Bottomland Hardwood Management Demonstrations for (original) (raw)

Proceedings 19th Central Hardwood Forest Conference

2014

papers and 47 abstracts pertaining to research conducted on biofuels and bioenergy, forest biometrics, forest ecology and physiology, forest economics, forest health including invasive species, forest soils and hydrology, geographic information systems, harvesting and utilization, silviculture, and wildlife management.

Achieving Restoration Success: Myths in Bottomland Hardwood

2000

Restoration of bottomland hardwood forests is the subject of considerable interest in the southern United States, but restoration success is elusive. Techniques for establishing bottomland tree species are well de- veloped, yet problems have occurred in operational programs. Current plans for restoration on public and private land suggest that as many as 200,000 hectares could be restored in the Lower

The hardwood ecosystem experiment: extension and outreach

The Hardwood Ecosystem Experiment (HEE) in Indiana is a long-term, large-scale experimental study of forest management and its impacts on plants and animals. Information from the HEE should and will be made available to a diverse group of potential users. This paper summarizes educational efforts during the pre-treatment period and highlights potential mechanisms and considerations for future efforts.

Growth of three hardwood species through 18 years on a former agricultural bottomland

2000

The effects of seed source, fertilization, disking, and mowing on the growth of sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua L.), American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis L.), and green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh.) were examined 18 yr after planting to determine the best system for afforestation of a previously farmed bottomland site in southwest Tennessee. Natural regeneration on the site as well as variations in soil bulk density and soil series were analyzed. Overall survival was significantly higher for sweetgum (93%) and green ash (95%) than for sycamore (88%). Height growth of sweetgum was significantly greater than that of sycamore, which was significantly greater than that of green ash. Sycamore and sweetgum of Virginia Coastal Plain origin did not differ from those of Louisiana Gulf Coast origin in growth or survival. Height and dbh of all three species were significantly increased by fertilization only on plots that were not also disked or mowed. Disking and mowing significantly increased the growth of unfertilized trees more than tkat of fertilized trees. Natural regeneration resulted in dense stands (3,445 trees/ac) dominated by sweetgum. ? he combination of fertilization and mowing significantly increased soil bulk density. Soils on the study site were more variable than previous county soil surveys indicated. South. J. Appl. For. 24(3):159-165. In the mid-1970s, falling soybean prices resulted in extensive abandonment of farmed wetlands in the Mississippi Valley (Waldrop et al. 1983). Financial models have demonstrated that planting hardwoods on sites too wet for agriculture can be profitable on better soil types (Amacher et al. 1998, Smith 1973), especially as cost-share programs, including the Conservation Reserve Program and the Wetlands Reserve Program, defray afforestation costs. In addition to harvest revenue, afforestation offers benefits of flood control, erosion prevention, and restoration of nutrients and organic matter to the site. Considerable research has focused on establishing and improving growth rates of intensively managed, short-rotation hardwood plantations (Malik et al. 1998). High-value plantations (e. g., oaks, Quercus spp.) al so have been successfully established (Ozalp et al. 1998, Russell et al. 1998, Kennedy 1993). Appropriate species-site and seed source matches are essential for successful hardwood plantations (Baker and Broadfoot 1979, Canonge 1979, Ferguson et al. 1977). Cultural treatments also improve plantation growth. Fertilization has resulted in significant growth increases in cottonwood (Populus deltoids Bartr. Ex Marsh.) (Blackmon 1977), sweetgum (Guo et al. 1998), yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera L.) (Blackmon 1974), and other hardwood species (Francis 1985). Herbaceous and woody competition control is frequently necessary to promote survival and growth of seedlings. Disking and mowing have been reported as effective and widespread methods of weed control in hardwood plantations (Krinard and Kennedy 1987, Kennedy 1984, Waldrop et al. 1983). However, few studies have reported the long-term effects of these treatments. If early growth gains are lost later in the rotation, economic returns from such treatments may be greatly diminished. The objective of this study was to determine the best system for afforestation of a previously farmed bottomland site in southwest Tennessee. The study, established in 1980, documents the 18 yr effects of seed source, fertilization, disking, and mowing on the growth of three planted hardwood species. Natural regeneration as a means of afforestation also was investigated. Soil survey analyses were conducted to examine variations in soil series and soil bulk density.

