Living stumps in the Sierra Nevada

Abstract

In a dense forest that has been thinned recently there are often some tree stumps that are still alive and growing despite the loss of their green tops. Such stumps have been noted for many years and are known to be products of root-grafting between trees (Bormann and Graham 1957). If light cutting or windfall occurs in a dense stand where root-grafting is common, food materials in the standing members of a grafted clump will move through root-grafts into the fresh stumps. Thus the cambium of a stump can continue to add increments of wood and bark. This paper reports on studies of the properties of living stumps, their longevity, and their growth. Data are based on above-ground examinations of 25 living stumps of 6 species of Sierra Nevada conifers, and cursory observations of several dozen others. The stumps are on the La Porte Ranger District of the Plumas National Forest in California. Several are within the Challenge Experimental Forest which is operated by the Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station.

Citation

Lanner, Ronald M. 1961. Living stumps in the Sierra Nevada. Ecology. 42(1): 170-173.