Browsing by Author "Slesak, Robert A."

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    Comparative effects of soil resource availability on physiology and growth of Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius) and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) seedlings
    Carter, David R.; Slesak, Robert A.; Harrington, Timothy B.; D'Amato, Anthony W. (2019-12-01)
    Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius (L.) Link) is an invasive, N-fixing shrub in recently harvested Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco var. menziesii) forests in the Pacific Northwest. The ability of Scotch broom to dominate a site and displace Douglas-fir in this region may be mediated by site quality and site resource supply. Individual seedlings of Scotch broom (n = 46) and Douglas-fir (n = 46) were planted in a controlled nursery setting and monitored over two years to test the effects of irrigation and fertilization treatments on the physiology and growth of these oft-conflicting species. Overall, Scotch broom remained largely unaffected by resource availability relative to Douglas-fir, which was more sensitive to water and nutrient availability. Scotch broom consistently showed greater assimilation and transpiration rates and plant water potentials than Douglas-fir under all treatments - indicating an elevated ability to acquire soil water resources. The conservative ecology of Douglas-fir resulted in greater water-use efficiency than Scotch broom throughout the experiment, however. Similarly, Douglas-fir crown and height growth started later in the growing season and ended earlier than that of Scotch broom, indicating a longer growing season for Scotch broom but also the importance of resource availability early in the growing season for Douglas-fir given its determinate growth. While Douglas-fir growth reflected the additive effects of increased resource availability, it did not surpass the growth of Scotch broom, which maintained steady growth and biomass accrual under all treatment conditions. The height of Douglas-fir growing under optimized conditions was approximately 40 cm less than that of Scotch broom regardless of treatment regime by the end of the two-year study. This demonstrates how critical early intervention is for land managers in order to control this invasive to avoid Scotch broom overtopping Douglas-fir seedlings during stand establishment.
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    Ecohydrology and self-organization of black ash wetlands
    Diamond, Jacob S. (Virginia Tech, 2019-04-19)
    Wetlands self-organize through reciprocal controls between vegetation and hydrology, but external disturbance may disrupt these feedbacks with consequent changes to ecosystem state. Imminent and widespread emerald ash borer (EAB) infestation throughout North America has raised concern over possible ecosystem state shifts in forested wetlands (i.e., to wetter, more herbaceous systems) and loss of forest function, calling for informed landscape-scale management strategies. In this dissertation, I use black ash wetlands as a model system to understand complex ecohydrological dynamics, and I use these dynamics to explain the self-organization of observed patterns in vegetation, hydrology, and microtopographic structure. The combined inferences from the three research chapters strongly implicate black ash trees as autogenic ecosystem engineers, who, through the process of improving their local growing conditions, cause a cascade of environmental changes that result in a unique ecosystem structure. This unique ecosystem structure is under existential threat from the invasive EAB. Through experiment, I show that loss of black ash trees to EAB induces persistent shifts in hydrology that result from reduced evapotranspiration and subsequent changes to water table regime (Chapter 2). These results suggest the potential for catastrophic shifts of black ash wetlands from forested to non-forested, marsh-like states under a do-nothing EAB management scenario. However, research presented here suggests that preemptive management of black ash wetlands can potentially mitigate loss of desirable forested conditions. Forest management to replace black ash with other wetland canopy species may be a slow and steady path towards forest maintenance, and harvesting may facilitate establishment of alternative species. In the case of preemptive harvesting of black ash, I posit that maintenance of microtopographic structure, either through leaving downed woody debris or through physical creation, is paramount to forest recovery. Microtopography in these ecosystems provides crucial relief from anaerobic stress generated by higher water tables, allowing woody species to persist on elevated microsites (e.g., 30 cm above base soil elevation). Moreover, I show that microtopography in black ash wetlands has clear structure and pattern and that its presence arises from self-organizing processes, driven by feedbacks among hydrology, biota, and soils (Chapter 3). I further show that this structured and non-random microtopography has profound influence on biogeochemical processes in black ash wetlands, controlling plant richness and biomass, and soil chemistry gradients (Chapter 4). Based on this work, I propose that structured wetland microtopography is a diagnostic feature of strongly coupled plant-water interactions, and these interactions may be important for ecosystem resilience to disturbance.
