Pacific Southwest Research Station

Stocking Guidelines for Aspen Restoration

Proposal [pdf]

Abstract

Quaking aspen forest communities in the Lake Tahoe Basin are being encroached and out-competed by conifers that impact aspen vigor and stifle natural regeneration. Removal of conifers has been advocated, and is being tested around the Tahoe Basin. However, little is known about stocking and treatment persistence: specifically, how much growing space must we provide aspen trees and their root sucker regeneration for vigorous growth to be sustained until the next restorative thinning? The proposed research will provide aspen stand data and a decision support system for Tahoe Basin land managers involved in aspen restoration. The project will quickly generate interim stocking guidelines for restorative thinning treatments in aspen stands, followed by a rigorous analysis of growth, regeneration, and thinning response in aspen stands. The analysis culminates in development of a transparent, user-friendly stocking assessment model that will support management decision making for restoration treatment design and scheduling of future treatments.

Relation to Other SNPLMA Projects

The Principal Investigator (Dr. Berrill) and Co-PI (Dr. Dagley) are currently collaborating with LTBMU staff on two SNPLMA-supported capital projects: the Aspen Community Restoration Project, led by Victor Lyon, and the South Shore Fuels Reduction and Healthy Forest Restoration Project, led by Duncan Leao, Forester-Vegetation Planner. Additionally, the proposed research is timed to coincide with significant restoration activities being undertaken by federal and state agencies with support from SNPLMA capital funds.