Reproduction 12 years after seed-tree harvest cutting in Appalachian hardwoods

Woody reproduction 12 years after a seed-tree harvest cutting was evaluated for three central Appalachian hardwood sites in West Virginia, including species composition; size, number, and distribution; stem quality; effects of early cultural treatments; and influence of grapevines. Reproduction ranged from 1,250 to 1,700 stems per acre in the 1.0 to 4.9 inch dbh size class. Partial estimates revealed that about 250 potential dominant and codominant crop trees per acre were present on oak site index 70 and about 500 on site index 60. Sweet birch, sugar maple, yellow-poplar, and black cherry were the most numerous species on the excellent sites; sugar maple, sassafras, red oak, red maple, and yellow-poplar on the good sites; and sassafras, red maple, red oak, chestnut oak, and sweet birch on the fair sites.