Promoting Forest Recovery on a Surface Mine Site With Nutritional Amendments

Selected nutrient amendments were evaluated for their capacity to enhance growth and nutrition of Jeffrey pine (Pinus jeffreyi Grev. & Balf.) seedlings 3 yr after planting on an acidic Sierra Nevada surface mine. The amendments were applied by topdressing at four rates each and consisted of Forestcote 22-4-6 + Minors, a controlled release formulation; Free Flow 29-3-4 and Hydro Agri 21-7-14, two conventional fertilizers with the former featuring urea as the predominant N source while that for the latter was exclusively ammoniacal and nitrate forms; and Milorganite 6-2-0 + Iron, an organic amendment derived from municipal biosolids. The Forestcote and Free Flow formulations proved most adept at reinvigorating seedling growth while Hydro Agri and Milorganite were the least stimulatory. The lowest application rates employed were inadequate but the most advantageous rate differed somewhat by formulation. Foliar analysis revealed that fertilized seedlings had more N and P but less Mn and Al than the control. Enhanced N nutrition especially, but also that of P, probably accounted for most of the growth stimulation by the amendments, as availability of both in the soil was limiting. Of the two metallic elements, reduced Mn was likely most critical because concentrations encountered here were exceedingly elevated overall, including that in the soil, although soil Al was high also. These results suggest that a variety of nutritional amendments can be employed in forest restoration on surface mine sites and those similarly degraded, including sites for which dry climates greatly influence the selection of remedial practices.     

Growth and Nutritional Responses of Juvenile Jeffrey Pine to Post-Planting Fertilization

Abstract

Broadcast fertilization of a three-year-old Jeffrey pine (Pinus jeffreyi Grev. & Balf.) plantation growing on an eroded Sierra Nevada site was examined for its capacity to enhance seedling growth. The amendments chosen for the study included controlled release and conventional soluble formulations that contained a variety of N forms, but all featured high N content along with other nutrients. Four application rates were used, and all amendments were distributed around the base of the seedlings as top dressing. Four seasons after treatment application, fertilized seedlings were 129% larger in height, 93% larger in diameter, and 865% greater in shoot volume than unfertilized seedlings overall. Seedling sizes generally increased with application rate, and by a small margin, the controlled release fertilizer outperformed the other formulations. Relative growth analysis suggested that stimulation by the amendments would continue beyond four seasons. Foliar analysis conducted early and again late during the study revealed that N and P concentrations were consistently raised by fertilization, which likely accounts for much of the accompanying growth gains, while Ca, Fe, Mn, B, and Al concentrations were consistently reduced. Either early or late, foliar K was also raised while Mg, S, Zn, and Cu were reduced. Collectively, these results indicate that fertilization with a variety of high N formulations can increase the availability and uptake of critical nutrients sufficiently to impart in Jeffrey pine on low quality sites a substantial growth advantage.     

Organic Amendment,Fertilizer, and Lime Effects on Bareroot Jeffrey Pine Outplanted on a Sierra Nevada Surface Mine

Abstract

Composted organic matter, controlled release fertilizer, and dolomitic lime soil amendments were evaluated for their effectiveness in facilitating the reforestation of an acidic, semiarid Sierra Nevada surface mine with bareroot Jeffrey pine (Pinus jeffreyi Grev. & Balf.). Single application rates were used for the organic matter (2.0 L) and lime (28 g) amendments while low and high rates (8 g and 16 g, respectively) of the chemical fertilizer, High N 22-4-6 + Minors, were employed. All amendments were administered at outplanting using the minisite application method. The organic and lime amendments suppressed seedling survival, more so with the former than the latter, but this result did not extend to the High N fertilizer. Growth was also suppressed by the organic and lime amendments, although there was some evidence that these responses were waning late in the study, while High N was exceedingly stimulatory, especially with the high application rate. Annual assessment of seedling nutrition during this three-year study revealed numerous High N and organic matter treatment influences. Among them, increases in foliar N, P, and K and reductions in Fe, Mn, Zn, and Al were prominent within the High N treatments, but particularly so at the high application rate. For the organic matter treatment, the above increases and decreases in elemental concentrations were again noted, although the nutritional responses to this treatment were generally more subdued and somewhat ephemeral in comparison with those to High N. Calculation of base cation/metallic element molar ratios revealed that the organic matter treatment had the highest Ca/Al, Ca/Mn, Mg/Al, Mg/Mn, K/Al, K/Mn, and K/Cu during the initial season, but exerted little influence on these ratios thereafter. The High N treatments produced the highest Ca/Cu and Mg/Cu in the first season, the highest Ca/Al, Mg/Al, K/Al, and K/Mn in the second, and the highest Ca/Al, Mg/Al, Mg/Mn, K/Al, and K/Mn in the third season, with the high application rate especially prominent. Seedling nutrition was, at best, minimally affected by liming, with perhaps its most notable influence that of counteracting the positive responses indicated above with regard to the organic amendment effects on molar ratios. Overall, these results indicate that in the reforestation of difficult sites such as eastern Sierra Nevada surface mines, the favorable responses to controlled release fertilization can not be duplicated using composted organic amendments, and furthermore, dolomitic lime applications by the method used here are likely to prove exceedingly detrimental to seedling establishment.     