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    Effects of intensive management practices on 10-year Douglas-fir growth, soil nutrient pools, and vegetation communities in the Pacific Northwest, USA
    Slesak, Robert A.; Harrington, Timothy B.; Peter, David H.; DeBruler, Daniel G.; Schoenholtz, Stephen H.; Strahm, Brian D. (2016-04-01)
    Intensive management practices are commonly used to increase fiber production from forests, but potential tradeoffs with maintenance of long-term productivity and early successional biodiversity have yet to be quantified. We assessed soil and vegetation responses in replicated manipulations of logging debris (LD; either retained or removed) and competing vegetation control (VC; either initial or sustained annually for 5 years) for 10 years at two Douglas-fir sites that contrasted strongly in availability of soil nutrients and water. We evaluated (1) survival and growth of Douglas-fir to determine short-term effectiveness for fiber production, (2) change in soil C and nutrient pools as an indicator of longer-term effects of treatments on soil quality and ecosystem production, and (3) vegetation composition and cover for treatment effects on early successional biodiversity. Annual VC caused large increases in Douglas-fir growth at both sites, but increased survival only at the lower-productivity site. In most instances and regardless of site or treatment, soil C and nutrient pools increased following harvesting, but the increases were generally larger with lower intensity practices (LD retained and initial VC). Effects of LD were small and inconsistent at the higher productivity site, but LD retained increased Douglas-fir survival and growth and soil nutrient pools at the lower productivity site. Species diversity was reduced at both sites with annual VC because of increased Douglas-fir cover, but the magnitude was greater and the timing was earlier at the higher quality site where plant communities in all treatments had converged by year 10. Annual VC can be used to increase growth of planted Douglas-fir while maintaining soil nutrient pools for sustained ecosystem productivity, but a concurrent decrease in early successional diversity will occur with impacts increasing with site quality. Logging debris retention can have positive benefits to Douglas fir growth and soil nutrient pools, particularly at lower quality sites. Our results demonstrate a need for careful consideration of site quality to ensure that objectives are realized with regards to fiber production and maintenance of soil productivity and biodiversity with intensive forest management.
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    Estimating site susceptibility to Scotch broom dominance in young Douglas-fir plantations for control prioritization in western Washington, USA
    Boyle, Grady John (Virginia Tech, 2023-10-11)
    Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco var. menziesii), a keystone species in western Washington, faces threats on plantations across this region from the invasive species Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius (L.) Link), whose invasions on recently established stands can lead to mortality of Douglas-fir through overtopping. The susceptibility of sites to Scotch broom achieving dominance over Douglas-fir has been demonstrated as highly site dependent, however the site conditions that cause this have not yet been identified. Scotch broom has a demonstrated average maximum height of 3m, thus, after Douglas-fir exceeds this height, its risk of being overtopped is significantly reduced. This thesis strives to identify sites that were at the greatest risk Douglas-fir being overtopped by Scotch broom by first, identifying what factors improved growth of Douglas-fir during the period when they are at the greatest risk, and second, identifying factors that led to Douglas-fir outcompeting Scotch broom on sites they cohabitated. In Chapter 1, we utilized LiDAR scans, Soil Survey Geographic Database characteristics, and management histories to identify conditions that improved growth for Douglas-fir in ages 3-8. Individual tree detection was used to measure Douglas-fir heights, and a correction algorithm for LiDAR measured young Douglas-fir heights was established from field validation data. We identified that young Douglas-fir had improved growth on sites with lower elevation, flatter slopes, and finer textured soils. The factors identified were then transformed into four potential site index models based on mean stand elevation class, Mean stand elevation class and clay class, textural class and slope class, and textural class and Mean stand elevation class. In Chapter 2, we used paired field plots to examine Douglas-fir and Scotch broom competition on 19 sites across western Washington. Each site had 2 plots with only Douglas-fir and 2 plots with Douglas-fir and Scotch broom. Elevation, soil texture, and soil nutrient composition for carbon, nitrogen and available phosphorous were examined for influence on height and growth rate of both species. We identified that Scotch broom presence was negatively related to Douglas-fir height growth and that sites with either higher percentages of silt, lower concentrations of phosphorous, or higher percentages of Carbon were more likely to have growth patterns close to or exceeding Scotch broom.
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    Forested versus herbaceous wetlands: Can management mitigate ecohydrologic regime shifts from invasive emerald ash borer?
