White oak (Quercus alba) is more resistant to oak decline than other oak species in the eastern U.S. where millions of acres of forest have been devastated by oak decline during the past few decades. White oak has also shown increased growth efficiency in a CO2-enriched atmosphere which could be an important attribute under our increasingly CO2 rich world. However, oak regeneration is disappearing from eastern forests while efforts to successfully regenerate oak and maintain its survival have been mixed. Survival probabilities of white oak in small circular openings ranging in size from 0.001 to 0.175 ha twelve years after opening creation are presented. At the beginning of the study 3,948 advance regeneration white oak were measured and tagged to determine survival of each tagged seedling at the end of the study.
Results/Conclusions
Logistic regression indicated that variables important in predicting advance regeneration survival included initial seedling basal diameter, aspect, slope, canopy opening size, opening border tree height and treatment for control of understory competition. Survival probability ranged from 10% to 90% depending on the combination of and disposition of variables. For these small openings, the greatest probability of survival of advance regeneration resulted when advance regeneration initial basal diameters were ≥ 1 cm, when the height of trees bordering the openings were relatively short, with understory competition control, in the largest canopy openings, on moderate slopes, and on southwest and northwest aspects. These criteria can help managers select sites and treatment options for opening creation that provide optimal conditions for advance regeneration survival.