Water stress and survival of three species of conifer seedlings planted on a high elevation south-facing clear-cut

1987 ◽  
Vol 17 (9) ◽  
pp. 1115-1123 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. J. Livingston ◽  
T. A. Black

Douglas-fir (Pseudotsugamenziesii (Mirb.) Franco), western hemlock (Tsugaheterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.), and Pacific silver fir (Abiesamabilis (Dougl.) Forbes) container-grown 1-0 seedlings were spring planted on a south-facing high elevation clear-cut located on Mount Arrowsmith, Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Treatments, which included inclining seedlings to the southwest, provision of shade cards, irrigation, and irrigation and shade cards combined, were applied to determine whether modification of seedling microclimate would increase survival. Highest survival rates, regardless of treatment, were shown by Douglas-fir. By April 1984, 72 and 82% of untreated Douglas-fir seedlings planted in 1981 and 1982, respectively, survived, whereas survival of treated seedlings ranged from 81 to 95%. The high survival rate in Douglas-fir appeared to be due to their high drought tolerance. The osmotic potential of unirrigated Douglas-fir seedlings declined by over 1.1 MPa during the course of the 1982 growing season in response to decreasing soil water potentials and consequently turgor was maintained in the foliage. Transpiration rates of these seedlings were never less than 50% of those that were irrigated. Western hemlock and Pacific silver fir seedlings exhibited very poor survival, possibly owing to the lack of stress avoidance and tolerance mechanisms. Survival rates of the two species were increased by shade cards and irrigation but never exceeded 64%.


2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (8) ◽  
pp. 1548-1556 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Huggard ◽  
André Arsenault

Consumption of seeds of Douglas-fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) and ponderosa pine ( Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex P. & C. Laws.) was measured in dry Douglas-fir forest at the Opax Mountain Silvicultural Systems site and a nearby burned area as one component of understanding limited natural regeneration in these sites. Seeds were placed in plots surrounded by a physical barrier to invertebrates, enclosed in mesh impermeable to small mammals, covered by litter, or unprotected in clear-cut, partially harvested, uncut, and burned areas and monitored for three several-day sessions in 2 years. Daily survival rates of unprotected seeds of both species were equally low: 0.63 in uncut forest, 0.45 in partially harvested and clear-cut sites, and 0.03 in the burned area. Experimental reductions of coarse woody debris reduced seed predation moderately in patch cuts but not in uncut forest. Litter cover or selective exclosure of ground-dwelling invertebrates reduced seed losses only slightly, whereas small mammal exclosures eliminated most seed loss. Deer mice ( Peromyscus maniculatus Wagner) are likely the most important seed predators. High rates of seed predation in dry Douglas-fir forests likely limit natural regeneration in harvested and burned stands.



1980 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 327-337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert L. Edmonds

Decomposition rates and changes in the nutrient content of needle and leaf litter were examined in Douglas-fir (Pseudotsugamenziesii Mirb. Franco), western hemlock (Tsugaheterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.), Pacific silver fir (Abiesamabilis (Dougl.) Forbes), and red alder (Alnusrubra Bong.) ecosystems in western Washington, U.S.A. Nylon litterbags (1-mm mesh) were placed in the stands in November and December 1974. Bags were collected after 3, 6, 12, and 24 months and weighed, except in the Pacific silver fir stand when bags were collected after 6, 9, 14, and 24 months. Litter was analyzed for C, N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Mn, lignin, and cellulose. Decomposition constants (k values) were determined. Fastest decomposition after 2 years occurred in red alder leaves, followed by Douglas-fir, western hemlock, and Pacific silver fir needles. There were significant differences in weight loss among species after 1 year, but no significant differences were evident after 2 years. Red alder leaves showed rapid weight loss in the 1st year but decomposed little in the 2nd year. Decomposition constants were highly positively correlated with minimum air temperatures and negatively correlated with C:N ratios. Low litter moisture tended to reduce decomposition in summer, particularly in the Pacific silver fir stand. Decomposition proceeded under snow in this ecosystem. The pattern of loss of elements from litterbags after 2 years varied from ecosystem to ecosystem, particularly for N. The following element mobility series resulted for the four ecosystems: red alder (K > Mg > Ca > P > N > Mn), Douglas-fir (K > P > Ca > Mg > Mn > N), western hemlock (K > Ca > Mg > N > Mn > P), and Pacific silver fir (K > Mg > Ca > Mn > P > N).



