Regeneration response to midstory control following long-term single tree selection management of Southern Appalachian hardwoods
This article is part of a larger document. View the larger document here.Abstract
Sustainability of the single tree selection system in the mixed hardwood forests of the southern Appalachians is compromised by insufficient recruitment of oak species. In 1986, portions of a stand at Bent Creek Experimental Forest that have been under single tree selection management since 1945 were subjected to a midstory herbicide treatment in an effort to improve the competitive status of oak species. Regeneration density of oak species and red maple, the primary competitor species, were measured in the treated stand and an untreated control in 2003. The results of this study suggest the potential for oak recruitment has been increased by the herbicide treatment.