Integrated vegetation management in California – advances and future

1991 ◽  
Vol 67 (5) ◽  
pp. 528-531 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary O. Fiddler ◽  
Philip M. McDonald

A study on alternatives for releasing young conifer plantations on National Forests in northern and central California was started in 1980, and enlarged to include State of California, Bureau of Land Management, and private industry lands. Forty studies involving chemical, manual, mechanical, mulch, and animal treatments have been established and their effect on the survival and growth of conifer seedlings is being quantified. Plant diversity and succession on both treated and untreated sites are being recorded. The oldest study has had 10 growing seasons since the first treatments were applied. To release conifer seedlings, a treatment radius of at least 1.5 meters is required; smaller radii do not provide enough site resources for acceptable growth. Diameter, rather than height, is the best indicator of release. Some non-phenoxy chemicals show promise for good control of competing vegetation. Mechanical release requires additional treatments to effectively control shrubs. Mulching has given limited results to date. Manual treatments, if applied to non-sprouting and nonrhizomatous plants soon after planting, and usually more than once, provide adequate control of competing vegetation, but are costly.

1986 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 108-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chao-Hsiung Tung ◽  
Jim Batdorff ◽  
David R. DeYoe

Abstract Two vegetation management methods, paper mulching and spot-spraying with glyphosate, were combined with a root-dipping treatment, Terra Sorb®, to test effects on seedling survival and height growth on a harsh site in Oregon. Survival of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) seedlings was significantly higher after the third growing season when competing vegetation had been controlled with mulch or glyphosate during the first two growing seasons. Seedlings retreated with paper mulch and glyphosate before the second growing season had 36 and 25% higher survival than those that were not retreated. None of the seedlings was retreated before the third season; after this season, survival of seedlings treated twice with glyphosate was 26, 23, and 21% higher than seedlings receiving one glyphosate treatment and one or two mulch applications, respectively. There were no differences in seedling height growth among treatments. Rootdipping with Terra Sorb® did not influence survival or growth. West. J. Appl. For. 1:108-111 Oct. 86.


2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 324-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola A. Kokkonen ◽  
S. Ellen Macdonald ◽  
Ian Curran ◽  
Simon M. Landhäusser ◽  
Victor J. Lieffers

Given a seed source, the quality of available substrates is a key factor in determining the success of white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) natural regeneration. We examined the influence of substrate and competing vegetation on survival and growth of natural regeneration of white spruce up to 4 years following harvesting in deciduous-dominated upland boreal mixedwood sites. Feather moss, thick soil surface organic layers, litter, and solid wood were poor substrates for establishment. Early successional mosses establishing on mineral soil, thin organics, and rotten wood were generally favourable microsites but were not highly available on postharvest sites. Mineral soil substrates were not as suitable as expected, likely because on a postlogged site, they are associated with unfavourable environmental characteristics (e.g., low nutrient availability, exposure). There was some evidence that survival and growth of seedlings were improved by surrounding vegetation in the first years, but heavy competing vegetation had a negative impact on older seedlings. Burial by aspen litter greatly increased seedling mortality, especially when combined with a brief period of submergence due to heavy spring snowmelt. The results provide insight into conditions under which natural regeneration could be an option for establishing white spruce following harvesting of deciduous-dominated boreal mixedwood forests.


1994 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 57-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip M. McDonald ◽  
Gary O. Fiddler ◽  
Jay H. Kitzmiller

Abstract Three classes of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) seedlings (nursery-run, wind-pollinated, control-pollinated) were evaluated for stem height and diameter at the USDA Forest Service's Placerville Nursery and the Georgetown Ranger District in northern California. Pines in all three classes were grown with competing vegetation or maintained in a free-to-grow condition. Control-pollinated seedlings were statistically taller (P < 0.05) than nursery-run counterparts when outplanted, and after 1 and 2 growing seasons in the field with and without competition. They also had significantly larger diameters when outplanted and after 2 growing seasons in the field when free to grow. Wind-pollinated seedlings grew taller than nursery-run seedlings when free to grow. A large amount of competing vegetation [bearclover (Chamaebatia foliolosa)—29,490 plants per acre; herbaceous vegetation—11,500; hardwood sprouts—233; and whiteleaf manzanita (Arctostaphylos viscida) seedlings—100] ensure that future pine development will be tested rigorously. West. J. Appl. For. 9(2):00-00.


1970 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 325-328
Author(s):  
A. H. Teich ◽  
M. J. Holst

Scots pine provenances from Russia were grown in Ontario at Longlac, Dorset and Chalk River, and in Saskatchewan at Prince Albert and Indian Head. After eight growing seasons in the field all provenances survived well. The three tallest, Orel, Woronesh and Kiev provenances, grew considerably taller than the others, and at Prince Albert, where native jack pine was also grown, the growth and survival of these provenances was also better than that of jack pine. If further studies show that this high performance persists and that stem form is commercially acceptable, seedlings from these three provenances may be useful for reforestation in those parts of Canada with a continental climate.