1987 ◽  
Vol 17 (10) ◽  
pp. 1273-1282 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. J. Livingston ◽  
T. A. Black

Douglas-fir (Pseudotsugamenziessi (Mirb.) Franco), western hemlock (Tsugaheterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.), and Pacific silver fir (Abiesamabalis (Doug.) Forbes) seedlings were planted in the spring as 1-0 container-grown plugs on a south-facing high elevation clear-cut located on Mount Arrowsmith, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and their stomatal responses to environmental and physiological variables were determined over two successive growing seasons. The stomatal responses of all three species to changes in environmental variables and time did not differ over the 2 years nor were there differences in response between seedlings planted a year apart. A simple multiplicative boundary-line model that related seedling stomatal conductance (gs) to measurements of hourly average solar irradiance, air temperature, vapour pressure deficit, and average root zone soil water potential accounted for over 70% of the variability in gs. When the number of hours from sunrise was included as an independent variable, over 85% of the variability in gs could be explained. Daily seedlings transpiration rates on a projected leaf area basis were successfully estimated by summing the product of the calculated average gs and D/(RvT′) where D is the vapour pressure deficit, Rv is the gas constant for water vapour, and T′ is the absolute air temperature.



1990 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 350-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
James K. Agee ◽  
Mark Finney ◽  
Roland De Gouvenain

Forests in the vicinity of Desolation Peak, Washington, are of special ecological interest because of their transitional nature between coastal and interior forest types. The area is west of the Cascade Mountain crest but in the rainshadow of mountains farther to the west. Fire return intervals were hypothesized to be shorter than typical for coastal forest types, such as those dominated by western hemlock and Pacific silver fir, and longer than typical for interior forest types, such as ponderosa pine, owing to the close juxtaposition of these types at Desolation Peak. Seven forest community types were defined, and a 400-year fire history was developed for this 3500-ha area. The average natural fire rotation was 100 years; this varied by a factor of two by century and by topographic aspect. Forest types typical of coastal regions, such as Douglas-fir, – western hemlock and mountain hemlock – Pacific silver fir, had mean fire return intervals (108–137 years) much lower than in other western Washington areas. The most interior forest type, ponderosa pine – Douglas-fir, had a higher mean fire return interval (52 years) than reported for similar forest types east of the Cascades. Historically, fire has created structural and landscape diversity on Desolation Peak and may be an important process in the maintenance of such diversity into the future.



2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Nissim Ben-David ◽  
Evyatar Ben David ◽  
Zvi Winer

We present a theoretical model that enables to predict population distribution according to fertility and survival rates for each age group. Using World Bank data, we estimated the relation between fertility rate of change and survival probabilities. Our findings show that fertility rate of change is reduced in countries with low or medium survival rate of infants. Conversely, it increased for those with a high survival rate of infants. If the survival rate of infants converges to 1, the fertility rate of change converges to zero, moving the country to steady size of population at age 1.  



1982 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 343-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Meyer Schoenberger ◽  
D. A. Perry

In a greenhouse bioassay of soils from the central Oregon Cascades, Douglas-fir (Pseudotsugamenziesii (Mirb.) Franco) seedlings had the most total and ectomycorrhizal root tips when grown in soil from an unburned clear-cut and the least when grown in soil from (i) a 20-year-old plantation that had been clear-cut and burned in the late 1950's and (ii) one old-growth forest. Tip formation was intermediate in soil from a second old-growth forest, a recently burned clear-cut, and a 40-year-old natural burn. Root weights followed the same trend, but top weights did not differ among the various soils. Ectomycorrhizal and total root tips of western hemlock (Tsugaheterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.) were lowest in soils from the plantation and recently burned clear-cut. Unlike Douglas-fir, western hemlock's tip production was not greater in the unburned clear-cut than in the old-growth forest soils. In this species, both top and root weights varied according to soil, with the largest seedlings produced in soil from the unburned clear-cut. With both species, there was a significant interaction between ectomycorrhizal type and soil type. Cenococcumgeophilum Fr. predominated on western hemlock and was reduced in soils from the burned clear-cut and plantation. In comparison with the mean for all soils, ectomycorrhizal types that predominated on Douglas-fir were enhanced in the unburned clear-cut soil and reduced in one old-growth soil, an effect apparently related to litter leachate.



