Viable Seeds from the Duff and Soil of Sugar Pine Forests

Abstract

Brush regeneration following logging has long been a nuisance in the Sierra Nevada of California. Here 64 samples of duff down to the mineral soil, each representing 1150, 000 acre, were taken from virgin mixed conifer forest, sieved, and the seed concentrated, variously treated (stratification, hot water) and sown in sterile sand supplied with nutrients. Germinations were ca. 2.82 million/acre and contained Ceanothus (3 spp.) 2.01, various dicotyledons 0.475, Ribes 0.16, grasses 0.155, and Arctostaphylos spp. 0.1 million. KEYWORDS: Arctostaphylos \ Ceanothus \ Pinus lambertiana brush regeneration \ cleared sites \ Reproductive behaviour \ Ribes \ seeds \ germination \ effects \ seeds \ bed conditions \ seeds \ viability \ silvicultural characters \ trees