scholarly journals Influence of Stand Thinning on Ice Storm Injury in Maine Hardwood Stands

2005 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 262-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie L. Morris ◽  
William D. Ostrofsky

Abstract In January 1998, a severe ice storm struck the northeastern United States, causing widespread injury and, in some areas, substantial damage to forest stands. In Maine, hardwood species were most severely damaged. Landowners have been concerned that thinned stands are more susceptible to ice injury than their unthinned counterparts. The objectives of this study were to investigate injury and recovery from the ice storm in recently thinned (within 5 years) and unthinned hardwood stands. Four field sites were chosen, and individuals in both thinned and unthinned areas were measured to determine damage and recovery values. Species examined included white ash (Fraxinus americana L.), American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.), red oak Quercus rubra L.), paper birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.), and red maple (Acer rubrum L.). Damage variables measured included pre- and poststorm crown class, percent crown loss, and number and size of broken branches. Recovery variables included transparency rating, number and location of sprouts, and cambial electrical resistance readings for each individual. Results indicate that thinned stands did not suffer the effects of the 1998 ice storm greater than the unthinned stands, for all stands combined. However, some differences at individual sites were detected. We suggest that landowners should not be overly concerned with continuing to thin their hardwood stands. A thinned stand is not necessarily at greater risk for ice injury. In addition, the thinning may actually accelerate the recovery process by creating individuals that are more vigorous than their unthinned counterparts. Heavily thinned stands, however, may be at a greater risk to ice injury.North. J. Appl. For. 22(4):262–267.

The Auk ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 117 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurie S. Eberhardt

Abstract Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers (Sphyrapicus varius) obtain phloem sap from clusters of holes that they peck in living trees. I examined trees that sapsuckers used for sap extraction in northern Michigan and tested several hypotheses to explain why they choose specific trees for attack and why they cluster their holes in one place on the bole of each of these focal trees. Sapsuckers preferentially attacked individuals of paper birch (Betula papyrifera), red maple (Acer rubrum), juneberry (Amelanchier sp.) and bigtooth aspen (Populus grandidentata). They made clusters of sap holes an average of 7.13 m from the ground and within 1 m of a live branch; most clusters were located above old holes or other wounds from previous years. Each new sap incision through the bark to the phloem stream was made above a previous one and was enlarged for an average of 3.1 days before being abandoned for a new, higher hole. The resulting long vertical chains of holes were made alongside others to form tight clusters of holes at a single spot on the tree. Sapsuckers did not select trees for sap extraction based on location relative to nesting sites or on microclimate conditions of water availability and tree density. Individual trees used for sap extraction did not have thinner bark, more moisture in bark samples, or larger crowns, but they did score lower in an index of overall tree health. Experimental evidence suggested that sapsuckers cluster their holes to induce the accumulation of sap in bark that they will attack for future sap extraction. Thus, sapsuckers appear to overcome some of the difficulties in obtaining phloem sap by choosing specific species and individuals, clustering sap holes above previous wounds, and possibly by farming their resource throughout the season by girdling the tree's phloem stream with each successive sap incision. I attempted to duplicate the wounding techniques and patterns of wounding of sapsuckers but was unable to induce sap flow from the same or similar trees in the area.


1985 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 218-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Ouellet

Six commercial species were sampled throughout Quebec and prediction equations of ovendry masses for the total above-ground tree and its components white cedar (Thuya occidentalis L.) and eastern hemlock(Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carr.). The deciduous species are: red maple (Acer rubrum L.), white ash (Fraxinus americana L.), black ash (Fraxinus nigra Marsh.), and beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.). The components expressed in ovendry masses are: the total tree, the stem, the merchantable stem, the wood and bark of the merchantable stem, and the crown. A nonlinear model is used with the diameter at breast height and the total height as predictors. Key words: Biomass, prediction equations, eastern white cedar, eastern hemlock, red maple white ash, black ash, beech.


1990 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ron E. Wall

Abstract Cultures of the fungus Chondrostereum purpureum (Fr.)Pouzar were applied to cut surfaces of hardwood stumps immediately after the trees were felled in late spring and summer and the stumps monitored for fungus infection and adventitious sprouting during the ensuing 2 years. Hardwood species inoculated were red maple, sugar maple, yellow birch, paper birch, pin cherry, trembling aspen, and beech. The fungus was applied as wheat bran cultures in a mineral oil slurry or by inverting petri dish cultures on the stump. All treatments resulted in development of sporophores of the fungus on the stump within 2 years and a concomitant reduction, as compared to the uninoculated controls, of the number of stump sprouts. The speed of stump invasion by the fungus and reduction of sprouting varied both among and within species. The feasibility of using this fungus as a biological control of regrowth after stand cleaning is discussed. North. J. Appl. For. 7(1):17-19, March 1990.


1986 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 69-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Laurane Stout

Abstract Planting of northern hardwood species interests forest landowners and managers who wish to continue growing pure or nearly pure stands of high-value species, enhance old-field conversion to preferred species, or reforest areas where natural regeneration has failed. Little data on planted hardwoods can be found, however. This paper reports on 22 years of growth of a northern hardwood plantation established in 1961 containing red maple, black cherry, sugar maple, and white ash. The data show that plantings of these species can succeed on good sites with weed control over the first few years, protection from animal predators, and close initial spacing. North. J. Appl. For. 3:69-72, June 1986.


