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Effects Of Different Silvicultural Practices On Wild Turkey Brood Habitat And Regeneration In Upland Hardwoods, John Michael Mccord
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.
Sp676 Oak Shelterwood - A Technique To Improve Oak Regeneration, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service
Sp676 Oak Shelterwood - A Technique To Improve Oak Regeneration, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service
Forestry, Trees, and Timber
The oak shelterwood method has been developed to enhance the regeneration potential of oaks growing on intermediate and high-quality sites. The method involves a welltimed mid-story removal to improve the number and vigor of oak advance regeneration and a subsequent overstory removal to facilitate regeneration of the stand.
Sp675 Managing Oak Decline, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service
Sp675 Managing Oak Decline, The University Of Tennessee Agricultural Extension Service
Forestry, Trees, and Timber
Oak decline is a slow-acting disease complex that involves the interaction of predisposing factors such as climate, site quality and advancing tree age. No single cause is responsible for the decline. Trees that are greater than 70 years of age and that occur on drier sites such as shallow, rocky soils on ridgetops and south- to west-facing upper slopes are most affected. Mortality of rootlets in the upper 12 inches of the soil initiates dieback in severe droughts. Secondary insects and diseases (red oak borers, twolined chestnut borers, armillaria root rot, defoliating insects, hypoxylon cankers) are contributing factors that cause …