Life Sciences Commons^™

A Silvicultural Approach To Increase Drought Resistance And Resilience In Longleaf Pine, Kyle R. Dues

Theses and Dissertations

Droughts are a common disturbance experienced by forest systems across the southeastern United States and are expected to increase in frequency in the near future. Few empirical studies have evaluated the response of individual tree resistance and resilience following silvicultural treatment in longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.). This study evaluates the differences in drought responses between two forests during three different periods. The first period evaluated pretreatment (2000) conditions, while the second (2006), and third (2011) compared conditions after the implementation of five silvicultural treatments. The main findings are that, as additional basal area is removed, both individual tree …

Maximum Size-Density Relationships In Mixed-Species And Monospecific Stands Of The Southeastern United States, Maxwell Robert Schrimpf

Theses and Dissertations

Maximum size-density relationships (MSDR) are used to quantify differences across sites in the number of trees of a given size and species that can be supported per hectare. These relationships are important to managers who are trying to maximize basal area and wood volume. In my study, I examined MSDR across Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi using US Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) data. I determined the impact of species-specific, specific gravity, functional traits, and environmental factors on MSDR using a quantile regression approach. Overall, I found that climatic factors had the greatest influence on MSDR, and that …

Quantitative Silviculture Of Northern Conifers, David G. Ray

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Quantitative tools used to guide the management of important northern conifer species require updating and refinement to address changes in the contemporary resource and evolving objectives of ownership. This work builds on an extensive body of knowledge about stand density management and innovates some new approaches. In sum, the three chapters presented herein: 1) seek to strengthen and more fully articulate arguments for adopting relative density as a primary metric of stand density assessment, 2) quantify minimum stand densities to achieve full site occupancy and argue for more parity with treatment of maximum stand density, and 3) present an empirically …

Novel Silviculture Practices For Non-Industrial Private Forest Landowners, Darcey Alyce Collins

Theses and Dissertations

Many landowners in the southeastern United States have invested in southern yellow pine plantations and managed them using traditional management schemes. However, non-industrial private forest landowners often have goals and challenges that make traditional management less desirable or possible. This thesis contains two projects that offer potential solutions for these landowners. The first project is a management option for landowners with small parcels that wish to manage pine plantations and proposes low-density management paired with crown lifting for the production of saw logs without commercial thinning entries. The second proposes a method for incorporating mixed-species management into already existing plantations. …

Influence Of Strip Clearcuts, Deer Exclusion And Herbicide On Initial Sapling Recruitment In Northern Hardwood Forests, Stefan Hupperts, Christopher R. Webster, Robert Froese, Brandon Bal, Yvette L. Dickinson

Michigan Tech Publications

Sapling recruitment in hardwood forests is often suppressed by overstory shade, interspecific competition, and browsing pressure from white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus Zimmerman). In some northern hardwood stands, these three interacting factors may cause persistent recruitment failure of the dominant canopy species, sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.), into the sapling size class. In this study, we compared initial (two-year) sugar maple and hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana ((Mill.) K. Koch) seedling and sapling recruitment in strip clearcuts to strip selection cuts, with combinations of herbicide and deer exclosures, in a northern hardwood forest with limited sugar maple sapling recruitment. We found that sugar …

Growing Space Management In Boreal Mixedwood Forests: 22 Year Results, Richard Kabzems, George Harper, Che Elkin

Aspen Bibliography

Boreal mixed forests of trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) and white spruce (Picea glauca) can provide higher outputs of many ecosystem goods and services, combined with resilience for changing environmental conditions. In this study, we examine the growth of white spruce and aspen over a range of stand compositions created by spot and broadcast treatments of broadleaves using manual and chemical means, aspen spacing, and untreated control. Twenty-two growing seasons postharvest, treatment responses created a range of broadleaf densities and spatial arrangements, reflected in significant differences in heights and diameters of the spruce mixedwood component. At this …

Short- And Long-Term Impacts Of Forest Management In Response To The Invasive Emerald Ash Borer In New England Forests, Hanusia Higgins

