| Title: |
Effect of Fern Competition
and Deer Browsing on Allegheny Hardwood Seedlings After Shelterwood
Cutting
|
| Objective: |
To determine the effect of fern interference and deer browsing
on the establishment survival and growth of Allegheny hardwood
seedlings under two shelterwood cutting situations: a) a previously-thinned
stand now ready for the first cut (seed cut) of a shelterwood
sequence; and b) a stand that has previously received the seed
cut of a shelterwood sequence and is now ready for final harvest. |
| Year Established: |
1975 |
| Year Completed: |
1980 |
| Site Description: |
The study was set up in 2 stands on the land of Hammermill
Paper Company. The first stand, representing a first cut of
a 2-cut shelterwood, is on the Smethport district and the second
stand, representing the final cut of a 2-cut shelterwood, is
located on the Coudersport district. Both stands had abundant
herbaceous cover over virtually 100% of each site. The Smethport
stand and about half of the Coudersport stand were covered with
hay scented fern. The remainder of the Coudersport stand supports
a dense growth of short husk grass. |
| Statistical Design: |
20 Randomized Blocks each containing 3 6'-radius plots, representing
fenced, fenced weeded, and control (no treatment) treatments.
The plots on Coudersport areas are still identifiable. |
| Likelihood of Locating Study Areas: |
100% |
| Experimental Treatments: |
A portion of the overstory on the Smethport site was marked
and removed just after study plots were designated in July 1975.
The Couldersport district site was thinned to 50% basal area
about 1969. All vegetation in all plots were tallied during
the summer of 1975 before cutting and weeded plots were weeded
(1975) . Ten black cherry seedlings were marked with plastic
tags for height measurements. Cutting: Smethport - July 1975;
Coudersport - winter 1975-76. Hand weeding of appropriate plots
was done several times during the summer of 1975 and will continue
for the duration of the experiments at required intervals. Plot
centers were marked and fencing was erected after cutting: August
1975. The area on the Smethport District was sprayed with herbicides
and clear-cut in 1990. |
| Sampling Methods: |
All vegetation on each plot was recorded by species, abundance
and height at the time of installation (July 1975) and annually
thereafter. |
| Variables and Sampling Frequency: |
Independent: deer browsing, interference from fern or grass,
shelterwood cuttings.
Dependent: survival of seedlings by size class, and mean height
(to the nearest millimeter) of the 10 black cherry seedlings:
autumn 1975,1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980.
General Sources of Variation: soil-site, light exposure, small
mammal damage. |
| QA/QC Practices: |
Data are proofed after field collection and data entry. Data
collection supervised by permanent employees. |
| Data Storage: |
Raw data by plot reside on DG and tally sheets are kept with
written instructions and detailed maps to each stand. Annually,
the raw data are transformed using the REGEN1 program in DG
Info. System. Summarized data by plot and by stand reside in
a DG-based program that can output to ASCII text files. |
| Global Change Research Applications: |
Studies of Ecosystem Processes |
| Data Availability: |
1983 |
| Publications and Reports: |
Study plan. 1975. David Marquis and Stephen Horsley.
Establishment and Progress report. 1977. Virgil Flick.
Progress report. 1978. Virgil Flick.
The above are office reports of U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station, Warren,
PA.
Horsley, S.B.; Marquis, D.A. 1983. Interference by weeds
and deer with Allegheny hardwood reproduction. Can. J. For.
Res. 13: 61-64.
|
| Contact: |
Stephen Horsley, USDA, Forest Service, P.O.
Box 267, Irvine, PA. 16329. (814) 563-1040 |
| Cooperation: |
Hammermil Paper Co. |