2011 ◽  
Vol 261 (3) ◽  
pp. 440-446 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Milakovsky ◽  
Brent R. Frey ◽  
Mark S. Ashton ◽  
Bruce C. Larson ◽  
Oswald J. Schmitz

1990 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 83-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary O. Fiddler ◽  
Philip M. McDonald

Abstract Manual release, primarily accomplished through the use of service contracts, is increasingly used by silviculturists for controlling competing vegetation in the West, particularly in California. Over 60 recent manual release contracts on four National Forests and one Bureau of Land Management Resource Area in California were analyzed for production rate and cost relationships. Mean number of acres completed per workday was 0.11-0.50 and the average cost of release was $174-$310 per acre. Grubbing or cutting costs were $0.44-$0.86 per seedling regardless of radius treated. Cutting and grubbing combined cost $0.63-$0.71 per seedling for 3-5 ft radii, and $1.19 for a 6-ft radius. The increased costs resulting from more realistic bidding and the projected unavailability of crews to do the work mean that many acres needing manual release will go untreated. West. J. Appl. For. 5(3):83-85, July 1990.


2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (9) ◽  
pp. 862-871 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas E. Kolb ◽  
Kelsey Flathers ◽  
John B. Bradford ◽  
Caitlin Andrews ◽  
Lance A. Asherin ◽  
...  

Trees in dry forests often regenerate in episodic pulses when wet periods coincide with ample seed production. Factors leading to success or failure of regeneration pulses are poorly understood. We investigated the impacts of stand thinning on survival and growth of the 2013 cohort of ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa Douglas ex P. Lawson & C. Lawson) seedlings in northern Arizona, United States. We measured seedling survival and growth over the first five growing seasons after germination in six stand basal areas (BAs; 0, 7, 14, 23, 34, and 66 (unthinned) m2·ha−1) produced by long-term experimental thinnings. Five-year survival averaged 2.5% and varied among BAs. Mean survival duration was longer in intermediate BAs (11 to 16 months) than in clearings and high BAs (5 months). The BAs of 7, 14, and 23 m2·ha−1 had >2600 5-year-old seedlings·ha−1. In contrast, regeneration was lower in the clearing (666 seedlings·ha−1) and failed completely in the 34 m2·ha−1 and unthinned treatments. Seedling survival was highest during wet years and lowest during drought years. Many surviving seedlings had no net height growth between years 4 and 5 because of stem browsing. Results indicate that natural regeneration of ponderosa pine is influenced by stand BA, drought, herbivory, and interactions between extreme climatic events.


1995 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 80-85
Author(s):  
Phillip E. Reynolds ◽  
Micheal J. Roden

Abstract Metsulfuron (ALLY or ESCORT), 36 and 72 g ai/ha (~ 0.5 and 1.0 oz ai/ac), and sulfometuron (OUST), 150, 300, and 450 g ai/ha (~ 2.1, 4.2, and 6.3 oz ai/ac), were applied to a northern New Brunswick clearcut (silty clay loam and silty clay soils) to reduce raspberry competition. Treatment, using skidder-mounted herbicide application equipment, occurred in May and August 1986, with planting of 2+2, bareroot, black spruce seedlings in June 1986 and in June 1987. Seedling survival and growth were measured yearly for 5 growing seasons after planting. By August 1991, raspberry cover was less in some treatments than in controls. Survival of seedlings planted 1 month after spring treatments was less than controls, and no significant stem volume increases were observed. Survival of seedlings planted approximately 1 yr after spring treatments was greater than that of control seedlings. Survival of seedlings planted after some summer treatments also was poor, and no significant stem volume increases were noted for seedlings planted after site preparation with sulfometuron. Optimal stem volume increases over control seedlings were observed for seedlings planted 1 yr after spring sulfometuron treatment. These increases occurred sooner than for seedlings planted 1 yr after spring metsulfuron treatment or after summer metsulfuron treatment. Fifth-year stem volume for these seedlings was correlated with raspberry cover (r² = 0.44), decreasing as raspberry cover increased. We conclude that the use of other less expensive silvicultural herbicides may provide equally effective raspberry control and better black spruce seedling survival and growth. North. J. Appl. For. 12(2):80-85.


Weed Science ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 442-448 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam S. Davis ◽  
J. Christopher Hall ◽  
Marie Jasieniuk ◽  
Martin A. Locke ◽  
Edward C. Luschei ◽  
...  

Weed science has contributed much to agriculture, forestry and natural resource management during its history. However, if it is to remain relevant as a scientific discipline, it is long past time for weed scientists to move beyond a dominating focus on herbicide efficacy testing and address the basic science underlying complex issues in vegetation management at many levels of biological organization currently being solved by others, such as invasion ecologists and molecular biologists. Weed science must not be circumscribed by a narrowly-defined set of tools but rather be seen as an integrating discipline. As a means of assessing current and future research interests and funding trends among weed scientists, the Weed Science Society of America conducted an online survey of its members in summer of 2007. There were 304 respondents out of a membership of 1330 at the time of the survey, a response rate of 23%. The largest group of respondents (41%) reported working on research problems primarily focused on herbicide efficacy and maintenance, funded mainly by private industry sources. Another smaller group of respondents (22%) reported focusing on research topics with a complex systems focus (such as invasion biology, ecosystem restoration, ecological weed management, and the genetics, molecular biology, and physiology of weedy traits), funded primarily by public sources. Increased cooperation between these complementary groups of scientists will be an essential step in making weed science increasingly relevant to the complex vegetation management issues of the 21st century.


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.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document