Understory Tree Release Following Harvest Cutting in Spruce-Fir Forests of the Intermountain West

摘要

This paper describes 10-year response of understory Engelmann spruce and subalpine fir following partial cutting and clearcutting of the overwood. This study in forests of Idaho, Wyoming, and Utah demonstrated that both spruce and fir understory trees responded to release by increasing in height growth slightly in the first 5-year, and substantially in the second 5-year postharvest period. Trees responded more in the clearcuts than in the partial cuts.