Graduate College Dissertations and Theses

As non-native forest pests disperse across the United States, the emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis (EAB), has emerged as one of the most costly and destructive invaders. In response to EAB, forest management practices, including pre-salvage logging, "phloem reduction" (large ash removal), and strategies to improve future ash regeneration, have been implemented to meet economic, ecological, cultural, and safety objectives. Although many studies have quantified the impacts of EAB on mortality of ash trees (Fraxinus spp.), less is known about the short- and long-term ecological impacts of forest management in response to this pest. In summer 2020, we measured forest …

Effects Of Dissimilar Silvicultural Techniques On Small Mammal Communities In Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Breanna R. Gusick

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Small mammal populations, and predators reliant upon them as food resources, are often challenged by conflicting objectives of timber production and maintenance of quality habitat. With over 70% of the landscape forested, and nearly one-third of the land privately owned, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (UP) is a matrix of independent management strategies. To assess the effects of various silvicultural regeneration methods on small mammal populations in the Upper Peninsula, we trapped small mammals in experimental silviculture plots, whereby treatments varied by regeneration method (amount of residual canopy cover) and site preparation (i.e., control, tip-up, and scarification), and deer exclosures. We used …

Improved Forest Management As A Natural Climate Solution: A Review, Lilli Kaarakka, Meredith Cornett, Grant Domke, Todd A. Ontl, Laura E. Dee

Michigan Tech Publications

Natural climate solutions (NCS), a set of land management, conservation and restoration practices aimed at mitigating climate change, have been introduced as cost-effective strategies to increase carbon (C) sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems. Improved forest management (IFM) has been identified as one NCS for working forests with substantial climate change mitigation potential. However, there is a disconnect between the policy and carbon markets context and the scientific evidence for verifiable C benefits. Further, forest soil C—the largest forest C pool—has largely been excluded from current forest management guidelines and has not been included in the IFM discourse. Herein, we assess the …

Evaluating Long-Term Growth And Yield In Upper Great Lakes Region Northern Hardwoods Cutting Trials, Maeve Draper

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Common partial cutting management methods in Lake States hardwoods include both selection management and diameter-limit cuttings. Single-tree selection in particular is a widely prescribed silvicultural system in northern hardwoods and has an established history of use throughout the entire range of the forest type. Using data from two historic silvicultural studies, long-term comparison of single-tree selection methods and other partial cutting practices in northern hardwoods reveals that single-tree selection to higher residual basal areas, as widely applied in Great Lakes northern hardwood forests, is inferior using financial and volume yield criteria. Alternatives that remove more of the larger trees appear …

Regeneration Patterns In Silvicultural Openings Of Western Great Lakes Northern Hardwood Forests 15-24 Years Post-Harvest, Matthew S. Vandermolen

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

In managed northern hardwood forests, successful forest regeneration can depend on the application of silvicultural methods tailored to stand-specific recruitment limitations. The objective of this research is to develop a deeper understanding of the factors that interfere with tree regeneration at three long-term, well-replicated experimental canopy gap studies in the upper Great Lakes region, USA. Chapter 2 examines regeneration at a hemlock canopy gap study 18 years post-harvest that included deer exclosures and a gradient of gap sizes. Chapter 3 investigates the spatial patterns of low-density regeneration along gradients of gap size and different levels of legacy-tree retention at two …

Effects Of Repeated Intensive Harvesting Practices, Prescribed Burning, And Browsing On Northern Hardwood Forest Plant Communities, Michaela Kuhn

Honors College

When extracting large volumes of biomass from our nation’s forests, it is imperative to consider the sustainability of these intensive harvesting practices on future forests and timber products, and wildlife habitat and populations. The goal of this study was to assess if plant density and ecological integrity are affected by strip-cut harvesting silvicultural practices, prescribed burning on slash left on site and slash residue left unburned, and mammalian browse. A summer 2019 inventory of plant species throughout Compartment 33 on the Penobscot Experimental Forest, a management unit that recently was harvested for the second time in the past 55years, which …

Plant Community Response To Novel Silvicultural Treatments In Great Lakes Northern Hardwoods, Stefan F. Hupperts

