Document: BEC-3-40-47

Examination of understory huckleberry species abundance in old-growth, thinned and unthinned Douglas-fir stands of western Oregon.

KERNS, B.K.* ¹ and J.D.BAILEY ²

USDA Forest Service, Corvallis, OR 97331 USA ¹
Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011 USA ²

Abstract:
Understory shrubs are important components of plant species diversity in forests of the Pacific Northwest and many are major nontimber forest products. The berries of numerous species of huckleberries, Vaccinium spp., are collected and sold locally and are a traditional food for Native Americans. Evergreen huckleberry, Vaccinium ovatum, is also used extensively in the floral market. The effects of silvicultural practices on these species are not well known. Our objective was to compare the density of several Vaccinium species in old-growth, and young thinned and unthinned stands of Douglas-fir from sites in western Oregon. The young stands regenerated naturally after timber harvest (age 40-70 years) and were thinned 10-24 years prior to our inventory. Data were analyzed using nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis rank tests and Wilcoxon rank-sum pairwise comparisons. Results from the Coast Range indicated that for two out of three sites examined evergreen huckleberry density was higher in old-growth stands compared to thinned and unthinned stands. This trend was statistically significant for one site. Five out of eight sites examined significant differences among stand types, where red huckleberry densities were detected. Unlike evergreen huckleberry, none of the sites showed that red huckleberry density was significantly higher in old-growth stands. Although there was variability in our results among the sites examined, we conclude that: 1) Stand thinning might increase red huckleberry density but might not increase evergreen huckleberry density; and 2) Loss of old-growth stands might adversely impact the amount of evergreen huckleberry shrubs available for nontimber forest product harvest.

Keywords: Vaccinium, nontimber forest products

This abstract is being presented at: 3:30 PM in session:
Poster Session #17: Vegetative Analysis.