Establishing Optimal Forest Density for Growth of California Black Oak Within the Sierra Nevada

John B. Holden IV*, Kathleen M. Conroy, Sophan Chhin, and Jianwei Zhang
1Forest Resources Management Program, Division of Forestry and Natural Resources, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, 26506. 2Pacific Southwest Research Station, United States Forest Service,Redding, California 96002-9241

Presentation No.: 29

Assigned Category (Presentation Format): Agricultural & Environmental Sciences (Poster Presentations)

Student’s Major: Forest Resources Management

California black oak is a shade-intolerant, hardwood tree species that is experiencing population decline due to a change in western wildfire dynamics. Black oak survival and establishment requires an open forest structure created by wildfires that allows for an early successional growth advantage in black oak’s root sprouting ability. Crown thinning has proven to be an effective silvicultural technique at mimicking this forest structure and may aid in providing black oak additional resiliency to competition. In this study, we examine differences in oak density and composition over time following a series of wildfires within Lassen National Forest. Preliminary analysis indicates that sites with initially low oak composition and density in years following a wildfire may hold potential for being favorable black oak sites. This result may be explained by lessened competition among young oak specimens, and thus greater survival and growth rates of the remaining black oak. With this information, crown thinning may be utilized more effectively in early rotation ages to improve black oak stand conditions while reducing the risk of high-severity crown fires.

Funding: US Forest Service Joint Venture Agreement #19-JV-11272139-021

Program/mechanism supporting research/creative efforts: WVU's SURE program (Rita Rio & Michelle Richards-Babb)