Ecology and Silviculture of Oaks

by UNKNOWN

• ISBN13: 9781845934743
• ISBN10: 1845934741
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-12-06
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Summary

This new edition focuses on the diverse oak forests of the United States. The authors present principles on how to understand and manage oak forests to meet different objectives. These concepts are based on recognising similarities and differences among the various kinds of oak forests. Thus the underlying principles presented are applicable to many, if not most, of the oak forests of the world. The book draws on the authors' extensive experience and knowledge of the distribution, regeneration ecology, stand dynamics, growth and yield, and traditional as well as new silvicultural practices for multi-resource management. The book covers timber values as well as non-commodity values associated with oak savannas, acorn production, old growth forests, and aesthetics. New and updated sections include information on carbon sequestration, the production of biofuels, impacts of climate change, and insect and disease problems in oak forests including sudden oak death - a recently discovered serious pathogen.

Table of Contents

Preface to the Second Edition	p. x
Acknowledgements	p. xiii
Introduction	p. 1
Conflicting Environmental Philosophies	p. 1
Silviculture: a Consilient Discipline	p. 5
References	p. 7
Ecology
Oak-dominated Ecosystems	p. 8
Introduction	p. 8
The Taxonomy of Oaks	p. 9
The Geographic Distribution of US Oaks	p. 10
Species ranges and groupings	p. 10
Distribution of oaks by hierarchically classified ecoregions	p. 16
Eastern Oak Forests	p. 19
The Northern Hardwood Region	p. 19
The Central Hardwood Region	p. 26
The Southern Pine-Hardwood Region	p. 33
The Forest-Prairie Transition Region	p. 36
Western Oak Forests	p. 40
The Southwestern Desert-Steppe Region	p. 40
The Pacific Mediterranean-Marine Region	p. 43
The Influence of Climate Change	p. 48
Notes	p. 52
References	p. 52
Regeneration Ecology I: Flowering, Fruiting and*Reproduction Characteristics	p. 58
Introduction	p. 58
Flowering	p. 59
Male flowers	p. 59
Female flowers	p. 62
Factors Affecting Acorn Production	p. 63
Weather	p. 65
Premature abscission	p. 66
Variation in acorn production	p. 68
Acorn Predation and Dispersal	p. 73
Insects: destroyers of acorns	p. 74
The significance of acorn dispersal by animals	p. 81
Oak Seedling Establishment	p. 92
Germination and initial establishment	p. 92
Early growth	p. 94
Seedling Sprouts	p. 100
Shoot dieback and root: shoot ratio	p. 100
Occurrence of shoot dieback	p. 102
Stump Sprouts and Related Growth Forms	p. 106
Definitions and origins	p. 106
Sprouting probability	p. 109
Sprout growth and mortality	p. 112
Dominance probability	p. 116
Notes	p. 118
References	p. 118
Regeneration Ecology II: Population Dynamics	p. 134
Introduction	p. 134
Regeneration Strategy	p. 135
Reproductive mechanisms: seeding and sprouting	p. 135
Accumulation of oak reproduction	p. 138
Fluctuation in population density	p. 159
Regeneration Potential	p. 165
Regeneration mode	p. 165
Modelling theory and objectives	p. 173
Stand-level regeneration models: purpose, problems and limitations	p. 175
Notes	p. 176
References	p. 177
Site Productivity and Stand Development
Site Productivity	p. 188
Introduction	p. 188
Measures of Site Productivity	p. 189
Relation of Site Productivity to Ecological Classification	p. 192
Productivity and Related Self-sustaining Properties of Oak Forests	p. 193
Effects of harvesting on site productivity	p. 193
Modifying site productivity through fertilization	p. 196
Methods of Evaluating Site Quality	p. 197
Site index	p. 197
Site evaluation alternatives to site index	p. 206
Notes	p. 210
References	p. 210
Development of Natural Stands	p. 216
Introduction	p. 216
Forest Canopy Layers	p. 216
Disturbance	p. 217
Disturbance type	p. 218
Disturbance size and frequency of occurrence	p. 218