Effects of Mechanized Thinning and Prescription Fire on Stand Structure,Live Crown,and Mortality in Jeffrey Pine

ABSTRACT

Forest thinning, using cut-to-length and whole-tree harvesting systems with subsequent underburning were assessed for their influence on stand structure, health, and fire resilience in uneven-aged Jeffrey pine (Pinus jeffreyi Grev. & Balf). Stand attributes, derived from measuring trees ≥ 10.2 cm diameter at breast height (DBH), were collected from permanent plots. Trees were divided into three size classes that generally corresponded to dominant/codominant, intermediate, and suppressed crown classes. Comparisons of post- to pre-burning mortality revealed significant thinning and fire main treatment effects as well as significant interaction between these two treatments in the two larger size classes. Mortality increased by 250% in the intermediate crown class within the burned stand portion of the whole-tree treatment, whereas among dominant/codominant trees mortality rose by 160% in the burned cut-to-length treatment combination. Pre- to post-burning shifts in live crown, expressed as a percentage of total tree height, were significantly influenced by both thinning and fire main treatments in the two larger size classes, while the interaction of these treatments was also significant among the largest trees. Within both of these size classes, decreases in live crown percentage were greatest in the burned portion of the unthinned treatment, where intermediate crown class trees lost over 20% of their crowns, while reductions in dominant/codominant trees averaged nearly 25%. The second highest losses for both size classes occurred within the burned cut-to-length treatment. In the smallest trees, mortality rose sharply and live crown decreased substantially after burning in both thinning treatments and in the unthinned control. Within the two larger size classes, preburn live crown size was negatively correlated with changes in crown size subsequent to underburning while DBH was negatively correlated with postburning changes in mortality, but only in intermediate crown class trees. These results present land managers with outcomes of differing management practices presently being evaluated for their potential to enhance forest health and reduce wildfire risk in the Sierra Nevada and similar dry forest regions.     

Influences of Mechanized Thinning and Prescribed Fire on Natural Regeneration in an Uneven-Aged Jeffrey Pine Stand

Thinnings using cut-to-length or whole-tree harvesting systems followed by underburning were evaluated for their effects on seedling and sapling demography in a pure, uneven-aged Jeffrey pine (Pinus jeffreyi Grev. & Balf.) stand containing a minor component of California white fir (Abies concolor var. lowiana [Gord.] Lemm.). Depression of seedling counts due to forest floor disturbance associated with thinning was followed by a recovery largely confined to Jeffrey pine in the whole-tree treatment where final seedling counts exceeded those found initially. The postburn substrate was more favorable for establishment of Jeffrey pine than white fir seedlings, and the largest increase in seedling counts between the initial and final inventories occurred in the burned portion of the whole-tree treatment. Live sapling losses from thinning were greatest in the cut-to-length treatment, while underburning induced complete sapling mortality. Absent treatment, several stand and site variables influenced seedling and sapling abundance, prominent among them a propensity for mahala mat (Ceanothus prostratus Benth.) to elevate counts of white fir within both size classes. These results provide land managers insight into the impacts of six combinations of thinning and burning treatment on natural regeneration in eastern Sierra Nevada Jeffrey pine and similar dry site forest types.     

