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