Response to disturbance	p. 220
Development of Even-aged Stands	p. 221
The stand initiation stage	p. 223
The stem exclusion stage	p. 225
The understorey reinitiation stage	p. 231
The complex stage	p. 238
Development of Uneven-aged Stands	p. 238
Disturbance-Recovery Cycles	p. 239
References	p. 247
Self-thinning and Stand Density	p. 250
Introduction	p. 250
Self-thinning	p. 250
Reineke's model	p. 250
The -3/2 rule	p. 252
Stand Density and Stocking	p. 258
Terminology	p. 258
Maximum and minimum growing space	p. 260
Stand density diagrams	p. 264
Note	p. 276
References	p. 276
Silviculture, Growth and Yield
Even-aged Silvicultural Methods	p. 280
Introduction	p. 280
Natural Regeneration Methods	p. 281
The clearcutting method	p. 281
The shelterwood method	p. 300
The seed tree method	p. 304
Artificial Regeneration Methods	p. 305
Afforestation	p. 306
Enrichment planting	p. 318
Intermediate Cuttings	p. 329
Definitions and theory	p. 329
Application	p. 330
Special Problems: Reducing Insect and Disease Impacts	p. 340
Gypsy moth	p. 340
Oak decline	p. 350
Oak wilt	p. 353
Sudden oak death	p. 357
Economic, Environmental and Social Considerations	p. 359
The clearcutting method	p. 359
The shelterwood and seed tree methods	p. 361
Note	p. 361
References	p. 361
Uneven-aged Silvicultural Methods	p. 379
Introduction	p. 379
The Single-tree Selection Method	p. 381
Principles of application	p. 381
Applicability to oak forests	p. 396
The Group Selection Method	p. 411
Economic, Environmental and Social Considerations	p. 419
Notes	p. 421
References	p. 421
Silvicultural Methods for Multi-resource Management	p. 429
Introduction	p. 429
Oak Savannahs and Woodlands	p. 429
Characteristics and extent	p. 429
Disturbance processes	p. 431
Managing oak savannahs and woodlands	p. 435
Managing Stands for Acorn Production	p. 441
Assessing and predicting acorn crops	p. 442
Guidelines for sustaining acorn production	p. 450
Managing Stands for Biomass Production and Carbon Sequestration	p. 455
Sequestering carbon in trees	p. 455
Estimating biomass and carbon	p. 456
Managing for biomass production	p. 459
Managing for carbon sequestration	p. 461
Old-growth Oak Forests	p. 465
Extent and characteristics	p. 466
Silvicultural options	p. 467
Old-growth oak forests at the landscape scale	p. 471
Aesthetics	p. 473
Stand-level aesthetics	p. 474
Landscape-level aesthetics	p. 477
Notes	p. 479
References	p. 479
Growth and Yield	p. 492
Introduction	p. 492
Growth of an Oak	p. 493
Annual phenology	p. 493
Diameter growth	p. 494
Height growth	p. 500
Survival rates	p. 507
Stand Growth	p. 509
Growth and yield in even-aged stands	p. 509
Growth and yield in uneven-aged stands	p. 516
Growth and Yield Models	p. 517
Modelling methods	p. 517
Stand-level models for oaks	p. 518
Stand table projection models	p. 521
Individual-tree-level models for oaks	p. 522
Estimating ingrowth	p. 528
Model evaluation	p. 531
Volume Equations	p. 532
Regional Patterns in Yield and Productivity	p. 533
Note	p. 534
References	p. 534
Common and Scientific Names of Species Mentioned	p. 543
Forest Cover Types of Eastern USA Dominated by Oaks or Oaks Mixed with other Species	p. 551
Forest Cover Types of Western USA Dominated by Oaks or Oaks Mixed with other Species	p. 556
Formulae for Converting Site Index (in feet at base age 50) of One Species to Another in Unglaciated Regions of Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia	p. 559
Formulae for Converting Site Indexes (in feet at base age 50) for Oaks and Associated Species from One Species to Another in Three Regions	p. 560
Formulae for Converting Yellow-poplar Site Index to Oak Site Indexes in the Virginia-Carolina Piedmont	p. 562
Parameter Estimates for Site Index Asymptotes (S) and Species Coefficients (b) for Deriving Height/dbh Site Index Curves from Equation 4.1	p. 563
Common Conversions	p. 564
Index	p. 566
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