Third-year response of oak natural reproduction to a shelterwood harvest and midstory cpmpetition control in the Arkansas Ozarks
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A study evaluating the response of oak natural reproduction to a shelterwood harvest and midstory competition control in an upland hardwood stand within the Ozark Highlands of Arkansas was conducted. The study site was 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 were established within a 140-acre shelterwood harvest on north-facing slopes (site indices 65 to 75 for oaks) in a 110-year-old upland hardwood stand. The overstory was dominated by white oak (Quercus alba L.), black oak (Q. velutina Lam.), and northern red oak (Q. rubra L.). Treatments include: (1) shelterwood harvest to 50 square feet per acre (BA50); (2) shelterwood harvest to 50 square feet per acre plus injection of non-oak midstory trees (1 to 5 inches d.b.h.; BA50+MR); and (3) non-harvested control (NHC). Initial mean oak seedlings per acre (SPA) were 308 (± 49.8); 613 (± 123.8); and 548 (± 72.0) for BA50, BA50+MR, and NHC, respectively. Year 3 post-treatment mean oak SPAs were 1,698 (± 365); 3,070 (± 807.8); and 3,340 (± 990.3), respectively. A significant difference was detected between initial versus year 3 values for all three treatments (p = 0.003, 0.008, and 0.007 respectively; student’s t-test, α = 0.05). No differences in total oak SPA were detected between treatments within year 3. Significant differences were detected between initial and year 3 oak SPA by height class for BA50 and BA50+MR. BA50+MR exhibited the greatest changes in oak seedling height growth.