首页|Ten-year Douglas-fir regeneration and stand productivity differ among contrasting silvicultural regimes in western Washington, USA

Ten-year Douglas-fir regeneration and stand productivity differ among contrasting silvicultural regimes in western Washington, USA

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In the Pacific Northwestern USA, concerns regarding impacts of forest harvesting on visual quality, wildlife habitat, and carbon management have prompted evaluations of alternative silvicultural regimes for coast Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii). Research was initiated in 1998 near Olympia WA USA to conduct long-term comparisons among six silvicultural regimes: clearcut (harvest all trees), two age (harvest all except 38 mature trees ha(-1)), patches (harvest 20% of the area in 0.6-2.0 ha tracts), groups (harvest 20% of the area in 0.1-0.5 ha tracts), thinning (reduce stand density to 45% of the biological maximum for Douglas-fir), and a non-treated control. Harvested areas in the first four regimes were planted with Douglas-fir seedlings. This report focuses on tree regeneration and stand productivity during the first decade of the study. Fifth year height of planted Douglas-fir was greater in the clearcut regime (1.8 m) than in the patches and groups regimes (1.1-1.2 m). Fifth year tree regeneration in the clearcut and two-age regimes was dominated by Douglas-fir (80-86% of seedlings), but regeneration in the patches and groups regimes was composed of a mixture of conifer and hardwood species. Ten-year periodic annual increment (PAI) in Douglas-fir ingrowth volume was greater in the clearcut regime (1.4 m(3) ha(-1) yr(1)) than in the control (0.1 m3 ha(-1) yr(1)), whereas ingrowth volume PAI of other conifer species was greater in the two-age regime (0.4 m3 ha(-1) yr(-1)) than in the control (0.0 m3 ha(-1) yr(-1)). Tree regeneration responses indicated increasing abundance of shade tolerant species in the non-clearcut regimes, especially western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla). Fifth year cover of the vine, California blackberry (Rubus ursinus), in the clearcut regime (21%) was over four times that in the control (5%). Ground disturbance in the clearcut regime reduced 5th-year height of the shrubs, salal (Gaultheria shallon) and red huckleberry (Vaccinium parvifolium), by 40-50% compared to the control. Ten-year volume PAI of Douglas-fir was linearly related to post-harvest stand basal area (r2 = 0.94), and the relationship did not vary significantly among the three replicate sites. During the first decade of the study, Douglas-fir regeneration and stand productivity differed among silvicultural regimes because of post-harvest variation in stand edge competition, species composition of tree seedlings and ingrowth, and residual stand density.

Pseudotsuga menziesiiSilvicultural systemsAdvance regenerationStand edge competitionStand growth: density relationshipGROWTHFORESTOVERSTORYSEEDLINGSSURVIVALDENSITYOREGONDIVERSITYHEMLOCKYIELD

Harrington, Timothy B. B.、Peter, David H. H.、Marshall, David D.、DeBell, Dean S.

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USDA Forest Serv

Weyerhaeuser NR Co

2022

Forest Ecology and Management

Forest Ecology and Management

EISCI
ISSN:0378-1127
年,卷(期):2022.510
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