2003 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 325-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin T Smith ◽  
Walter C Shortle

Ice storms and resulting injury to tree crowns occur frequently in North America. Reaction of land managers to injury caused by the regional ice storm of January 1998 had the potential to accelerate the harvesting of northern hardwoods due to concern about the future loss of wood production by injured trees. To assess the effect of this storm on radial stem growth, increment cores were collected from northern hardwood trees categorized by crown injury classes. For a total of 347 surviving canopy dominant and subdominant trees, a radial growth index was calculated (mean annual increment for 1998–2000 divided by the mean annual increment for 1995–1997). Sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.), yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britt.), white ash (Fraxinus americana L.), and red maple (Acer rubrum L.) categorized in injury class A (crown loss of less than one-half) had mean growth index values of approximately 1.0, indicating no loss of mean radial growth after 3 years. For injury class B (crown loss of one-half to three-quarters) and class C (crown loss greater than three-quarters), growth index values significantly decreased for sugar maple, yellow birch, and red maple. For white ash, growth index values of classes B and C were not significantly different from those of class A trees. Growth index values of A. saccharum and A. rubrum in injury class C were the lowest of those measured. These results indicated that the severity of growth loss due to crown injury depends on tree species and crown replacement as well as the extent of crown loss.


2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (11) ◽  
pp. 1215-1227
Author(s):  
Don C. Radcliffe ◽  
Stephen N. Matthews ◽  
David M. Hix

Shade-tolerant mesophytic tree species tend to dominate the understories of present-day oak–hickory and mixed-hardwood forests in the eastern United States. We quantified the sapling density associations with abiotic and biotic variables for three important mesophytic species: red maple (Acer rubrum L.), sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.), and American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) in southeastern Ohio. In this study, we sampled 165 permanent plots in oak-dominated, topographically diverse, mature (>90 years old), second-growth forests following a time span of 21–25 years (1993–1995 and 2016–2018) between samples on the Athens and Marietta units of the Wayne National Forest. Our models showed that sugar maple was strongly associated with high pH soils and red maple was strongly associated with low pH soils. Additionally, red maple was associated with upper slope positions and older stands, while American beech was associated with lower slopes, northeasterly aspects, and northeast-facing upper slopes. Basal area of competing species, solum depth, and management unit were not significantly related to sapling density for our focal species. American beech sapling density doubled between the two sampling periods, while densities of both maple species declined by half. Our results will help scientists and managers by providing insight into potential future composition of currently oak-dominated forests in areas without active management intervention.


2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 157-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Fast ◽  
Mark J. Ducey

Abstract Height-diameter equations are important in modeling forest structure and yield. Twenty-seven height-diameter equations were evaluated for eight tree species occurring in the northern hardwood forest of New Hampshire using permanent plot data from the Bartlett Experimental Forest. Selected models with associated coefficients are presented for American beech, eastern hemlock, paper birch, red maple, red spruce, sugar maple, white ash, yellow birch, and all 16 species combined.


2007 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 957-965 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin T. Smith ◽  
Walter C. Shortle ◽  
Jody Jellison ◽  
Jon Connolly ◽  
Jonathan Schilling

The decay of coarse woody debris is a key component in the formation of forest soil and in the biogeochemical cycles of Ca and Mg. We tracked changes in density and concentration of Ca and Mg in sapwood of red maple ( Acer rubrum L.), red spruce ( Picea rubens Sarg.), paper birch ( Betula papyrifera Marsh.), and eastern hemlock ( Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carr.) in Maine and New Hampshire. We repeatedly sampled 10 logs of each combination of tree species and location at the time of felling and at 2-year intervals for 6 years (birch and hemlock) or 8 years (spruce and maple). We found that density loss was essentially linear for the time period investigated, with birch and maple sapwood decaying at faster rates than spruce and hemlock. Repeated-measures analysis and regression modeling of log-transformed concentrations indicated a significant accumulation of Ca for sapwood of all tree species at both locations (30%–90% increase after 6–8 years of ground contact). Regression estimates of Mg concentration in spruce and maple declined about 20% during the 8 years of ground contact. There was no significant trend for Mg concentration in birch and hemlock. Variation in decay rates and trends in Ca and Mg concentration may be due to differences in sapwood quality, the community of wood decay fungi and associated organisms, or to abiotic conditions.


1999 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd E Ristau ◽  
Stephen B Horsley

Pin cherry (Prunus pensylvanica L.) develops an early height advantage over associated species. Data from three long-term studies, extending up to 70 years after complete overstory removal, were used to evaluate the effects of pin cherry density on associates. Survival of seedling-origin stems of black cherry (Prunus serotina Ehrh.), red maple (Acer rubrum L.), and sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) at age 15 decreased as the density of pin cherry >1.5 m tall at age 3 increased. The regression of pin cherry with black cherry was particularly strong (R2 = 0.632). Height of the tallest black cherry and white ash (Fraxinus americana L.) at age 15 also decreased. If the density of pin cherry at age 3 was > 1 stem > 1.5 m tall per 0.0004 ha (high density), the number of black cherry fell below full stocking at age 15. When pin cherry occurred in high density, it lived longer than when it occurred at low density (< 1 stem > 1.5 m tall per 0.0004 ha). High pin cherry density early in stand development delayed the time when shade-intolerant and shade-intermediate species reached a stable proportion of the total basal area. In the long term, pin cherry reduced stand diameter and volume growth, particularly of black cherry.


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