Competition between forest brush and planted white spruce in north-central Maine
1995
This experiment was designed to examine competition between planted white spruce (2 + 2 transplants and paperpot seedlings) and natural conifer regeneration, ferns, fireweed, grasses and sedges, hardwood brush, herbs, red raspberry, and shrubs on a somewhat poorly and a well drained site three growing seasons after planting in north-central Maine. Only conifers, hardwood brush, and red raspberry, however, produced enough cover to allow comparison of their competitive potentials. When present 0.5-1.5 m above ground and within 0.5 m of a planted stem, conifers, hardwood brush, and red raspberry cover consistently decreased spruce growth. When cover was equal, hardwood brush caused greater growth reductions than red raspberry, but raspberry cover was more common. Spruce grew better on the well drained than on the somewhat poorly drained site. Competitive vegetation was much more abundant on the well drained site, and reduced spruce growth to a greater degree there than on the somewhat poorly drained site. The smaller paperpot seedlings suffered more from competition and browsing than did the larger 2 + 2 transplants. Controlling broadleaved competition on the better site increased spruce growth; competition control on the poorer site was less critical, but even there the control of hardwood brush and dense conifers increased spruce growth.
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