THE DEVELOPMENT OF WOODY VEGETATION IN THE 1ST 6 YEARS FOLLOWING CLEAR-CUTTING OF A HARDWOOD FOREST FOR A UTILITY RIGHT-OF-WAY

In the fall of 1984, a sugar maple (Acer saccharum), white ash (Fraxinus americana), trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) and black cherry (Prunus serotina) woodlot was clear-cut for the construction of a transmission right-of-way. The first years re-growth was dominated by seedlings of black cherry and white ash (total density of 4.5 stems m-2). Rapid proliferation of trembling aspen suckers, and growth of choke cherry (Prunus virginiana) and raspberry (Rubus idaeus) seedlings increased the density to 31.8 stems m-2 by the end of the second year. By the sixth year, the trembling aspen and choke cherry had declined, white ash had increased, and the overall density declined to 22.1 stems m-2. The relative densities of tree seedlings and sprouts were similar; the sprouts were considerably taller, however, and represented the major revegetation source. Therefore, a second phase of the study was undertaken to investigate the growth and survival characteristics of sprouts and suckers originating from the stumps of 317 trees. The most prolific sprouters, black cherry and white ash, exhibited the highest stem mortality, while the poorest sprouter (sugar maple) experienced better survival. After 6 years, the sprout numbers were converging on a range of five to seven stems per stump, irrespective of species. The height growth was greatest in the first year and has since declined. Black cherry and trembling aspen had the highest growth rates and white ash the lowest. Growth was correlated to parent tree height and diameter in the maple and aspen; the ability to predict growth from these parameters, however, is very poor.