Issue 9

An Oak Regeneration Glossary

advance regeneration: strategy that relies on the presence of an advance regeneration source in the forest understory that persists through a disturbance.

advance regeneration source: large seedlings that must be present in a stand before disturbance and persist through it if regeneration is to take place.

artificial regeneration: process where oak seedlings are outplanted; for situations where there are not enough seedlings from acorns and no advance regeneration source present.

midstory removal: the first phase of a shelterwood cut, when midstory trees and shrubs are killed to allow enough light to promote the growth of oak seedlings-but not enough to promote their competition.

natural regeneration: process that relies on the presence of sufficient oak seedlings from acorns.

release: in shelterwood treatments, the second cut of overstory trees allows young oak trees to grow towards the canopy. Sometimes forest managers use an additional crown-touching release, where they remove the competition around the crown of an advancing oak.

shelterwood cut: a regeneration method that removes the overstory of the stand in two or more operations, spaced in time, to allow for the advance regeneration of oaks.

 

Back to: Altered Light: Regenerating Oak in Upland Hardwood Forests