(04) Tracking white oak growth 51 years after a high-grade harvest

In this study, I examined the response of an upland oak forest after a harvesting event in 1977 on top of the Cumberland Plateau in Sewanee, Tennessee. In 1977, Gene McGee of the U. S. Forest Service measured and tagged 104... [ view full abstract ]

In this study, I examined the response of an upland oak forest after a harvesting event in 1977 on top of the Cumberland Plateau in Sewanee, Tennessee. In 1977, Gene McGee of the U. S. Forest Service measured and tagged 104 white oak (Quercus alba) trees near Dick’s Cove after a high-grade harvest (reduction of basal area to 30 ft²/acre), and the exact location of each tree was documented on a map. The primary goal of this experiment was to analyze the response of overtopped white oaks to release (exposure to sunlight). An additional experiment was also set up in an adjacent forest that had not been recently logged. My research included the relocation of the 104 tagged trees in the harvested area, and as well as the 40 trees in the unlogged forest. I remeasured every living tree for their diameter at breast height (DBH), height and form. The number of epicormic sprouts on the stem below the tree crown and height to the first sprout or branch were recorded and compared to observations in 1977.  Because all the trees were aged in 1977, we will examine growth over time and by initial age of the tree. We will also estimate carbon storage by the trees over time.