Relationships between stump sprouting and parent-tree diameter in sugar maple in the 1st year following clear-cutting

Abstract

Sprouting of sugar maple (Acersaccharum Marsh.) was investigated in the first growing period following conventional, commercial clear-cutting in the Nashwaak Experimental Watershed Project, in New Brunswick. The number of sprouts and the height of the tallest sprout on 296 stumps from dormant-period cuts were recorded. A regression equation was developed from standing trees in adjacent uncut areas to predict dbh from diameter at stump height. The percentage of stumps which bore sprouts decreased with increasing dbh greater than 15 cm. The relationships between dbh and number of sprouts per stump, and between dbh and height of the tallest sprout per stump were bimodal with frequency peaks occurring at 10 and 65 cm. The number of clumps of sprouts per stump was relatively constant in all dbh classes except for an apparent increase in the 65-cm dbh class.