Influences of Thinning and Prescribed Fire on Water Relations of Jeffrey Pine I. Xylem and Soil Water Potentials

Abstract

Forest thinning accomplished with cut-to-length and whole-tree harvesting systems, and prescribed underburning were assessed for their impacts on water relations in eastern Sierra Nevada Jeffrey pine (Pinus Jeffreyi Grev. & Balf.) during a period of extended drought. Predawn and midday measurements of xylem water potential in dominant and codominant crown class trees more than a century old were made on six days spread over three growing seasons, accompanied by measurements of soil water potential completed between the predawn and midday sessions of each day. With the exception of a single predawn session, the only one of a total of 12 in which xylem water potentials did not differ among treatments, the potentials in trees of thinned stand subunits were 0.67 MPa higher on average during predawn sessions and 0.71 MPa higher during midday sessions than those in trees of the unthinned treatment. Differences between the cut-to-length and whole-tree treatments were marginal and uncommon, but when they occurred, potentials were higher in the former. Prescribed fire effects on xylem water potential were also uncommon, but when occurring generally indicated lower stress levels in the burned than in the unburned treatment. Soil water potentials largely coincided with those of xylem water, with higher potentials in either the cut-to-length or whole-tree treatments, and usually both, than in the unthinned treatment on each of the six days of measurement. Underburning influences on soil water were rare, but when evident, potentials were higher in the burned than in the unburned treatment by substantial margins. For a majority of the measurement sessions, xylem water potential was found to be negatively correlated with residual basal area but positively correlated with soil water potential. In turn, coarse fragments and organic matter in the soil profile intermittently influenced soil water potential, with the former a negative factor while the latter was positive. Overall, results of this study suggest that substantial ecophysiological advantages can be derived from density management in older, dry site forests, which at minimum are not compromised by subsequent implementation of controlled underburning.     

Growth and nutritional responses of bareroot Jeffrey pine on a Sierra Nevada surface mine to minisite applications of fertilizer and lime

The effects of two controlled release fertilizers, Forestcote 22-4-6 + Minors and Dry Site 21-6-2 + Minors, and also dolomitic lime, on growth and nutrition of bareroot Jeffrey pine (Pinus jeffreyi Grev. & Balf.) were investigated. Forestcote, which consists of loose prills, and Dry Site, consisting of prepackaged prills, were administered with two rates, while a single liming rate was used. An acidic Sierra Nevada surface mine provided the study site, and all amendments were applied at outplanting to the backfill of augered planting holes. Without impacting survival, both fertilizer formulations enhanced seedling growth, particularly at a 16 g rather than an 8 g application rate, although Forestcote was marginally more effective in this regard. In contrast, liming at a 27 g rate induced severe mortality and offset much of the growth gains resulting from fertilization. Improvements in N and P nutrition, as revealed by foliar analysis, probably accounted for much of the growth stimulation exhibited by fertilized seedlings, but reductions in the uptake of potentially phytotoxic trace elements such as Mn and Al and increases in base cation/metallic element ratios likely also contributed. The high application rate was generally preeminent in eliciting these nutritional responses. Liming induced little alteration of seedling nutrition. Impaired water relations may have caused the unfavorable responses to this treatment.     

Long-Term Growth Responses of a Jeffrey Pine Stand to Mechanized Thinning and Prescribed Fire

Forest thinnings implemented with cut-to-length and whole-tree harvesting systems followed by underburning were evaluated for their effects on individual tree and stand level growth responses in pure, uneven-aged Jeffrey pine (Pinus jeffreyi Grev. & Balf.) accompanied by isolated California white fir (Abies concolor var. lowiana [Gord.] Lemm.). Based on both dimension and volume measures, trees of the unburned whole-tree treatment combination exhibited the greatest individual growth responses. At the stand level, a diminished volume growth response in the whole-tree treatment was especially pronounced in the burned portion, mostly attributable to exaggerated stocking losses, while a superior response in the unburned cut-to-length combination likely reflected not only the absence of detrimental fire impacts but also benefits of on-site slash retention. For stand level biomass, diminished growth in the whole-tree treatment was again evident, with that in the burned portion again most pronounced, while biomass accrual in the unburned cut-to-length treatment combination was generally comparable to that in the unthinned control. Increasingly utilized in forest restoration efforts in the western USA, the responses presented herein to these thinning and burning practices provide natural resource managers insight into potential compromised outcomes when implemented in Jeffrey pine and similar dry site forest types.     

