How Do You Rate This Publication?       

Title:	Impacts of mechanical tree felling on development of water tupelo regeneration in the Mobile Delta, Alabama
Author(s):	Gardiner, Emile S.; Russell, D. Ramsey, Jr.; Hodges, John D.; Fristoe, T. Conner
Date:	2000
Source:	Southern Journal of Applied Forestry. 24(2): 65-69.
Description:	Two water tupelo (Nyssa aquatica L.) stands in the Mobile Delta of Alabama were selected to test the hypothesis that mechanized felling does not reduce establishment and growth of natural water tupelo regeneration relative to traditional tree felling with chainsaws. To test the hypothesis, we established six 2 acre treatment plots in each of two blocks on each of two sites, and randomly assigned plots to either mechanical tree felling with a tracked, swing feller or chainsaw felling. Each site was clearcut in fall 1992, and merchantable boles were removed by helicopter. Establishment and growth of regeneration was assessed prior to harvest and annually for 3 yr after harvest in five 0.01 acre measurement plots located in each treatment plot. Stand harvesting promoted establishment of water tupelo seedlings such that 3 yr after treatment we recorded over 270/acre on each site regardless of felling method. Seedling height increased at a steady rate and averaged about 39 inches tall after three growing seasons. Woody competition also responded to the harvest, outnumbering water tupelo seedlings 3 yr after treatment by as much as seven to one on 2. Water tupelo stump sprouts developing from chainsaw felling grew well and averaged about 13.5 ft tall after three growing seasons. However, mechanical felling reduced water tupelo stump sprouting by 50 percent, leading to a lower density of sprout clumps in mechanically felled plots (P = 0.0253). Our results indicated that mechanical felling techniques used in this study may adversely impact regeneration of water tupelo swamps where coppice is a desirable form of reproduction.
	View and Print this Publication (195 KB)
Pristine Version:	An uncaptured or "pristine" version of this publication is available. It has not been subjected to OCR (Optical Character Recognition) and therefore does not have any errors in the text. However it is a larger file size and some people may experience long download times. The "pristine" version of this publication is available here: View and Print the PRISTINE copy of this Publication (1.5 MB)
Publication Notes:	We recommend that you also print this page and attach it to the printout of the article, to retain the full citation information. This article was written and prepared by U.S. Government employees on official time, and is therefore in the public domain. Our on-line publications are scanned and captured using Adobe Acrobat. During the capture process some typographical errors may occur. Please contact the SRS Webmaster, srswebmaster@fs.fed.us if you notice any errors which make this publication unuseable.
	Get the latest version of the Adobe Acrobat reader or Acrobat Reader for Windows with Search and Accessibility