2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 990-1001 ◽  
Author(s):  
David C Shaw ◽  
Jiquan Chen ◽  
Elizabeth A Freeman ◽  
David M Braun

We investigated the distribution and severity of trees infected with western hemlock dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium tsugense (Rosendahl) G.N. Jones subsp. tsugense) in an old-growth Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) – western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.) forest. With the use of Hawksworth six-class dwarf mistletoe rating system, infection status was assessed for 3516 hemlock and true firs ≥5 cm diameter on a 12-ha stem-mapped plot located in the Cascade Mountains of southwest Washington State. Within the plot, 33% of the area had some level of infection and 25% (719) of western hemlocks, 2.2% (12) of Pacific silver fir (Abies amabilis (Dougl.) Forbes), and 29% (2) of noble fir (Abies procera Rehd.) trees were infected. Infected trees are larger than uninfected trees, on average, and within the infected tree population, the severely infected trees averaged larger than lightly infected trees. Abundant dwarf mistletoe in larger trees definitely positions the dwarf mistletoe population for future spread. Ripley's K analysis indicates a negative association between infected and uninfected hemlock trees, confirming that the infected trees form distinct dwarf mistletoe infection centers. The infection centers are actively spreading at their margins, which was confirmed by nearest neighbor analysis. Heavily infected trees had a negative association with uninfected trees, while lightly infected trees had a positive association with uninfected trees.



1988 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 1234-1242 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. J. Livingston ◽  
T. A. Black

Container-grown 1-0 seedlings of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsugamenziesii (Mirb.) Franco), western hemlock (Tsugaheterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.), and Pacific silver fir (Abiesamabilis (Dougl.) Forbes) were spring planted on a south-facing high-elevation clearcut located on Mount Arrowsmith, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and their growth and development was measured over three successive growing seasons. Treatments designed to modify seedling microclimate, including provision of shade cards, irrigation, and irrigation and shade cards combined, had a marked effect on the extent and type of growth in all species. Irrigated seedlings had the largest shoot dry masses and the highest shoot to root dry mass ratios. Shaded seedlings had larger shoots than untreated seedlings, which had the lowest shoot to root dry mass ratios. All seedlings showed a pronounced decline in seasonal growth 1 year after planting. Douglas-fir seedlings exhibited a high degree of drought tolerance; in the driest year there was only a 20% difference in total dry matter production between irrigated and nonirrigated seedlings. Western hemlock and Pacific silver fir seedlings, despite not being drought tolerant, expended water to achieve growth and thereby exposed themselves to desiccation. Measurements of growing-season seedling dry matter production were better related to estimates of growing-season transpiration, obtained by summing the products of seedling leaf area, hourly D/(RvT′), where D is vapour pressure deficit, Rv is the gas constant for water vapour, and T′ is the absolute air temperature, and stomatal conductance derived from a boundary-line analysis model, than to estimates of growing-season average total seedling canopy conductance, i.e., the average of the products of seedling leaf area and stomatal conductance.



2002 ◽  
Vol 134 (6) ◽  
pp. 707-721 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Olszanowski ◽  
M.R. Clayton ◽  
L.M. Humble

AbstractA new oribatid mite (Acari), Camisia abdosensillasp.nov., is described from all instars, based on specimens from British Columbia, Canada. This species occurs on branches and foliose lichens in the canopies of western hemlock, Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg., 1898 (Pinaceae), and Pacific silver fir, Abies amabilis (Dougl. ex Loud.) Dougl. ex J. Forbes, 1939 (Pinaceae), growing in high elevation coastal forests. The most unusual feature of this species is the distinctive structure of the prodorsal trichobothrium in adults; the significantly reduced sensillus is completely enclosed within the bothridium. A resemblance between the structure of this organ and those of the superfamily Crotonioidea appears to have resulted from parallel evolution rather than being evidence of a sister-group relationship. Another species, Camisia islandica Gjelstrup and Solhøy, 1994, is herein recognized as a junior synonym of Camisia solhoeyi Colloff, 1993. A key of the Nearctic species of the genus Camisia is given.



1986 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Virginia H. Dale ◽  
Miles Hemstrom ◽  
Jerry Franklin

A model of forest development has been adapted for the Pacific Northwest. The regeneration, growth, and death of individual trees are tracked for simulated 0.2 ha plots and tree attributes are aggregated to provide stand measures. The model includes the influence of temperature, soil moisture, light tolerance, and competition on tree growth. Long-term simulations for Douglas-fir dominated forests on the western Olympic Peninsula show that the stand is eventually dominated by western hemlock with silver fir being codominant. Even after 1200 years of subsequent stand development, silver fir fails to replace western hemlock indicating that this is a self-replicating and stable community. Fire, windthrows, insect disturbance, and clear-cut logging followed by replanting are incorporated into the model as single-event disturbances to a 500-year-old forest. For those cases where large Douglas-fir survive the disturbance, stand biomass and leaf area patterns are not significantly impacted until the death of the last large Douglas-fir. The projections were all carried out to the time when the forest is dominated by western hemlock and silver fir. At that time, the differential effect of the earlier disturbance is not apparent from the forest composition, biomass, or leaf area patterns except for the insect disturbance. Following the removal of all Douglas-fir by an insect, leaf area fluctuates regularly with a period of 600 years.



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