    Diamond, Jacob S.; McLaughlin, Daniel L.; Slesak, Robert A.; D'Amato, Anthony W.; Palik, Brian (2018-09-15)
    Wetlands self-organize through reciprocal controls between vegetation and hydrology, but external disturbance may disrupt these feedbacks with consequent changes to ecosystem state. Imminent and widespread emerald ash borer (EAB) infestation throughout North American forested wetlands has raised concern over possible ecosystem state shifts (i.e., wetter, more herbaceous systems) and loss of forest function, calling for informed landscape-scale management strategies. In response, we employed a large-scale manipulative study to assess the ecohydrologic response of black ash wetlands to three alternative EAB management strategies: 1) a do-nothing approach (i.e., simulated EAB infestation via tree girdling), 2) a preemptive, complete harvesting approach (i.e., clearcut), and 3) an overstory replacement approach via group selection. We analyzed six years of daily water table and evapotranspiration (ET) dynamics in six blocks comprising black ash wetlands (controls) and management strategy treatments to quantify potential for hydrologic change and subsequent recovery. In both the do-nothing approach and complete harvesting approach, we found persistent changes in hydrologic regime defined by shallower water tables and lower ET rates coupled with increased herbaceous vegetation growth, indicating ecosystem state shifts driven by vegetation-water table interactions. The do-nothing approach showed the least hydrologic recovery after five years, which we attribute to reduction in overstory transpiration as well as greater shade (via standing dead trees) that reduces open water evaporation and herbaceous layer transpiration compared to complete harvesting. We found no evidence of ecohydrologic disturbance in the overstory replacement approach, highlighting its potential as a management strategy to preserve forested wetland habitat if periodically executed over time before EAB infestation. Although the scale of potential disturbance is daunting, our findings provide a baseline assessment for forest managers to develop preemptive mitigation strategies to address the threat of EAB to ecological functions in black ash wetlands.
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    Hydrologic variability in black ash wetlands: Implications for vulnerability to emerald ash borer
    Cianciolo, Thomas R.; Diamond, Jacob S.; McLaughlin, Daniel L.; Slesak, Robert A.; D'Amato, Anthony W.; Palik, Brian J. (Wiley, 2021-04)
    Black ash (Fraxinus nigra) wetlands are widespread, forested landscape features in the western Great Lakes region. However, the future of these ecosystems is threatened due to impending spread of the invasive emerald ash borer (EAB), which results in tree mortality, decreased transpiration, and potential shifts to wetter, non-forested conditions. The vulnerability to such ecohydrologic shifts likely varies according to local hydrologic regimes controlled by landscape settings, but this site-dependent vulnerability and our ability to predict it is unknown. Here, we assessed vulnerability potential as a function of site hydrology in 15 undisturbed black ash wetlands from their three most common hydrogeomorphic settings in northern Minnesota: lowland, depression, and transition. Further, we used high-resolution (1-cm) surface elevation models to assess spatial variability of water levels at a subset of 10 sites. Although we observed similar ET and groundwater exchange rates among settings, lowland sites were generally drier because of elevated landscape position and greater water level drawdowns (via lower specific yield). We predict that such drier sites will exhibit greater water level increases following EAB-induced ash mortality, compared to wetter sites where open water evaporation and shallow-rooted understory transpiration will offset losses in tree transpiration. Moreover, compared to wetter sites, drier sites exhibited minimal microtopographic variation, limiting the number of elevated microsites for tree establishment and eventual canopy recovery after ash loss. These results suggest that site wetness is a simple and effective predictor of black ash wetland vulnerability to hydrologic regime change. To that end, we assessed the ability of common terrain metrics to predict site wetness, providing a potential tool to target vulnerable areas for active management efforts.
