Douglas-fir seedlings were inoculated with different species of
ectomycorrhizae-forming fungi in order to test the concept that
ectomycorrhizae enhance the drought tolerance of seedlings and to
investigate the mechanisms responsible for this effect.
Seedlings were transplanted at age 6 to 8 weeks into pots
containing pasteurized loam soil and inoculated...
Reforesting harvested lands in southwestern Oregon has been
difficult because of low rainfall, high evaporative demand, and
competitive understory vegetation. Herbicides have been a preferred
method to control competing vegetation but herbicide use on federal
lands was curtailed in 1984. As a result, interest in livestock
grazing as a vegetation...
Port-Orford-cedar (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana) is a forest tree native to
a small area of Oregon and California. A root disease caused by
Phytophthora lateralis causes widespread mortality of Port-Orford-cedar.
This dissertation examines three important elements of the Port-Orford-cedar
P. lateralis pathosystem related to breeding for disease resistance:
use of resistant rootstocks...
Xylem conducting tissue or sapwood is an important storage organ
for water, carbohydrates, and nutrients, and this storage helps trees
accommodate environmental change. However, the living ray parenchyma
cells in sapwood, which store the carbohydrates and nutrients,
require energy for maintenance. I examined how sapwood maintenance
costs vary among species,...