Canopy gap formation is a major factor contributing to maintenance of overstory species diversity and stand structure in forests and may be integral to development of understory shrub and herb layers as well. Acknowledgement of gap formation as a fundamental feature of natural forests has led to consideration of gaps...
Growing societal demand for forest products is pressuring managers to increase productivity from a finite land area, and it is expected that increased supply will come mostly from expansion of intensively managed stands. The USDA Forest Service and numerous collaborators created the Long-Term Soil Productivity (LTSP) network of research sites...
In forest trees from temperate and boreal regions, cold acclimation is an important
adaptive trait that involves changes in gene expression and physiology. Genecological, quantitative genetic, and QTL studies have been used to study the genetics of cold acclimation in Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco), but the genes responsible for...
The authors varied the number of red alder retained with 300 Douglas-fir per acre on a high-quality site in coastal Oregon. Alder densities of 0, 20, 40, and 80 per acre were tested. The authors' fifth treatment eliminated nitrogen-fixing alder, but substantial nitrogen fertilizer. Treatment 6 had neither thinning nor...
For nearly two decades, foresters in the Oregon Coast Range have been witnessing a substantial decease in Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii [Mirb.] Franco.) vigor and growth, caused by Swiss needle cast (Phaeocryptopus gaeumannii). Currently, no solutions are in sight but aerially-applied sulfur may alleviate Swiss needle cast and its...
Understanding how N availability influences base cation stores is critical for long-term ecosystem sustainability. Indices of nitrogen (N) availability and the distribution of nutrients in plant biomass, soil, and soil water were examined across ten young, unpolluted Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) stands in the Oregon Coast Range spanning a three-fold soil...
Disease is often overlooked as a natural disturbance agent in plant communities. This study examines what effects, if any, a disease-mediated disturbance has on the plant community as a whole in old-growth and mature forests of western Oregon. Phellinus weirii (Murrill) Gilbertson (Family: Hymenochaetaceae) is a native root-rotting pathogen that...