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    Legacy effects of non-native Cytisus scoparius in glacial outwash soils: Potential impacts to forest soil productivity in western Washington
    Slesak, Robert A.; Harrington, Timothy B.; D'Amato, Anthony W.; Carter, David R. (2021-02-01)
    Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius (L.) Link) is a highly competitive, nonnative, leguminous shrub species of major concern in coast Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco var. menziesii) forests of the Pacific Northwest that has potential to impact long-term soil productivity. We conducted a bioassay to assess the potential for legacy effects on soils (e.g., soil nutrient effects, soil seedbank, etc.) following Scotch broom removal and the potential for recovery over time. The bioassay was conducted using glacial-outwash soils from an existing Long-Term Soil Productivity study near Matlock, WA, USA, where Scotch broom had been removed or kept out for 0 (broom present), 4, 10, or 14 years. Soils from each broom removal duration were combined with fertilizer treatments to assess mechanisms of response of three native plant species: yarrow (Achillea millefolium L.), Roemer's fescue (Festuca idahoensis Elmer ssp. Roemeri), and coast Douglas-fir. There was evidence for negative soil legacy effects on Douglas-fir growth and biomass, which decreased with time since broom removal. Responses to the fertilizer treatments indicated the effect was not associated with reduced nutrient availability. In contrast, both yarrow and Roemer's fescue had significantly greater biomass in soil from where broom was recently present, which decreased with time since broom removal. Responses to the fertilizer treatments indicated that this positive legacy effect is associated with nutrient availability, likely increased N. Soils from 0 and 4 years since broom removal were estimated as having the potential to produce over 578,500 Scotch broom germinants ha(-1) . Our results demonstrate the potential for both negative and positive soil legacy effects of broom depending on the responding plant species. Combined effects of negative soil legacies and a large and viable seed bank from Scotch broom create growing conditions likely to hinder long-term productivity of Douglas-fir.
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    Logging-debris and vegetation-control treatments influence competitive relationships to limit 15-year productivity of coast Douglas-fir in western Washington and Oregon
    Harrington, Timothy B.; Slesak, Robert A.; Dollins, James P.; Schoenholtz, Stephen H.; Peter, David H. (2020-10-01)
    At two affiliate sites of the North American Long-Term Soil Productivity Study (Matlock, WA and Molalla, OR, USA), soil chemical properties and stand characteristics of planted coast Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii) were compared 15 years after forest harvesting and application of three logging-debris configurations (dispersed, piled, or removed) combined with either initial vegetation control (IVC; year 0) or annual vegetation control (AVC; years 0 to 5). At Matlock, soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) concentrations each were 17% greater after IVC than after AVC; at Molalla, soil N was 13% greater where debris was removed than where it was dispersed. At Matlock, cover of nonnative Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius) after IVC was greater where debris was removed (61%) than where it was piled (27%) or dispersed (7%), despite a control treatment in year 4. Conversely, covers of the native shrubs, trailing blackberry (Rubus ursinus) and salal (Gaultheria shallon) were 20% to 30% greater where debris was dispersed than where it was piled or removed. With AVC versus IVC, Douglas-fir stand volume was 34% to 159% greater at Matlock depending on the logging-debris treatment, and it was 30% greater at Molalla independent of debris treatments. However, Douglas-fir survival and growth after AVC did not differ among logging-debris treatments at either site. Survival of Douglas-fir growing <= 1 m from the edge of debris piles at Matlock averaged 16% greater than that of trees > 1 m from debris piles. Debris dispersal or piling at Matlock strongly mitigated Scotch broom impacts to forest productivity compared to debris removal. Our findings demonstrate how disturbance characteristics associated with forest harvesting and regeneration practices can influence vegetation recruitment and competitive relationships to place limits on longer-term forest productivity.
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    Microtopography is a fundamental organizing structure of vegetation and soil chemistry in black ash wetlands
    Diamond, Jacob S.; McLaughlin, Daniel L.; Slesak, Robert A.; Stovall, Atticus (2020-02-21)
    All wetland ecosystems are controlled by water table and soil saturation dynamics, so any local-scale deviation in soil elevation and thus water table position represents variability in this primary control. Wetland microtopography is the structured variability in soil elevation and is typically categorized into a binary classification of local high points (hummocks) and local low points (hollows). Although the influence of microtopography on vegetation composition and biogeochemical processes in wetlands has received attention around the globe, its role in forested wetlands is still less understood. We studied relationships among microtopography and understory vegetation communities, tree biomass, and soil chemistry in 10 black ash (Fraxinus nigra Marshall) wetlands in northern Minnesota, USA. To do so, we combined a 1 cm resolution surface elevation model generated from terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) with colocated water table, vegetation, and soil measurements. We observed that microtopography was an important structural element across sites, where hummocks were loci of greater species richness; greater midstory and canopy basal area; and higher soil concentrations of chloride, phosphorus, and base cations. In contrast, hollows were associated with higher soil nitrate and sulfate concentrations. We also found that the effect of microtopography on vegetation and soils was greater at wetter sites than at drier sites, suggesting that the distance-to-mean water table is a primary determinant of wetland biogeochemistry. These findings highlight clear controls of microtopography on vegetation and soil distributions while also supporting the notion that microtopography arises from feedbacks that concentrate biomass, soil nutrients, and productivity on microsite highs, especially in otherwise wet conditions. We therefore conclude that microtopography is a fundamental organizing structure in black ash wetlands.
