Module 5: Regional Silviculture Flashcards
Describe the current trend of decline in the oak resource
What are the 3 overlapping categories of barriers to sustainability of the oak resource?
What are the two biological pillars of oak sustainability?
Seedling establishment (advance regen)
Recruitment into the canopy
Describe five stakeholders along the oak supply chain
What percentage of eastern forest land is controlled by family forest ownerships? How many of these ownerships are there? How many of them harvest timber and actively manage their forests?
For how many years has Quercus been the dominant genus throughout North America? What are 3 factors that have caused shifts in its distribution?
Prior to European settlement, what kind of disturbance helped maintain the oak dominant forests? About how long do we think this has occurred? What was its purpose?
What caused a decrease in fire occurrence just prior to European settlement? What then caused fire regimes to increase again, and during what period did this occur?
What activities increased the dominance of oak across the landscape in the late 19th and early 20th centuries?
Starting in the mid 20th century, what activities have led to a decline in oak seedling development? What’s the ecological mechanism by which this has happened?
What are 2 things that must be present to successfully regenerate oak forests? What will be the long-term result of the large decrease in oak recruitment if it is not improved?
Explain the significance of this graph with regards to oak decline
What is the fundamental cause of problems in oak sustainability? What types of sites are most likely to have problems regenerating oak? On what types of sites are oaks most successionally stable?
Describe the “oak regeneration window” with regards to light and moisture
Describe the general abundance of oak reproduction on low, intermediate, and high productivity sites
Describe the relationship between site productivity and species richness, leaf area, amount of sunlight reaching the ground, and abundance of oak regeneration.
For low vs high productivity sites, describe the differences in diffuse light, large oak advance regeneration, and competition
Describe the 3 sources of oak regeneration
Describe the relationship between size and regeneration potential for oaks
How do light levels affect oak germination and seedling development? How has the development of shade tolerant midstory canopies and a lack of large advance oak reproduction affect light availability (%) in the understory? What’s the minimum light level (%) required by oak seedlings to meet their respiration needs? What light level is necessary for oak seedlings to reach their max height and diameter growth rates? What about shade tolerant species?
What is the typical light level under the canopy of a dense shade tolerant midstory? Why is this significant?
Summarize in 5 steps how the oak regeneration typically plays out on intermediate and high quality sites with an undisturbed canopy. What’s the bottom line lesson from this?
Name and describe the two pillars of oak silviculture
Describe the two laws of the oak regeneration pillar of oak silviculture
Following the 2 “laws” of the oak regeneration pillar, what are 2 types of processes that result in competitive oak regeneration?
When should planning begin for an oak regeneration treatment? What are the 3 major steps taken during this planning?
When pre-treatment evaluation of oak regeneration reveals poor prospects, what 3 options could be considered? If the oak regeneration prospects are good, what 2 procedures should be followed to enhance recruitment?
What types of sites would be suitable for clearcutting to regenerate oak? What condition must be met? What if that condition is not met? What if it isn’t the right type of site?
What is the goal of using the shelterwood method for oak? What are the possible cutting sequences that could be used?
What type of preparatory cut is often used with the shelterwood system for regenerating oak? Under what conditions would this be effective? How long before final harvest would this cut be initiated?
Describe a properly applied midstory removal treatment. What is its advantage over prescribed fire?
What would be the typical stocking level for the overstory after a shelterwood establishment cut for oak regeneration? What if it is a high productivity site with yellow-poplar present? Which oak should be left and how should they be spaced? What should be removed?
Describe the oak seedling response to midstory removal and shelterwood establishment cuts. What light levels do chestnut and white oak need for maximum root growth? What about northern red and black oak?
What range of understory light can release and promote growth of shade-tolerant species? Describe the competition between oaks and its shade-intolerant competitors as light levels get above this range.
What is the minimum release height for advance oak reproduction? Describe how and why you would implement a one stage vs a two stage release strategy.
How would light levels and oak reproduction growth be expected to respond to midstory removal as you get further from the center of a gap in an expanding gap shelterwood system?
What are 3 supplementary silvicultural practices that can be used to address barriers to oak regeneration and and 3 practices to do the same for oak recruitment?
What is soil scarification with regards to oak establishment? What are its 2 main objectives? What are 2 types of scarification that might be used?
Disk scarification
Bulldozer/brush rake scarification
Abundant acorns must be present for scarification to be effective
What are 4 factors that influence oak seedling establishment?
Describe 2 conditions each that would result in unfavorable or favorable positions for oak seeds on the forest floor. What 3 factors are protected against with favorable positioning?
What are the two main potential benefits of using prescribed fire for oak regeneration?
Describe the oak-fire hypothesis and the mesophication hypothesis
What is the best timing of a prescribed burn to achieve maximum kill of oak competitors? Why is this timing challenging?
What sized saplings/seedlings are most susceptible to cambial death and top-kill by prescribed fire? Is this susceptibility equal for oak and its competitors?
What 3 characteristics give oak an advantage that helps them survive and recover from fire?
Describe conditions that would not be supportive of using prescribed fire to increase the abundance and competitiveness of oak advance reproduction
Describe two types of burns used in combination with the shelterwood method for regenerating oak
What is the best timing of a site prep burn in relation to oak acorn seed fall? What are the two desired outcomes? What is a desirable residual leaf litter depth? When should you NOT burn and why?
If cutting and/or herbicides are not used, how does that affect the use of prescribed fire for oak regeneration? How does prescribed fire affect oak competition?
What is a release burn and when is it done within a shelterwood system for oak regeneration? What type of fire intensity is necessary and why? What seasonal timing is best?
Why is it undesirable to burn too frequently with regards to oak regeneration? How long might it take an oak to become resistant to fire top-kill?
What timber effects should be considered when using prescribed fire in early and mid-rotation oak stands? What factors influence the severity of these effects?
At what stage of stand development might crop tree release be used for oak recruitment? What 3 factors are key to the an oak saplings response to this treatment?
What type of early or mid-rotation thinning might be used in an oak stand to mimic natural disturbance?
What are 3 big factors that make water the “singular influence” in bottomland systems?
What are 4 types of disturbance common to floodplains when they are inundated with water?
Describe the two ways that floodplains aggrade
What 2 factors determine the likelihood of a species occupying a given landform? What 2 factors then limit that species spatial distribution? Why is this important to understand?
What 2 factors differentiate bottomland hardwoods silviculture from upland forest silviculture?
What 4 characteristics of flooding heavily influence every component of a bottomland system?
Describe the relationships between landform, drainage, soil texture, and deposition
Describe the deposition pattern within an alluvial stream valley as you move further from the main stream channel. In what way does this deposition pattern affect landforms and species competitiveness?
Name some species that you might find on different features (bars, flats, sloughs, swamps, “ridges”, levees, terraces) of major and minor bottomlands
What 3 major pieces must you understand in order to choose correct species for bottomland systems?
What are the top 3 countries in the world ranked by total hectares of tree plantations?
What % of the global land base is covered by plantations, and how much of the world’s roundwood do these plantations produce? What are 2 advantages of using plantations?
What types of trees are best suited to plantations?
What 3 methods of propagation are used on plantations? What controls stand development and growth rates, and what is used to alter this during a rotation on a plantation?
Describe the general trends for total yield and rotation age on southern pine plantations since 1940
Name 6 intensive management practices that have increased yield over time on plantations, and describe their relative contributions over time since 1940
Summarize the typical rotation timeline of a southern pine plantation. What are typical planting and thinning densities?
