽  
Author(s):  
C W Woodall ◽  
C E Fiedler ◽  
K S Milner
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Growth Efficiency ◽  
Tree Size ◽  
Basal Area Increment ◽  
Diameter Class ◽  
Individual Tree ◽  
Sapwood Area ◽  
Competition Indices

Intertree competition indices and effects were examined in 14 uneven-aged ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa var. scopulorum Engelm.) stands in eastern Montana. Location, height, diameter at breast height (DBH), basal area increment, crown ratio, and sapwood area were determined for each tree (DBH >3.8 cm) on one stem-mapped plot (0.2-0.4 ha) in each sample stand. Based on tree locations, various competition indices were derived for each sample tree and correlated with its growth efficiency by diameter class. In addition, trends in individual tree attributes by diameter class and level of surrounding competition were determined. For trees with a DBH <10 cm, growth efficiency was most strongly correlated with the sum of surrounding tree heights within 10.6 m. The index most highly correlated for larger trees was the sum of surrounding basal area within 6.1 m. Regardless of tree size, individual tree growth efficiency, basal area increment, and crown ratio all decreased under increasing levels of competition, with the effect more pronounced in smaller trees. These results suggest that individual trees in uneven-aged stands experience competition from differing sources at varying scales based on their size, with response to competition diminishing as tree size increases.

Thinning ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) stands reduces mortality while maintaining stand productivity

2013 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 311-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianwei Zhang ◽  
Martin W. Ritchie ◽  
Douglas A. Maguire ◽  
William W. Oliver
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Bark Beetles ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Stand Density ◽  
Growth Efficiency ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Annual Increment ◽  
Stand Productivity ◽  
Residual Variation

We analyzed 45 years of data collected from three ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Douglas ex P. Lawson & C. Lawson) levels-of-growing-stock installations in Oregon (OR) and northern California (CA), USA, to determine the effect of stand density regimes on stand productivity and mortality. We found that periodic annual increment (PAI) of diameter, basal area (BA), volume, and aboveground dry mass were significantly related to stand density index (SDI) and stand age at start of the period; the quadratic trends varied among sites. Precipitation departure from the normal for each period explained a significant amount of residual variation in all PAI variables except diameter. BA production did not change significantly as SDI exceeded 270 trees·ha−1 at the OR sites and 320 trees·ha−1 at the CA site. Stand productivity was the highest at Elliot Ranch (CA) and the least at Blue Mountains (OR). A similar trend held in growth efficiency under lower stand densities (SDI < 600). Most of the mortality was caused by Dendroctonus bark beetles in stands that exceeded SDI of 500 trees·ha−1. Limiting SDI was about 900 trees·ha−1, although plots at Elliot Ranch reached much higher than that. The results demonstrate that silvicultural control of stand density can be a powerful tool for reducing bark beetle caused mortality without sacrificing stand productivity.

A comparison of the growth basal area stocking level curve to a number of curves developed from south central Oregon tree data

1986 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 508-512
Author(s):  
William E. Hopkins
Keyword(s):  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Diameter Growth ◽  
The West ◽  
South Central ◽  
White Fir ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Tree Data ◽  
Single Regression

A single regression supporting the growth basal area concept was compared with regressions developed from various south central Oregon coniferous trees. Growth basal area is the basal area at which dominant trees grow 1 in. (25 mm) in diameter per decade referenced at age 100 years. Regressions developed from ponderosa pine (Pinusponderosa Laws.) and lodgepole pine (Pinuscontorta Dougl.) data were significantly different from the single published regression. White fir (Abiesconcolor Gord. & Glend.) and Shasta red fir (Abiesmagnifica var. shastensis Lemm.) data also proved to be significantly different. Douglas-fir (Pseudotsugamenziesii (Mirb.) Franco) data indicated no significant difference when compared with the published growth basal area curve. Therefore, application of the published growth basal area curve to stands found in south central Oregon would be considerably less precise than those curves developed from tree data collected in south central Oregon. Since tree stockability and diameter growth react to both edaphic and climatic conditions, caution is extended to users in other parts of the west.