Wildfire Effects on Understory Vegetation,Natural Regeneration,and Forest Floor Fuels in a Sierran Mixed Conifer Stand

Wildfire effects on understory shrubs and herbs, regeneration of the seedling and sapling size classes, and downed and dead fuels were assessed in a mixed conifer stand located in the Lake Tahoe Basin in which California white fir (Abies concolor var. lowiana [Gord.] Lemm.) was most abundant but with Jeffrey pine (Pinus jeffreyi Grev. & Balf.) also prevalent. In burned and unburned stand portions, prefire measurements served as a basis of comparison for the postfire measurements pertinent to each study component. Fire severely suppressed the understory vegetation, which was dominated by shrubs such as bush chinquapin (Chrysolepis sempervirens [Kellogg] Hjelmqvist) and antelope bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata [Pursh] DC.), while a tepid postfire recovery of most of the preexisting species in the burned stand portion was augmented by new ones, including shrubs such as snowbrush (Ceanothus velutinus Douglas ex Hook.) and whitethorn (Ceanothus cordulatus Kellogg) ceanothus and herbs such as Holboell's rockcress (Arabis holboellii Hornem.). Tree seedling abundance was also substantially reduced in the burned portion, but the postfire population was dominated by Jeffrey pine whereas white fir had been most prevalent originally. Sapling regeneration was eliminated from the burned stand portion regardless of species. Downed and dead fuel loading was severely diminished by the fire, especially regarding fine fuels, permitting subsequent sheet erosion to imperil new seedling regeneration. These results contribute to an understanding of the direction and pace of postwildfire succession on sites occupied by Sierra Nevada mixed conifer and similar forest cover types, which is critical in decisions concerning the need for, and extent of, postfire site rehabilitation measures.     

Evaluation of Mechanized Thinning and Prescribed Fire Effects on Long-Term Fuels Accumulations in Uneven-Aged Jeffrey Pine

Forest thinnings implemented through cut-to-length and whole-tree harvesting followed by underburning were evaluated for their effects on long-term downed and dead fuels accumulations in pure, uneven-aged Jeffrey pine (Pinus jeffreyi Grev. & Balf.) accompanied by isolated California white fir (Abies concolor var. lowiana [Gord.] Lemm.). Based on an initial inventory consisting of dry weight and fuel bed depth measurements conducted posttreatment, accumulations in the cut-to-length treatment were elevated according to most measures. Burned stand portions exhibited smaller quantities of fuels initially in individual timelag categories and in total as well as reduced fuel bed depths compared to their unburned counterparts except for the 1,000-hr fuels in the whole-tree treatment where postburn mortality of small stems nullified this effect. A linkage between initial mortality resulting from prescribed fire and final 1,000-hr fuels, as measured 8 yr later, was established but was probably attributable to combined thinning and burning effects. Over the course of the study, either greater accruals or diminished reductions in loading were apparent within burned stand portions compared to unburned portions, most notably in the whole-tree treatment. Results presented here provide insight into potentially compromised fuels reduction outcomes when implemented in uneven-aged stands on dry forest sites.     

火炬松施肥当年效应初报

在福建省上杭县进行的火炬松施肥试验表明,造林时施肥当年就有明显肥效,单施磷肥高生长增加22%—38%,地径增加28%—41%;单株理想的施肥量为71g过磷酸钙,氮磷配合的肥料效果最佳,高生长增加81%,地径增加80%;火炬松造林当年不必施钾肥。     

计划烧除对西双版纳保护区思茅松林的影响

对西双版纳自然保护区内思茅松林进行计划烧除的影响情况监测。分析认为,计划烧除对思茅松林的乔木层树种不会产生明显影响,影响较大的是灌木层和草本层植物。在计划烧除过程中,灌木层和草本层植物大部分被烧死,但草本植物在烧除后3个月内已大部分重新萌发,1a后基本达到了烧除前的水平,6个月后灌木树种已基本从死亡植株的基部重新萌发出新的植株。计划烧除对思茅松林不会造成长期的影响,同时由于烧除后郁闭度减小,有利于林下植物的生长和外部植物的进入,可适当增加物种多样性,但丛生的植株对植物的生长有一定的影响。     

松材线虫对湿地松叶片质膜和可溶性糖的影响

松材线虫病由松材线虫引起,是一种毁灭性的森林病害,到目前为止还没有找到有效的途径来防治此病.以接种松材线虫的湿地松来作为实验材料,对感病湿地松叶片内可溶性糖含量与叶片质膜透性变化的关系进行研究.结果表明:湿地松叶片的质膜透性与可溶性糖含量呈正相关,可溶性糖含量的多少在湿地松抗病过程中有重要作用;可溶性糖含量的增加是湿地松产生抗性的一种积极表现,可溶性糖含量的增加可以作为湿地松产生抗性的一个理化指标.     

