Stump sprouting of 19 upland hardwood species 1 year following initiation of a shelterwood with reserves silvicultural system in the southern Appalachian Mountains, USA

Abstract

Models that quantify the probability of stump sprouting P(s) and sprout characteristics for predominant tree species in the southern Appalachian Mountains, USA are lacking. In this study, 375 plots (0.01 ha) were installed across five stands in eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina. Trees ≥3.8 cm diameter at 1.37 m above groundline (dbh) were tagged, and dbh and species recorded. Stands were regenerated using a two-aged silvicultural system (residual basal area (BA) <6.3 m2 ha−1). One growing season post-harvest, we recorded (1) sprouting (yes/no), (2) the number of sprouts per stump (sprout density), and (3) dominant (tallest) sprout height. Sprout density, sprout height, and P(s) were modeled as function of dbh, site index (SI), and BA. For white (Quercus alba L.), black (Quercus velutina Lam.), scarlet (Quercus coccinea Muenchh.), and northern red (Quercus rubra L.) oaks, and sweet birch (Betula lenta L.), yellow buckeye (Aesculus flava Aiton), and red maple (Acer rubrum L.), P(s) was inversely related to dbh. Sprout density was positively related to (1) dbh for red maple, yellow buckeye, sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum L. (DC)), silverbell (Halesia tetraptera Ellis), and white basswood (Tilia heterophylla Vent.), and (2) SI for scarlet oak. For eight species, sprout height was influenced by dbh, SI, dbh and SI, or dbh and BA. Because stump sprouts are a primary source of regeneration, the information on stump sprouting produced for these 19 species can be used to quantify and predict early stand dynamics following regeneration harvests in these diverse southern Appalachian hardwood stands.