Short-Term Impacts of Thinning Ponderosa Pine on Pandora Moth Densities, Pupal Weights, and Phenology

1995 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 91-94
Author(s):  
Darrell W. Ross
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Stand Density ◽  
Adult Emergence ◽  
Adult Density ◽  
Egg Hatch ◽  
Second Growth ◽  
Insect Phenology ◽  
Foliage Weight

Abstract Second-growth ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) stands with outbreak populations of the pandora moth (Coloradia pandora) were thinned from below removing about half of the basal area. Thinning had no effect on pandora moth pupal density or weight, or emerging adult density in the following generation. However, adult emergence and egg hatch occurred 7-10 days earlier in thinned plots compared with unthinned plots. Egg and larval densities on a foliage weight basis were not significantly different between thinned and unthinned plots. Thinning stands infested with pandora moth will not significantly affect the course of an outbreak for at least one generation. Timing of direct controls for the pandora moth should consider the effect of stand density on insect phenology. West. J. Appl. For. 10(3):91-94.

FEEDING AND BORING BEHAVIOR OF THE BARK BEETLE IPS PARACONFUSUS (COLEOPTERA: SCOLYTIDAE) ON THE BARK OF A HOST AND NON-HOST TREE SPECIES

1980 ◽  
Vol 112 (8) ◽  
pp. 797-809 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. S. Elkinton ◽  
D. L. Wood
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Host Species ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Ips Paraconfusus ◽  
Outer Bark ◽  
White Fir ◽  
Host Tree Species ◽  
Petri Dishes

AbstractMale Ips paraconfusus selected a host, ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), over a non-host, white fir (Abies concolor), only after the beetles had bored through the outer bark and into the phloem. Males, when given a choice between bark discs of these tree species in petri dishes, bored readily through the outer bark of either species. However, the beetles penetrated no more than 1 mm into the phloem of white fir, but they bored extensively in the phloem of ponderosa pine. The beetle’s preference for the pine over fir phloem was apparent with intact samples of phloem with the outer bark removed and with ground phloem. No preferences were apparent for the ground or intact pine or fir outer bark, with the phloem removed. The beetles bored preferentially in fissured as opposed to smooth outer bark of either tree. Beetles did not feed in the outer bark but did feed in the phloem of either species. In field experiments beetles attracted to logs of pine and fir bored through the outer bark of each species in nearly equal numbers. In white fir they re-emerged and departed soon after penetration of the phloem, whereas in ponderosa pine they continued excavation of tunnels in the phloem. In contrast, few beetles penetrated even the outer back of incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens), another non-host species.

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.

scholarly journals Twenty-Five-Year Growth and Mortality of Planted Ponderosa Pine Repeatedly Thinned to Different Stand Densities in Northern California

1997 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 122-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
William W. Oliver
Keyword(s):  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Bark Beetles ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Stand Density ◽  
Northern California ◽  
Winter Storms ◽  
Randomized Design ◽  
Lower Site

Abstract A 20 yr old ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa var. ponderosa) plantation on a productive site on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada in northern California was thinned four times over a 25 yr period. Stand densities tested were Stand Density Indexes (SDI) of 73, 128, 183, 238, and 293 (equivalent to 40,70,100,130, and 160 ft2/ac of basal area), replicated three times in a randomized design. Growth was analyzed for each of five 5 yr periods. Periodic annual increments (PAI) of diameter, net basal area, and net total volume differed significantly among periods and, in the earlier periods, among stocking levels. Mortality from winter storms and bark beetles was largely confined to the higher stand densities and in periods 3 and 4 caused PAIs of net basal area and net total volume to decline below that of lower densities. The sensitivity of mortality to stand density suggests a thinning target of SDI 183 (about 100 ft²/ac of basal area) for similar stands—no higher than that recommended for eastside stands of much lower site productivity. This sensitivity coupled with rapid growth suggests that multiple thinnings will be necessary in similar stands to maintain healthy, vigorous trees. West. J. Appl. For. 12(4):122-130.

