Conifer response to three silvicultural treatments in the Oregon Coast Range foothills

This study assessed growth, condition, and mortality of residual trees one decade after harvest across three silvicultural treatments in thirty 85- to 125-year-old Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) stands in the Oregon Coast Range foothills. Group-selection cuts had 33% of the entire stand volume extracted as patches approximately 0.2–0.8 ha in size; two-story regeneration harvests had 75% of the volume extracted, and 20–30 residual trees/ha were left; clearcuts had all trees removed, except for 1.2 trees/ha. One decade after harvest, tree basal area, diameter, and height growth, and crown width and fullness did not differ between silvicultural treatments. In contrast, live crown ratio was largest in clearcuts (0.74), and the proportion of trees with epicormic branching was highest in two-story stands (35%). Overall, 45% of trees had more basal area growth in the decade after harvest than in the previous decade. Residual green trees in clearcuts and groupselection stands experienced the highest and lowest percentage mortality, respectively (30.6% vs. 0.2%). Our results reflect little differentiation in the characteristics of trees growing under three silvicultural conditions one decade after harvest. However, percent residual green tree mortality increased with increasing harvest intensity.