桉树林、云南松林及松栎混交林下植物群落调查与分析

通过对桉树林、云南松林和松栎混交林植物群落的物种组成、空间结构、各成分盖度系数等调查,分析了3种类型下的植被与生态因子之间的相互关系,揭示合理育林措施能提高生物多样性水平、增强水土保持的能力等。提出人工造林以营造混交林为宜。     

Pine Straw Harvesting Effects on Vadose-Zone Water Content of a Leadvale Silt Loam in Western Arkansas

This study addresses concerns that harvesting marketable pine straw from forests may decrease timber productivity by allowing water to evaporate more quickly from the soil surface. Three harvesting schedules and a control treatment (no straw harvest) were replicated six times on 24 plots (0.18 ha each), and compared to determine harvesting effects on water content of the soil vadose zone in an established (16 yr) loblolly (Pinus taeda L.) plantation (3.0?×?1.5 m² tree spacing). Pine straw harvesting tended to decrease volumetric soil water content (%) at depths below 20 cm, but the effect was significant (p < .05) only at the 50-cm depth in Weeks 3 and 4 (late June) of the study, when water content at this depth averaged 20.9% for soils where straw was harvested annually, and 30.2% for soils where the straw was never harvested (control). In soils where pine straw had been allowed to accumulate for at least a year after the previous harvest, average water content was not significantly different than in the control plots. Therefore, pine straw harvesting can potentially lengthen drought-stress periods for loblolly pine on some soils during the 1st yr after pine straw has been removed.     

Effects of prescribed fire and season of burn on direct and indirect levels of tree mortality in Ponderosa and Jeffrey Pine Forests in California,USA

Many forests that historically experienced frequent low-intensity wildfires have undergone extensive alterations during the past century. Prescribed fire is now commonly used to restore these fire-adapted forest ecosystems. In this study, we examined the influence of prescribed burn season on levels of tree mortality attributed to prescribed fire effects (direct mortality) and bark beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Scolytinae) (indirect mortality) in ponderosa pine, Pinusponderosa Dougl. ex Laws., and Jeffrey pine, Pinusjeffreyi Grev. and Balf., forests in California, USA. A total of 816 trees (9.9% of all trees) died during this 3-yr study. Significantly higher levels of tree mortality (all sources) occurred following early and late season burns compared to the untreated control, but no significant difference was observed between burn treatments. The majority (461 trees) of tree deaths were attributed to direct mortality from prescribed burns and was strongly concentrated (391 trees) in the smallest diameter class (<20.2 cm diameter at breast height, dbh). For the largest trees (>50.7 cm dbh), significantly higher levels of tree mortality occurred on early season burns than the untreated control, most of which resulted from indirect mortality attributed to bark beetle attacks, specifically western pine beetle, Dendroctonus brevicomis LeConte, and mountain pine beetle, D. ponderosae Hopkins. Red turpentine beetle, D. valens LeConte, was the most common bark beetle species found colonizing trees, but tree mortality was not attributed to this species. A total of 355 trees (4.3% of all trees) were killed by bark beetles. Dendroctonus brevicomis (67 trees, 18.9%) and D. ponderosae (56 trees, 15.8%), were found colonizing P. ponderosa; and Jeffrey pine beetle, D. jeffreyi Hopkins, was found colonizing P. jeffreyi (seven trees, 2.0%). We also found pine engraver, Ips pini (Say) (137 trees, 38.6%), and, to a much lesser extent, Orthotomicus (=Ips) latidens (LeConte) (85 trees, 23.9%) and emarginate ips, I. emarginatus (LeConte) (3 trees, 0.8%) colonizing P. ponderosa and P. jeffreyi. Few meaningful differences in levels of indirect tree mortality attributed to bark beetle attack were observed between early and late season burns. The incidence of root and root collar pathogens (Leptographium and Sporothrix spp.), including species known to be vectored by bark beetles, was low (18% of trees sampled). The implications of these and other results to management of P. ponderosa and P. jeffreyi forests are discussed in detail.