First year response of oak natural regeneration to a shelterwood harvest and midstory competition control in the Arkansas Ozarks
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A study evaluating the response of oak reproduction to a shelterwood harvest and midstory competition control in an upland hardwood stand within the Ozark Highlands of Arkansas is being conducted. The study site is located in the dissected Springfield Plateau physiographic region on the University of Arkansas – Division of Agriculture Livestock and Forestry Research Station near Batesville, AR. Five-acre treatment plots have been established within a 140 acre shelterwood harvest on north-facing slopes (SI 65 - 75 for oaks) in a 110 year old upland hardwood stand. The overstory is dominated by white oak (Quercus alba L.), black oak (Quercus velutina Lam.), and northern red oak (Quercus rubra L.). Treatments include: 1) shelterwood harvest to basal area (BA) 50 ft2 a-1 (BA50); 2) shelterwood harvest to BA 50 plus injection of undesirable stems greater than 1inch DBH (BA50+MR); and 3) non-harvested/ control treatment (NHC). For BA50 and BA50+MR, post-treatment basal areas ranged from 45 to 55 ft2 a-1, resulting in approximately a 55 percent reduction in over-story density. The NHC remained at initial basal area levels (~ 94 ft2 a-1). The mean post-treatment mid-story density for BA50 was 157.5 TPA, resulting in approximately a 51 percent reduction from initial mid-story density from harvest damage. The BA50+MR mid-story trees were near 100 percent removed from chemical injection treatments (~ 310 TPA). NHC mid-story densities were approximately the same as initial stand conditions. Mean mid-day photosynthetic photon flux densities (PPFDs) following treatment applications were 476.0 (± 75.3, α=0.05), 640.8 (± 180.3, α=0.05) and 62.5(± 60.0, α=0.05) μmol photons m2 s-1, respectively for BA50, BA50+MR, and NHC.