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Catalog
of Long Term Research Conducted by the Northeastern Research Station
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Catalog #55
| Title: |
Evaluation of Allegheny Hardwood
Site Quality
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| Objective: |
To identify the soil, stand, and environmental variables that
affect 1) the capacity of Allegheny hardwood stands to produce
wood, 2) the quantity of advanced regeneration in normally stocked
stands, and 3) the quantity of ferns and grasses present in
uncut stands. |
| Year Established: |
1982 |
| Year Completed: |
1986 |
| Site Description: |
NY. and northwestern PA. Allegheny hardwood forests. Stands
chosen for study were between 60 and 75 years old and each stand
was uniform in species composition, soils, and topography. Dominant
species were black cherry, sugar maple, and red maple. Common
associates were white ash, American beech, eastern hemlock,
and black birch. Elevation varied between ~1,000' to 2,600'.
Within this range, the effective soil depth varied from a foot
or less in soils where an impermeable and strongly cemented
fragipan has developed to more than 6 feet in some areas. The
geologic strata from which the soils formed were represented
by a number of formations from Pennsylvanian, Mississippian,
and Devonian age materials. |
| Statistical Design: |
A series of temporary square 0.5-acre plots on the Allegheny
Plateau were established in fully stocked, even-age stands that
encompassed the existent range of soil and topographic conditions.
The selected stands were free from major historical disturbances
such as cutting, windthrow, and major stem damage. |
| Likelihood of Locating Study Areas: |
20% |
| Experimental Treatments: |
No human intervention. |
| Sampling Methods: |
All field measurements were taken according to the Standard
Code and Instructions for Using Tally Form for Regeneration
Studies (1980, USDA Forest Service Unit 1152, Warren, PA.).
Measurements of stand volume, site index, stand height, and
stand volume growth are related to stand age, species composition,
and soil and topographic features. The final product will be
a model that can be easily and routinely applied to evaluate
site productivity.
Inventory = all trees > 1.0" d.b.h. were measured for species,
crown class, diameter, total height, height to 4.5" diameter
outside bark, height to 11.0" diameter outside bark, merchantable
height.
Crown Class = dominant, codominant, intermediate, suppressed.
Diameter was measured to the nearest 0.1" at 4.5' above the
ground on the uphill side of the tree.
Heights were recorded to the nearest 1.0' using a Blume-Leiss
altimeter during the leaf-off season.
Increment Cores were extracted from each site tree at 4.5' above
the ground on the uphill side of the bole.
Height and age determinations were measured on 15 dominant and
codominant black cherry trees in each plot that show no evidence
of past suppression and which did not have major stem defects.
Remaining trees on each plot were measured for species, d.b.h.,
merchantable height to a 4" top, and tree quality. Advance seedling
tallies included all seedlings less than 4' tall by species
on 15 square 0.001-acre plots.
% Of area covered by ferns and grasses was determined from tallies
made at the same points used to assess advance regeneration.
Soil and topographic descriptions including subsurface soil
descriptions were obtained from three excavations per plot,
which were made using a backhoe. |
| Variables and Sampling Frequency: |
Independent: site index, height, stand volume in cubic feet/acre
at mean stand age, stand volume in cubic feet/acre, average
annual volume growth in cubic feet/acre, number of advance seedlings,
% area covered by ferns, number of fern fronds per acre, % area
covered by grasses.
Dependent: average stand age, species composition, stocking,
acceptable growing stock stocking, CAP diameter, elevation,
aspect, slope, geologic parent material, longitude and latitude,
F + H horizon thickness, A1 and A horizon thickness, Effective
soil depth, depth to strong mottling, drainage class, texture
of A horizon, texture of B horizon, surface and subsurface stoniness,
soil series.
Ground cover and soils evaluated, and stands measured: 1982,
1983, 1984. |
| QA/QC Practices: |
"Tailgate" safety sessions were given prior to starting any
new phase of work. Tree heights were measured by only 1 person
using a Blume-Leiss altimeter. Only an experienced operator
used the backhoe for soil excavations. Data were field checked
and data-entry into computer was 100% cross checked with field
sheets. |
| 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: |
2000 |
| Publications and Reports: |
Working plan. 1982. Lew Auchmoody. U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station, Warren,
PA. |
| Contact: |
Susan Stout, USDA, Forest Service, P.O.
Box 267, Irvine PA 16329. (814) 563-1040 |
| Cooperation: |
Allegheny National Forest |
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