Regeneration dynamics during oak decline in Arkansas
This article is part of a larger document. View the larger document here.Abstract
From 2000 to 2008 hardwood regeneration <5 cm diameter at breast height were individually tagged and monitored in the Boston Mountains of northern Arkansas. The study site is a 32-ha area in an upland oak-hickory stand that was approximately 70 years old in 2000. Mean basal area for all standing trees in 2000 was 25.9 m2/ha, and there were 417 standing trees/ha. Stocking was 88 percent. In 2000 we established 480 permanent circular regeneration plots, each with a 1.31-m radius. In each quarter of each regeneration plot, we measured species, distance, azimuth, height, ground diameter, stem age, and origin of the two tallest trees of northern red oak (Quercus rubra) and white oak (Q. alba). By mid-2001 this stand began to exhibit symptoms of severe oak decline. In 2004, a prescribed fire was applied to one-fourth of the study area.