Growth of Douglas-fir in Southwestern Oregon after removal of competing vegetation.

Author(s):  
Annabelle E. Jaramillo
2010 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 500-510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy B. Harrington ◽  
Stephen H. Schoenholtz

Although considerable research has focused on the influences of logging debris treatments on soil and forest regeneration responses, few studies have identified whether debris effects are mediated by associated changes in competing vegetation abundance. At sites near Matlock, Washington, and Molalla, Oregon, studies were initiated after timber harvest to quantify the effects of three logging debris treatments (dispersed, piled, or removed) on the development of competing vegetation and planted Douglas-fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco var. menziesii ). Each debris treatment was replicated with initial and annual vegetation control treatments, resulting in high and low vegetation abundances, respectively. This experimental design enabled debris effects on regeneration to be separated into effects mediated by vegetation abundance and those independent of vegetation abundance. Two to three years after treatment, covers of Scotch broom ( Cytisus scoparius (L.) Link) at Matlock and trailing blackberry ( Rubus ursinus Cham. & Schltdl.) at Molalla were over 20% greater where debris was piled than where it was dispersed. Debris effects on vegetation abundance were associated with 30% reductions in the survival of Douglas-fir at Matlock (r2 = 0.62) and the stem diameter at Molalla (r2 = 0.39). Douglas-fir survival and growth did not differ among debris treatments when effects were evaluated independent of vegetation abundance (i.e., with annual vegetation control), suggesting negligible short-term effects of debris manipulation on soil productivity.


2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 1208-1219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas A. Maguire ◽  
Douglas B. Mainwaring ◽  
Robin Rose ◽  
Sean M. Garber ◽  
Eric J. Dinger

A key silvicultural decision in managing young conifer plantations is determining the number and timing of release treatments to control competing vegetation. Three coastal Douglas-fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) plantations were treated under eight alternative herbicide regimes during the first 5 years after planting to test treatment effects on vegetation dynamics and seedling growth. After termination of herbicide treatments, competing vegetation developed at a rate similar to that of check plots, reaching 40%–60% cover in the first growing season and approaching 100% by the third. Recovery of competing vegetation was slightly more rapid with greater number of previous releases. Annual volume growth of seedlings was negatively correlated with current cover of competing vegetation, but competitive effects from previous years were fully accounted for by initial tree size. Under 4 years of release, delaying treatment by 1 year reduced volume attained at the end of 5 years by about 15%. Plots receiving 5 consecutive years of weed control reached the 5 year volume of check plots in only 3.9 years, implying an age shift of 1.1 years. Increasing the number of operational release treatments significantly improved seedling growth in the short term, but long-term growth effects must be monitored to determine the economically optimal regime.


2010 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 254-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Slesak ◽  
Timothy B. Harrington ◽  
Stephen H. Schoenholtz

Experimental treatments of logging-debris retention (0%, 40%, or 80% surface coverage) and competing vegetation control (initial or annual applications) were installed at two sites in the Pacific Northwest following clearcutting Douglas-fir ( Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco var. menziesii) stands to assess short-term effects on tree N acquisition, soil N supply, and total soil N. Vegetation control treatments began in the first year after harvest, and logging-debris manipulations were installed 2 years after harvest. Annual vegetation control increased foliar N concentration and content in most years at both sites, which was associated with higher available soil N and increased soil water content. Logging-debris retention treatments had no detectable effect on any of the foliar variables or soil available N at either site. There were no treatment effects on total soil N at the site with relatively high soil N, but total soil N increased with logging-debris retention when annual vegetation control was applied at the site with a low initial soil N pool. Competing vegetation control is an effective means to increase tree N acquisition in the initial years after planting while maintaining soil N pools critical to soil quality. The effect of logging-debris retention on tree N acquisition appears to be limited during early years of stand development, but increased soil N with heavy debris retention at certain sites may be beneficial to tree growth in later years.


2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 151-156
Author(s):  
Amanda Lindsay ◽  
Paul Oester ◽  
Elizabeth Cole

Abstract Chemical control of competing vegetation with hexazinone is a common and effective silvicultural treatment for ensuring ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Laws.) plantation success on dry sites in the western United States, yet few studies document the effect for more than the first few years after planting. This study, re-evaluated 20 years after planting, followed ponderosa pine growth and survival when hexazinone was applied in broadcast and spot treatments for control of competing vegetation. We continued work from the first 5 years after establishment that identified early differences in ponderosa pine seedling survival and growth with treatment. Examination of 20-year trends indicated that individual tree volume and volume per hectare continued to diverge among treatments. The economic differences among treatments may increase as more surviving, faster-growing trees in the broadcast treatments reach higher-value products sooner. Initial control of competing vegetation increased the likelihood of seedling survival and increased tree size after 20 years. Results pertained to ponderosa pine of the Douglas-fir/spiraea (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca Beissn./Spiraea betulifolia Pall.) and Douglas-fir/common snowberry (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca Beissn./Symphoricarpos albus [L.] S. F. Blake) plant associations in northeastern Oregon, but they should apply to similar sites throughout much of the intermountain West.


2014 ◽  
Vol 78 (S1) ◽  
pp. S146-S151 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erika Knight ◽  
Paul Footen ◽  
Robert Harrison ◽  
Thomas Terry ◽  
Scott Holub

2007 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 795-805 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. G. Mason ◽  
R. W. Rose ◽  
L. S. Rosner

Substitution of potential useable light sum for time in a commonly used mensurational equation resulted in a better fit to data from a complex vegetation management experiment. The experiment involved Douglas-fir ( Pseudotsuga menzeisii (Mirb.) Franco) as a crop species and a variety of competing species. Site occupancy by competing vegetation varied with time because control operations were intermittently either included or excluded from treatments over a period of 4 years. There were four randomized complete blocks of eight competition control treatments. Potentially useable light sum was estimated using measurements of radiation from a meteorological station that were modified by coefficients representing the ability of the crop plants to use light with varying soil water, vapour pressure deficit, and temperature. Light sums were further reduced by estimated competition for light from competing vegetation. Fits of the model to individual plots within the experiment yielded coefficients that did not differ significantly between competition control treatments, suggesting that the model accounted for significant variations in growth resource availability between treatments. Potentially useable light sum equations provide an integrated link between traditional mensurational modeling and ecophysiological modeling.


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