Abstract
Northern red oak (
Quercus rubra) grows across much of Wisconsin. Using site factors to aid in prediction of volume and basal area increment facilitates management of red oak and other species of interest. Currently, habitat type (Wisconsin Habitat Type Classification System) is often determined when stands are inventoried. If habitat type were strongly related to annual volume and basal area increment, it would be a valuable tool in making management decisions. The objective of this study was to determine if individual tree annual volume and basal area increment (last 20 years) of northern red oak was related to habitat type. Four common habitat types were selected: AAt (
Acer saccharum/Athyrium filix-femina; 10 sites), ATM (
Acer saccharum-Tsuga canadensis/Maianthemum canadense; 8 sites), AVb (
Acer saccharum/Viburnum acerifolium; 7 sites), AVDe (
Acer saccharum/Vaccinium angustifolium—Desmodium glutinosum; 8 sites). On each site, increment cores from 10 northern red oak trees were used to determine individual tree basal area and volume increment. Site index was also determined for each site. Generally, ATM grouped with AVb, and AAT grouped with AVDe. Of the four habitat types, three (AAt, AVDe, and ATM) had quite predictable basal area and volume increment (tight confidence intervals); however, AVb was much more variable. Habitat type, by itself, may be adequate for planning purposes on some habitat types, but on other habitat types, additional site factors may be necessary.
Parent Publication
Citation
Demchik, Michael; Schwartz, Kevin M.; Braun, Rory; Scharenbrock, Eric. 2014. Northern red oak volume growth on four northern Wisconsin habitat types. In: Groninger, John W.; Holzmueller, Eric J.; Nielsen, Clayton K.; Dey, Daniel C., eds. Proceedings, 19th Central Hardwood Forest Conference; 2014 March 10-12; Carbondale, IL. General Technical Report NRS-P-142. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 330-334.
