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Successful stock production for forest regeneration: What foresters should ask nursery managers about their crops (and vice versa)

Informally Refereed

Abstract

Forest regeneration is a cyclic operation. Seeds are collected from mature trees and planted in nurseries so that the resulting seedlings can be outplanted to the forest after the mature trees are harvested. Similarly, the process of deciding upon, and growing, the best seedlings for that site should be a cyclic process between foresters and nursery managers. The ideal seedling, suitable for all purposes, does not exist. Instead, the ultimate use of the nursery stock controls many aspects of the nursery program. In other words, nursery managers should grow the type of stock that is appropriate rather than the forester having to use whatever the nursery produces. Key to this process is good communication; this facilitates production of seedlings with ever increasing levels of quality for sites for which they are targeted. Thus, target seedlings, grown using the target seedling concept, are the result of foresters’ observations and subsequent adjustments in cultural practices by nursery managers.

Citation

Dumroese, R.K.; Jacobs, D.F.; Landis, T.D. 2005. Successful stock production for forest regeneration: What foresters should ask nursery managers about their crops (and vice versa). The Thin Green Line: A Symposium on the state-of-the-art in reforestation proceedings. Thunder Bay, ON. 7 p.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/25820