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Hickory regeneration under five silvicultural prescriptions in an oak-hickory forest in northern Alabama

Informally Refereed

Abstract

Hickory (Carya spp.) regeneration in oak-hickory forests of the southern Cumberland Plateau has not been widely studied. I assessed hickory regeneration under five silviculture prescriptions, including clear-cut harvests, three levels of shelterwood harvests, and no harvest. Each stand-level treatment was replicated three times and treatments were implemented from fall 2001 through winter 2002. Overstory composition was dominated by white oaks (Quercus alba L. and Q. prinus L.) (37 percent of the total basal area per acre, and 15 percent of the total stems per acre) followed by hickory (17 percent of the total basal area per acre, and 18 percent of the total stems per acre). Hickory regeneration of all size classes averaged 405 stems per acre across all stands pretreatment and 285 stems per acre four years post-treatment; the majority tallied were 1-foot tall or less than. Light and canopy cover differed among treatments and with time. After four years, hickory regeneration did not differ among treatments. There were no differences in survival among the five treatments for tagged hickory seedlings, and in 2006, hickory seedlings in the 25 percent retention treatment had the greatest height growth.

Parent Publication

Citation

Schweitzer, Callie Jo. 2010. Hickory regeneration under five silvicultural prescriptions in an oak-hickory forest in northern Alabama. In: Stanturf, John A., ed. 2010. Proceedings of the 14th biennial southern silvicultural research conference. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS–121. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 465-470.
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/35902