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The objective of this dissertation is to assess plant community response across a range of silvicultural disturbances and test ecological hypotheses to better inform ecologists and forest managers. To provide context for the utility of revising silvicultural systems, I review natural disturbance regimes and historical practices that have shaped contemporary Great Lakes northern hardwood forests (Chapter 2). Further, I identify important ways to expand the silvicultural toolbox and better emulate natural disturbance regimes. Building on this theoretical underpinning, I investigate the initial regeneration and plant community response to two novel silvicultural experiments: the Northern Hardwood Experiment for Enhancing Diversity (NHSEED) …

Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga Cerulea) And Associated Species Response To Operational Silviculture In The Central Appalachian Region, Gretchen Emily Nareff

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

In this study, I assessed the response of Cerulean Warblers (Setophaga cerulea) and 5 additional songbird species to timber harvests prescribed through operational silviculture. The research took place in relatively contiguous mature deciduous forests in 4 states in the central Appalachian region—Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia, USA.

For the first part of the study, I collected Cerulean Warbler abundance and territory data through point counts and territory mapping, respectively. I used the point count data to model Cerulean Warbler abundance pre- and post-harvest at 5 study areas (Kentucky [n=1], Virginia [n=2], West Virginia [n=2]) and post-harvest at …

Converting Coast Redwood/Douglas-Fir Forests To Multiaged Management: Residual Stand Damage, Tree Growth, And Regeneration, Robert Thomas Muma

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

There is increased interest in multiaged management as a silvicultural and restoration tool in redwood forests of California. The effect of varying residual densities and spatial arrangements on residual stand damage, tree growth and regeneration was studied in a multicohort silviculture experiment on Jackson Demonstration State Forest. Four treatments varying in residual stand density or spatial arrangement were replicated at four sites. The experiment provided 4-year periodic growth measurements of residual trees and annual measurements of redwood and tanoak sprout height increments. Residual trees were more likely to sustain bole scarring when retained at higher densities. Crown damage was more …

Silviculture Of Central And Southern Rocky Mountain Forests : A Summary Of The Status Of Our Knowledge By Timber Types, Robert R. Alexander

Robert Alexander

No abstract provided.

Building Resistance And Resilience: Regeneration Should Not Be Left To Chance, James N. Long, Marcella A. Windmuller-Campione, R. Justin Derose

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Contemporary forest planning has tasked managers with developing goals associated with resistance and resilience. In practice, silviculturists use forest structure and tree species composition to characterize goals and desired future conditions, write prescriptions, and monitor outcomes associated with resistance and resilience. Although rarely discussed in the exploding literature relating to forest resistance and resilience, silvicultural regeneration methods are important and underutilized tools to meet these goals. We propose alternative silvicultural systems for building resistance and resilience to two common large-scale bark beetle disturbance agents in the Intermountain West, United States: mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) and spruce beetle (Dendroctonus …

Managing For Multiple Objectives In Southwestern Forests: Evaluating The Trade-Offs Between Enhancing Mexican Spotted Owl Nest Habitat And Mitigating Potential Crown Fire, Daniel C. Deane Mckenna

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA), the United States’ forest census, measured sixty-six Mexican spotted owl nest stands in order gain insight into the structure and composition of the nest habitat of this threatened species. I used these data, along with the greater FIA database and the Forest Vegetation Simulator to explore questions surrounding the management of Mexican spotted owl habitat, specifically how to balance the objective of sustaining and enhancing nest habitat in face of increasing forest fire size and severity in the Southwest. My research consisted of three studies. The first study quantified the structure and composition of …

Assessing Growth, Yield, And Carbon Dynamics In Upper Great Lakes Jack Pine And Hybrid Poplar Managed For Biomass Production, Ashlee Baker Lehner

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Woody biomass for use as coal-replacing bioenergy has garnered increasing interest as federal and local governments require larger portions of energy production to come from renewable sources. Woody biomass can be produced from dedicated plantations grown and harvested solely for biomass production, or non-dedicated sources such as harvest residues from traditional timber operations. The creation of site index curves for hybrid poplar were established from the Michigan Technological University Hybrid Poplar Network in the upper Great Lakes Region. These site index models are to be used for landowners to assess the predicted yield at established plantations, or possibly within spatial …

Gibsonville Healthy Forest Restoration Project: Silviculture Report, Dan Roskopf

Aspen Bibliography

The Forest Service proposes to reduce the risk of wildfire, to protect, restore, and enhance forest ecosystem components (i.e., streams, meadows, aspen areas) in the vicinity of Gibsonville, California. A combination of hazard tree removal, forest health, and fuels reduction treatments are proposed on 1,200 acres of Forest Service system lands. These actions are proposed to be implemented on the Feather River Ranger District of the Plumas National Forest.