Managing Appalachian hardwood stands using four management practices: 60-year results

Forest Ecology and Management, 2017

A long-term forest management case study on the Fernow Experimental Forest in West Virginia referred to as the Cutting Practice Level study is evaluated after 60 years. Treatments include a commercial clearcut (one time application), a 39 cm diameter-limit (applied 4 times), uneven-aged management using two variations of single-tree selection (applied 7 and 8 times, respectively), and an unmanaged reference area. We examine productivity, species composition and diversity, structure, tree quality, and revenues generated related to each treatment since establishment. The diameter-limit treatment resulted in greatest average periodic annual increment (PAI) of sawtimber volume of 3.1 m 3 ha À1 yr À1 while the unmanaged reference area resulted in the least of 2.2 m 3 ha À1 yr À1 (based on the difference in standing volume from 1956 to 2008). All types of partial harvesting resulted in greater sawtimber productivity than either the commercial clearcut or the reference area. Post-harvest tree quality, as measured by proportion of grade 1 butt logs, has improved from 1988 to 2008 for all but the diameter-limit treatment, which is similar to conditions in 1968. In 2008, the proportion of grade 1 trees in the residual stand ranged from a high of 0.22 for single-tree selection to 0.15 for diameter-limit harvesting. Species composition is becoming less diverse and more dominated by shade-tolerant species in all treatment groups but the change has been the greatest in the two single-tree selection treatments. Initially, size-class distributions were somewhat unimodal and reflective of even-aged stands with shade tolerant species persisting in the understory. In 2008, the single-tree selection treatments were both characterized by a reverse-J size class distribution and it appears this structure can be maintained due to recruitment of shade-tolerant species in the smaller size classes with concomitant reductions in species diversity. The net present value for each treatment in 2008, the time of the last management intervention, ranged from 20,000haAˋ1forreferenceareatoalmost20,000 ha À1 for reference area to almost 20,000haAˋ1forreferenceareatoalmost34,000 ha À1 for the single-tree selection treatment that included management of pole-sized trees based on all revenue and the value of standing timber using an internal rate of return of 4%.

Bottomland hardwood productivity: case study in a rapidly subsiding, Louisiana, USA, watershed

Wetlands Ecology and Management, 1993

The Verret basin was formerly an overflow area between the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers and contains about 41 ,000 ha of forested wetlands. Water levels are rising at the rate of over Icm/year in this area, and the forests are subjected to longer and deeper flooding. Tree growth, litterfall, and species composition were monitored across a flooding gradient during January 1985-December 1986. The driest area was only 20cm higher in elevation than the wettest area, but the structure of the forest changes greatly over this range. The drier area was dominated by sweetgum (Liquidambar styracijlua L.), oaks (Quercus spp.), and sugarberry (Celtis laevigata WilJd.), while green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh.), red maple (Acer rubrum L.), and baldcypress (Taxodium disrichum (L.) Rich.) were dominant in the wetter area. Green ash and bitter pecan (Carya aquatica (Michaux. f.) Nutt.) were found in all plots, but these two species are under severe stress in the more flooded area as evidenced by dead and dying trees. Stem wood production increased from 1985 to 1986 in the driest (392t0473 g/m'lyr) and wettest (199 to 399g/m'lyr) plots, but remained relatively unchanged in the transitional area (386 to 380g/m'lyr). Leaf Litter production decreased across the gradient from dry to flooded plots during both years. Over 40% of the litterfall in the drier plot was from floodtolerant shrub species. In the flooded plots, red maple and baldcypress were major contributors to total litterfaIJ. Increased flooding of dry bottomland forests in the future could lead to dccreased litterfall and increased tree death over the entire watershed.

Improving species composition in mismanaged bottomland hardwood stands in western Alabama

… page and attach it to the …, 2004

Forests of the Coastal Plain of Alabama are among the most diverse, productive, and complex in the United States. Long-term mismanagement, however, coupled with a lack of refined scientific knowledge on bottomland oak silvical characteristics and on their regeneration dynamics, has resulted in a reduction in both the quantity and quality of the oak component in many of these stands. A study was implemented in western Alabama to compare survival, growth, and animal browse of planted Nuttall oak seedlings using plastic tube shelters, wire browse protection, fertilization, mulch mats, and control. Treatment effects on seedling height and caliper growth indicate that fertilization application and type of seedling protection significantly affect both groundline diameter and height. The use of seedling protection positively affected tree growth form and protected seedlings from herbivory compared to those unprotected.