scholarly journals Mortality Associated with a Bark Beetle Outbreak in Dwarf Mistletoe-Infested Ponderosa Pine Stands in Arizona

2008 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shawn Kenaley ◽  
Robert Mathiasen ◽  
E. James Harner
Keyword(s):  
Bark Beetle ◽  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Bark Beetles ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
Dwarf Mistletoe ◽  
Northern Arizona ◽  
Stand Attributes ◽  
Study Sites

Abstract Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Douglas ex C. Lawson var. scopulorum Engelm.) mortality was evaluated from a 2002 bark beetle outbreak in areas infested with southwestern dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium vaginatum [Willd.] Presl subsp. cryptopodum [Engelm.] Hawksw. & Wiens) in a total of nine study sites in northern Arizona. Ponderosa pine mortality attributable to bark beetles (Ips and Dendroctonus spp., Scolytidae) was systematically sampled, and stand attributes, such as basal area, tree density, dwarf mistletoe severity, and site indices were recorded. Ponderosa pine mortality was predominately attributed to Ips spp. Although the prolonged drought likely was the inciting factor responsible for the Ips spp. outbreak, results suggested a strong relationship between ponderosa pine mortality and the interaction between crown class and dwarf mistletoe rating class. Ponderosa pines severely infected with dwarf mistletoe and in the intermediate crown class are at the greatest risk of Ips spp. attack during outbreak years in northern Arizona.

scholarly journals Estimation of Crown Cover in Interior Ponderosa Pine Stands: Effects of Thinning and Prescribed Fire

2005 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 240-246
Author(s):  
Nicholas Vaughn ◽  
Martin W. Ritchie
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Detectable Effect ◽  
Crown Cover ◽  
Pine Stands ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Stand Basal Area

Abstract We evaluated the relationship between crown cover measured with a vertical sight tube and stand basal area per acre in treated (thinned, burned, and thinned and burned) and untreated interior ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa P. & C. Lawson) stands in northeastern California. Crown cover was significantly related to basal area at the plot level and stand level. In addition, the relationship was not affected by two extremely different thinning regimes. However, the predicted crown cover was generally lower, for a given level of basal area, in a recently thinned stand than in a stand that had not been recently thinned. Prescribed fire had no detectable effect on the relationship. The maximum measured value of stand level crown cover in untreated stands in this study was about 60 percent. West. J. Appl. For. 20(4): 240–246.

Vegetation responses to stand structure and prescribed fire in an interior ponderosa pine ecosystemThis article is one of a selection of papers from the Special Forum on Ecological Studies in Interior Ponderosa Pine — First Findings from Blacks Mountain Interdisciplinary Research.

2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 909-918 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianwei Zhang ◽  
Martin W. Ritchie ◽  
William W. Oliver
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Stand Structure ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Stand Density ◽  
Structural Diversity ◽  
Ponderosa Pine Forest ◽  
Selection Of

A large-scale interior ponderosa pine ( Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex P. & C. Laws.) study was conducted at the Blacks Mountain Experimental Forest in northeastern California. The primary purpose of the study was to determine the influence of structural diversity on the dynamics of interior pine forests at the landscape scale. High structural diversity (HiD) and low structural diversity (LoD) treatments were created with mechanical thinning on 12 main plots. Each plot was then split in half with one-half treated with prescribed fire. During the 5 year period after the treatments, the LoD treatments showed slightly higher periodic annual increments for basal area (BA) and significantly higher diameter increments than did the HiD treatments, although HiD carried twice as much BA as LoD did immediately after the treatments. Prescribed fire did not affect growth, but killed and (or) weakened some trees. No interaction between treatments was found for any variable. Stand density was reduced from the stands before treatments, but species composition did not change. Old dominant trees still grew and large snags were stable during the 5 year period. Treatments had minor impacts on shrub cover and numbers. These results suggest that ponderosa pine forest can be silviculturally treated to improve stand growth and health without sacrificing understory shrub diversity.

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