Quantifying Effects Of Quaking Aspen Silvicultural Treatments On Aspen Regeneration And Residual Growth, Philip W. Williams

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Many quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) populations are in decline across the western United States, a trend likely driven by ongoing climate change and past management that has led to increased competition with conifers. Restoration of aspen is a management goal potentially achievable through active forest management, but treatment effects on regeneration and residual growth have not been comprehensively studied. This project examined if removal of competing conifers altered aspen regeneration density, ungulate browsing, and residual adult aspen diameter growth using a control-impact study design. Sampling occurred at the Burnt Fork (ten treatments, four controls) and Bandy (seven treatments, four controls) …

Growth Responses Of Genetically Improved Open Pollenated, Full-Sibling, And Clonal Loblolly Pine To The FlexstandTm Silvicultural System, Patrick Ma

All Theses

ABSTRACT Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) is often listed as the most commercially important timber species in the southeastern United States and is subject to genetic improvement via breeding programs to increase sawtimber yield, stem quality, and disease resistance. ArborGen has trademarked the FlexStand^TM Silvicultural System (a method of interplanting rows of genetically improved trees with less expensive biomass trees) as a more economical solution to growing Loblolly pine. Two studies were conducted to in order to assess the FlexStand^TM Silvicultural System. The first study assessed seedling mortality and growth of four different genetic combinations were assessed in the …

Prescribed Fire And Oak Sapling Physiology, Demography And Folivore Damage In An Ozark Woodland, D. Alexander Wait, Doug P. Aubrey

Department of Biology Faculty Publications

Proceedings from the 2014 Central Hardwood Forest Conference in Carbondale, IL. The published proceedings include 27 papers and 47 abstracts pertaining to research conducted on biofuels and bioenergy, forest biometrics, forest ecology and physiology, forest economics, forest health including invasive species, forest soils and hydrology, geographic information systems, harvesting and utilization, silviculture, and wildlife management.

Runoff Of Silvicultural Herbicides Applied Using Best Management Practices, Matthew W. Mcbroom, Jeff Louch, R Scott Beasley, Mingteh Chang, George G. Ice

Faculty Publications

Nine small (2.2 to 2.9 ha) and four large (70 to 135 ha) watersheds in East Texas, USA, were instrumented to compare herbicide runoff under different silvicultural systems with best management practices (BMPs). Two treatments were evaluated: conventional, with clearcutting, aerial herbicide site preparation, and hand-applied banded herbaceous release; and intensive, in which subsoiling, aerial fertilization, and a second-year aerial herbicide application were added. Herbicides were applied as operational tank mixes. The highest imazapyr concentration found in stream water was 39 mg L^‑1 during the first storm after application (23 days after treatment, DAT) and in-stream concentrations …

Studies On Water Resources In Forested East Texas, Matthew W. Mcbroom

Faculty Publications

Intensive silvicultural practices have the potential to negatively impact water resources. The effectiveness of forestry best management practices in minimizing potential water resources impacts should be evaluated. The purpose of this study is to conduct urgently needed research on water quality and quantity problems in forested East Texas.

Silvicultural Considerations For The Reintroduction Of American Chestnut, Castanea Dentata, To The Forests Of The Eastern United States, Cornelia Cooper Wells Pinchot

Doctoral Dissertations

In anticipation of widespread planting of putatively blight-resistant hybrid chestnuts (Castanea spp.), it is critical to understand the silvics and competitive ability of the species. This dissertation examines preliminary growth and survival of several species and genetic crosses of chestnut grown as 1-0 high-quality nursery seedlings and planted in two study sites: Southeastern Kentucky (Daniel Boone National Forest; chapter 2), and Northeastern Connecticut (Yale-Myers Forest; chapter 4). The effects of three silvicultural treatments on the Daniel Boone National Forest (DBNF), and four silvicultural treatments on the Yale-Myers Forest (YM) were evaluated. Furthermore, the effect of initial seedling size on …