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    Pattern and structure of microtopography implies autogenic origins in forested wetlands
    Diamond, Jacob S.; McLaughlin, Daniel L.; Slesak, Robert A.; Stovall, Atticus (European Geosciences Union, 2019-12-16)
    Wetland microtopography is a visually striking feature, but also critically influences biogeochemical processes at both the scale of its observation (10(-2)-10(2)m(2)) and at aggregate scales (10(2)-10(4) m(2)). However, relatively little is known about how wetland microtopography develops or the factors influencing its structure and pattern. Growing research across different ecosystems suggests that reinforcing processes may be common between plants and their environment, resulting in self-organized patch features, like hummocks. Here, we used landscape ecology metrics and diagnostics to evaluate the plausibility of plant-environment feedback mechanisms in the maintenance of wetland microtopography. We used terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) to quantify the sizing and spatial distribution of hummocks in 10 black ash (Fraxinus nigra Marshall) wetlands in northern Minnesota, USA. We observed clear elevation bimodality in our wettest sites, indicating microsite divergence into two states: elevated hummocks and low elevation hollows. We coupled the TLS dataset to a 3-year water level record and soil-depth measurements, and showed that hummock height (mean = 0.31 +/- 0.06 m) variability is largely predicted by mean water level depth (R-2 = 0.8 at the site scale, R-2 = 0.12-0.56 at the hummock scale), with little influence of subsurface microtopography on surface microtopography. Hummocks at wetter sites exhibited regular spatial patterning (i.e., regular spacing of ca. 1.5 m, 25 %-30 % further apart than expected by chance) in contrast to the more random spatial arrangements of hummocks at drier sites Hummock size distributions (perimeters, areas, and volumes) were lognormal, with a characteristic patch area of approximately 1 m(2) across sites. Hummocks increase the effective soil surface area for redox gradients and exchange interfaces in black ash wetlands by up to 32 %, and influence surface water dynamics through modulation of specific yield by up to 30 %. Taken together, the data support the hypothesis that vegetation develops and maintains hummocks in response to anaerobic stresses from saturated soils, with a potential for a micro-topographic signature of life.
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    Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius) modifies microenvironment to promote nonnative plant communities
    Carter, David R.; Slesak, Robert A.; Harrington, Timothy B.; Peter, David H.; D'Amato, Anthony W. (2018-11-24)
    Scotch broom [Cytisus scoparius (L.) Link] is a globally important nitrogen (N)-fixing invasive plant species that has potential to alter soil water dynamics, soil chemistry, and plant communities. We evaluated the effects of Scotch broom on soil moisture, soil chemistry, soil temperature, photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), and vegetation communities over 4years at a site recently harvested for timber. Treatments of Scotch broom (either present via planting or absent) and background vegetation (either present or absent via herbicide treatments) were applied to 4m(2) plots. Background vegetation was associated with the greatest decrease of soil water content (SWC) among treatments. During the driest year, Scotch broom showed some evidence of increased early-and late-season soil water usage, and, briefly, a high usage relative to background vegetation plots. On a percent cover basis, Scotch broom had a substantially greater negative influence on SWC than did background vegetation. Surprisingly, Scotch broom was not consistently associated with increases in total soil N, but there was evidence of increasing soil water N when Scotch broom was present. Scotch broom-only plots had greater concentrations of soil water magnesium (Mg2+) and calcium (Ca2+) than other treatments. On a percent cover basis, Scotch broom had a uniquely high demand for potassium (K+) relative to the background vegetation. Average soil temperature was slightly greater, and soil surface PAR lower, with Scotch broom present. Scotch broom-absent plots increased in species diversity and richness over time, while Scotch broom-present plots remained unchanged. Scotch broom presence was associated with an increase in cover of nonnative sweet vernalgrass (Anthoxanthum odoratum L.). Scotch broom generated positive feedbacks with resource conditions that favored its dominance and the establishment of nonnative grass.
