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Sprout Singling in North Alabama Hardwoods

Informally Refereed

Abstract

Many commercial hardwood species grow quite well in northern Alabama and most regenerate by stump sprouts after harvest. The number of sprouts on a stump depends on several factors such as species and stump size. To determine if the practice of singling (removing all but the single best sprout from a stump) might be a means of accelerating the growth rate of one stem from each stump, 145 pairs of stumps were chosen at 4 different clearcut areas on a forest industry tract in Lawrence County, AL. For each pair of stumps, one randomly selected stump was “singled,” while the other had no sprouts removed. Measurements taken 1 and 4 years later indicated that the sprouts of several species had very strong initial responses in diameter growth as a result of singling, especially the sprouts of the older stumps growing on moister sites.

Parent Publication

Citation

Naka, Kozma; Cannon, Philip G. 2004. Sprout Singling in North Alabama Hardwoods. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS–71. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. pp. 509-512
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/6748