Tag: Silviculture

Planting oaks: a recipe for success

by Virginia McDaniel, Science Writer  • 
Growing oak trees to maturity begins with two ingredients: viable acorns and competitive seedlings. USDA Forest Service scientist Stacy Clark wrote a cookbook to help managers with the regeneration process in healthy, productive oak forests. To regenerate an oak forest, healthy, large oak seedlings and saplings must be present in the understory before overstory trees…  More 

Mind the gap? Pines love it!

by Virginia McDaniel, Science Writer  • 
  The bigger the gap the more pines grow Especially when site treatment keeps hardwood growth slow But if a mixedwood stand Is the forest we desire Advanced hardwood regen Should be allowed to grow higher. USDA Forest Service scientist Don Bragg collaborated on a study recently published in Forest Ecology and Management that considered…  More 

Northern red oak: a contender or a member?

by Virginia McDaniel, Forestry Technician  • 
Northern red oak in the Appalachians Grows to be stately at high elevations But is there regen? And what makes it thrive? Harvest makes light to keep it alive But fire suppression helps mesophytes reign A little control may help red oak sustain Site treatment with fire and some herbicide May help each species to…  More 

Handbook for 30-year-old bottomland oak stands

by Stephanie Siegel, USDA Forest Service Contract Science Writer  • 
Southern floodplain forest landowners can benefit from a new USDA Forest Service handbook of silvicultural practices for oaks planted on former croplands. The practical volume outlines the methods – and supporting science – for managing stands to produce high-quality oak sawtimber, improve wildlife habitat through acorn production, or an integrated approach for both timber and…  More 

One Treatment Does Not Fit All Sizes

by Jesse Brewer, SRS Science Communications Intern  • 
Bats are important components of healthy forests and provide critical ecological services across numerous different ecosystems. For decades, bat populations throughout the southern U.S. have been declining due to habitat disturbance and loss. USDA Forest Service scientist Susan Loeb contributed to two recent publications to address this issue, suggesting ways to improve bat management practices…  More 

Which Comes First, the Acorn or the Tree?

by Stephanie Siegel, USDA Forest Service contract science writer  • 
Acorns feed birds, bears, deer, and many small mammals. But the big oak trees that produce those acorns are also harvested to become timber. In managing hardwood forests, there’s a potential trade-off between harvesting oak trees for their valuable wood and reducing the number of oak trees left to produce acorns. To help determine a…  More 

Managing Oak-Pine Stands

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
About half of southern forests are a mix of oaks and pines growing side by side. In the past, getting rid of either the oaks or the pines had been a common management goal. “Pine plantations – stands with no oaks – have become one of the most recognizable symbols of forest management,” says John…  More 

Group Selection Harvest for White Oak Regeneration

by Kim Crider, SRS Science Communications  • 
Oaks are keystone species in forests across the eastern U.S. However, oak reproduction has been declining since at least the 1970s — old oaks still dominate the overstory, but a younger generation is not coming in behind. White oak, in particular, is valuable to wildlife and wood-dependent industries such as barrel, furniture, and cabinet making.…  More 

SRS Releases American Chestnut Course

by Sarah Farmer, SRS Science Communications  • 
The American chestnut (Castanea dentata) was an iconic tree that is now functionally extinct. For a hundred years, researchers from multiple organizations have been working to restore this tree. A free online course – An Introduction to the American Chestnut – is now available. The course covers chestnut taxonomy, silvics, historical importance, ecology, and its…  More 

The Quest to Sustain White Oak Under Fire

by Kim Crider, SRS Science Communications  • 
White oak (Quercus alba) is an incredibly important species, anchoring ecosystems and economies. Current demand for white oak is surging due to its use in making barrels to support a growing spirits industry. Thus, there’s a real need understand the best tools to promote and sustain white oak in forests to support both economic and…  More