Silvicultural treatments to improve pondberry stem length growth

Abstract

Pondberry (Lindera melissifolia (Walter) Blume) is a deciduous woody shrub in the Lauraceae that is endemic to low-lying forests in seven southeastern states. In the Mississippi Alluvial Valley, pondberry occurs in the understory of bottomland hardwood forests. This rare shrub was listed as an endangered species in 1986. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published a pondberry recovery plan in 1993, establishing objectives for recovery and delisting the species. One action step to delisting pondberry is the development of management practices to recover and conserve the species. The Center for Bottomland Hardwoods Research, Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture (Southern Research Station) initiated a comprehensive research program to study pondberry in 2002. Findings from much of this research, particularly research on pondberry ecophysiology, provide implications for active management of this species. This manuscript draws upon research findings to propose silvicultural treatments for improving stem length growth of existing pondberry plants. I also describe field experiments that are needed to confirm that proposed silvicultural treatments will
sustain existing pondberry colonies.

Parent Publication

• Proceedings of the 18th biennial southern silvicultural research conference

Citation

Lockhart, Brian Roy. 2016. Silvicultural treatments to improve pondberry stem length growth. In: Proceedings of  the 18th biennial southern silvicultural research conference. e-Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS-212. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 614 p.