Effects Of Different Silvicultural Practices On Wild Turkey Brood Habitat And Regeneration In Upland Hardwoods, John Michael Mccord

Masters Theses

Optimum brood cover for wild turkeys is composed of herbaceous cover <0.5 m tall that conceals poults from predators and allows travel underneath. On tracts of hardwoods where early succession stages and young forest cover are scarce, a lack of understory development can limit turkey populations. Additionally, retaining oak on these sites after logging or habitat enhancement is important to provide future timber value and hard mast. I compared the effects of silvicultural practices (multiple fires [F], shelterwood cutting [S], shelterwood cutting with one fire [SF], retention cutting [R], retention cutting with multiple fires [RF], retention cutting with herbicide application [RH], and retention cutting with herbicide application and multiple fires [RHF]) with controls (C) on wild turkey brood habitat and oak regeneration in upland central hardwood stands. I measured structure and food resources to quantify the quality of wild turkey brood cover. Shelterwood and retention cuts increased photosynthetically active radiation. However, herbaceous, vine, and bramble groundcover did not increase. Woody regeneration was greater following canopy reduction and understory disturbance compared to C. Disturbance (fire or herbicide) was required to maintain vegetation at the ideal height for wild turkey broods. Soft mast production increased after canopy reduction with and without fire. Invertebrate biomass did not increase following any treatment, but availability exceeded the dietary requirements of a wild turkey brood. I also counted stem density of oak and competitor regeneration in response to these treatments. Seedlings <12.7 cm were ephemeral. S and SF had a greater density of oak stems >1.4 m than C and F. However, S and SF also had the greatest density of oak >1.4 m prior to treatment. Canopy reduction increased oak competitors, but prescribed fire reduced competitors. I recommend canopy reduction, followed by repeated low-intensity prescribed fire to maintain low groundcover to enhance brood habitat for wild turkeys in mature closed-canopy upland hardwood stands.

Steps Toward Butternut (Juglans Cinerea L.) Restoration, Sunshine L. Brosi

Doctoral Dissertations

Butternut (Juglans cinerea L.), a lesser-known relative of black walnut (Juglans nigra L.), is a native tree species beneficial for wildlife, valuable for timber, and part of the great diversity of species in the eastern forests of North America. Populations of butternut are being devastated by butternut canker disease, caused by the fungus Sirococcus clavigignenti-juglandacearum (V.M.G. Nair, Kostichka, & Kuntz), which is thought to be introduced to North America. The disease causes multiple branch and stem cankers that eventually girdle trees. Small population sizes, lack of sprouting, and shade intolerance exacerbates the disease and results in permanent losses of butternut …

Can Lessons From The Community Rainforest Reforestation Program In Eastern Australia Be Learned?, Jerome K. Vanclay

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

The Community Rainforest Reforestation Program (1993-2000) was an attempt to create healthy vegetated catchments that maximize wood production, environmental protection and employment in eastern Australia. Despite a AUD10 million outlay, these goals were not fulfilled, because of limited resources and continually changing circumstances (goals, staff, institutions) that hampered the efforts of both researchers and coordinators. Both technical and managerial lessons need to be learned: blanket guidelines are rarely helpful because species, nutrition and silviculture need to be matched to each site; vigour, provenance and nutrition of nursery stock is critical to plantation success; health surveillance should not be overlooked; early …

Growth And Yield Of A Tropical Rain Forest In The Brazilian Amazon 13 Years After Logging, J Nm Silva, J Op De Carvalho, J Do Ca Lopes, B F. De Almeida, D Hm Costa, L C. De Oliveira, Jerome K. Vanclay, J P. Skovsgaard

Professor Jerome K Vanclay

Successive inventories of a silvicultural experiment in terra firme rain forest within the Tapajós National Forest in the Brazilian Amazon are examined to provide guidelines for operational forest management on a sustainable basis. The experiment was logged in 1979 without additional silvicultural treatment, but included protection from further logging and encroachment (‘log and leave’). Thirty-six permanent plots established in 1981 were remeasured in 1987 and 1992. Logging changed the canopy structure and altered the composition of the stand, reducing the number of shade tolerant species and stimulating light demanding species. There was a net increase in stem number and stand …