Highly stocked coniferous stands on the Olympic Peninsula: chemical composition and implications for harvest strategy. Forest Service research paper

This report presents an assessment of macronutrients and their distribution within highly stocked, stagnant stands of mixed conifers on the Quilcene Ranger District, Olympic National Forest, northwest Washington. These stands consisted of predominantly three species: western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla), coast Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menzeisii), and western redcedar (Thuja plicata). Preliminary investigation suggests that the living crown contains a small portion of the nutrient capital on the site. Extracting this material from the site during harvest or site preparation should not pose a threat to future production of biomass. Bioassays suggested that no macronutrients were deficient for growth of Douglas-fir seedlings.