Abstract
We evaluated the usefulness of the shelterwood-burn technique for regenerating upland mixed-oak (
Quercus spp.) stands on the Allegheny National Forest of northwestern Pennsylvania. Two mid-spring prescribed fires were conducted in four upland mixed-oak stands that had been partly harvested due to defoliationmediated mortality and subsequent salvage logging. Overall, the technique performed reasonably well. Before the burns, red maple (
Acer rubrum) and sweet birch (
Betula lenta) reproduction dominated the stands in terms of stem density and height. However, two fires conducted 3 years apart killed many of the birch and maple seedlings, creating a seedling pool with a substantial oak component. Additionally, interspecific heights among the seedlings were approximately equal. If these promising trends continue through the final harvest to crown closure of the new stand, then the shelterwood-burn technique will have been shown to be a viable silvicultural method for the Allegheny National Forest.
Parent Publication
Keywords
collaborative,
co-production,
stewardship,
implementation,
relationship building
Citation
Brose, Patrick; Hille, Andrea. 2020. Evaluating the applicability of the shelterwood-burn technique for regenerating the mixed-oak forests of the Allegheny National Forest. In: Pile, Lauren S.; Deal, Robert L.; Dey, Daniel C.; Gwaze, David; Kabrick, John M.; Palik, Brian J.; Schuler, Thomas M., comps. The 2019 National Silviculture Workshop: a focus on forest management-research partnerships. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-193. Madison, WI: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 11-21. https://doi. org/10.2737/NRS-GTR-P-193-paper3.