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    Soil Carbon, Nutrients, and Phosphorus Fractions: Responses to Weed Control and Harvest Residual Retention in two 10-Year-Old Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) Stands of the Pacific Northwest
    Debruler, Daniel Gary (Virginia Tech, 2014-09-06)
    Intensive forest management techniques such as whole-tree harvesting and use of herbicides to control weeds can have an effect on nutrient cycling and nutrient pool sizes in the mineral soil. This study was conducted to measure differences in soil carbon (C), nutrient pools, or phosphorus (P) fractions associated with harvest-intensity (bole-only vs. whole-tree harvest) and weed-control treatments (initial weed control vs. five years of annual weed control) after ten years. Soil C, nitrogen (N), and P, and exchangeable calcium (Ca), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), and Hedley P fractions were measured prior to treatment establishment and after ten years in two Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) plantations in the Pacific Northwest. We observed increases in most nutrient concentrations with initial weed control compared with annual weed control at Matlock, with opposite trends at Molalla. Exchangeable Ca and Mg content showed responses to weed control treatments. Harvesting treatments had no significant effects on soil C and nutrient pools at either site. Total P and many of the Hedley P fractions decreased over time, but these effects were ameliorated with the less-intensive initial-weed-control-only treatment at Matlock and the more-intensive annual-weed-control at Molalla. Ten-year responses suggest that harvesting intensity has not impacted potential for maintaining soil C and nutrient pools, with the exception of P, for long-term productivity. Knowledge of the on-site vegetative communities and their role in nutrient cycling is required to anticipate what effect weed control might have on nutrient pools through ensuing stand development.
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    Soil phosphorus fractions vary with harvest intensity and vegetation control at two contrasting Douglas-fir sites in the Pacific northwest
    DeBruler, Daniel G.; Schoenholtz, Stephen H.; Slesak, Robert A.; Strahm, Brian D.; Harrington, Timothy B. (2019-09-15)
    Effects of intensive forest management on soil phosphorus (P) are unclear and may impact long-term site productivity. We assessed changes in P availability over 10 years associated with harvest intensity (bole-only vs. whole-tree harvest) and vegetation control treatments (initial vegetation control (IVC) vs. five years of annual vegetation control (AVC)) using a P fractionation procedure. Fractions were characterized at 0-15, 15-30, and 30-60 cm soil depths in two coast Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco var. menziesii) plantations with strongly contrasting soil properties near Matlock, WA (young soils formed in glacial outwash) and Molalla, OR (relatively old soils formed in igneous residuum and exhibiting andic properties). Al and Fe concentrations associated with short-range order minerals were greater at Molalla than Matlock and generally decreased with depth at both sites. We observed decreases in most total-P and P-fraction concentrations across the three soil depths at the Molalla site. Effects were less pronounced and generally inconsistent at the Matlock site. Decreases in total P and P fraction concentrations were greatest in the AVC treatments at Matlock, but opposite trends were observed at Molalla where decreases were greatest with IVC. There was no difference between harvest treatments on the change in P fractions in most instances, with the exception of the 30-60 cm depth at Matlock where concentrations of some P fractions were maintained or increased with bole-only harvesting. Ten-year responses indicate harvest intensity has limited effects on long-term productivity associated with soil P because of the large size of the soil P pools and the relatively small changes in soil P that occurred with treatment. Decreases in P concentrations with AVC at Matlock and IVC at Molalla were larger than the other treatments and highlight the important role of vegetation in P dynamics following harvesting at these sites.
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    Soil texture and other site-level factors differentially affect growth of Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius) and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) seedlings in the western Pacific Northwest
    Carter, David R.; Slesak, Robert A.; Harrington, Timothy B.; D'Amato, Anthony W. (Canadian Science Publishing, 2022-01)
    The invasive shrub Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius (L.) Link) is a pervasive threat to regenerating Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco var. menziesii) stands in the Pacific Northwest, USA. Field observations indicate that the susceptibility of areas to Scotch broom invasion and dominance can vary by site. We selected 10 sites throughout the western Pacific Northwest that spanned a gradient of soil textures and other factors to test the site-specific susceptibility of Douglas-fir to overtopping by Scotch broom. We expected to find that the ability of Scotch broom to dominate a site was mediated by site-level factors, particularly those influencing soil water - the most limiting factor to growth in the region. We found Scotch broom and Douglas-fir were inversely affected by site-level factors. In general, Douglas-fir absolute height growth rates were more competitive with those of Scotch broom on fine-textured soils than on more coarsely textured soils. We also found Douglas-fir to have a more dramatic response to increasing down woody material than Scotch broom. Scotch broom height growth approached an asymptote at 3 m. Sites with fast-growing Douglas-fir were able to surpass this height 6-7 years after planting and appear likely to avoid suppression by Scotch broom.