The primary goal of this study was to identify value added export opportunities for the hardwood products manufacturing industry. By studying current industry practices and trends, we can better understand the opportunities hardwood lumber businesses have exploited in the past and could do so today. The study found that opportunities exist for businesses with the right initial mindset preparing them for exporting, the proper equipment, and the appropriate educational experience. Surveys of hardwood lumber manufacturers in 1989 and 2002 addressed similar objectives and helped better understand export participation of hardwood lumber manufacturers in the Appalachian Region. The objectives of this research project included determining current export experience, access and use of export development programs, key export markets, and mill production, marketing, equipment, personnel and other attributes of the region's hardwood lumber industry. Other objectives included determining if any significant changes in the region's hardwood industry had occurred, and in particular, what was mill export market experience in the past 15 years. The key was to identify key factors that lead to export marketing participation. This study showed that export market participation is growing as forest sector businesses consolidated during this period. Businesses were found to seek assistance from multiple government agencies, trade associations, and most importantly from their customers. While the largest export market continues to be Canada, little information is available on other businesses purchasing Appalachian hardwood lumber, indicating the need for more research on markets and their size. Important species for exporting are red oak, yellow-poplar, white oak, and maple, and higher grades of hardwood lumber continue to be the top three. Owning a kiln is essential to exporting, and having an above average size marketing staff was found to be helpful. The most important attribute of exporters is an open-minded management that sees the benefits of exporting. / Master of Science

Harvesting practices in the southern Appalachians have moved away from clearcutting in favor of variable retention harvesting systems. A study was initiated in 1995-8 to investigate the effects of retaining varying numbers of residual trees on regeneration in seven silvicultural treatments. A second study specifically focused on stump sprouting in only three of those treatments. The treatments for first study included: a clearcut, commercial harvest, leave-tree, shelterwood, group selection, midstory treatment, and an uncut control. The second only focused on the clearcut, leave-tree, and shelterwood. These treatments were implemented in seven stands in Virginia and West Virginia over two physiographic provinces, the Appalachian plateau and Ridge and Valley. The stands were even-aged oak dominated Appalachian hardwood stands on fair quality sites with average ages ranging from 63 to 100 yrs. Permanent plots were randomly located in each stand and all overstory trees (>5m tall) were inventoried and tagged prior to harvest. Regeneration was also quantified. Harvest occurred between 1995-8. For the current studies the plots were re-inventoried 9-11 years post-harvest and all regeneration in all treatments as well as stump sprouts in the selected treatments were quantified. The first study utilized a mixed model ANOVA to analyze five species groups: oak, maple, black cherry-yellow-poplar, miscellaneous, and midstory. Response variables included importance value, average height, and density compared within species group and among treatments. Differences between sprout and seedling origin regeneration were also investigated within species group among treatment. Results indicated that oak densities were similar in all of the treatments, and stump sprouts were larger and more frequent than seedlings. Maple exhibited an increase from pre-harvest overstory importance and exhibited competitive sprouting. The black cherry-yellow-poplar group had few but highly competitive sprouts and a considerable increase in seedling origin regeneration in all treatments. The miscellaneous species densities increased as well with more competitive sprouting in some treatments. The midstory species were excluded from the analysis as it was assumed these species would not occupy canopy positions in a mature stand. The second study investigated differences in the percent of stumps that sprouted and the number of sprouts per stump. The percent data were analyzed using a non-parametric one-way ANOVA and regression analysis, while the sprouts per stump data were compared in a mixed model ANOVA and regression. Species were combined into six groups: the red oak group, chestnut oak, red maple, white oak/hickory group, mixed mesic group, and midstory group. The plateau tended to have reduced sprouting compared to the Ridge and Valley for most species groups and treatments. The red oak group, chestnut oak, and red maple exhibited reduced sprouting with increased residual basal area. The mixed mesic group did not show any effect in sprouting related to residual basal area. Only chestnut oak showed fewer sprouts per stump as residual basal area increased. / Master of Science

The FVS-Sn model was developed by the USDA Forest Service to project and report forest growth and yield predictions for the Southern United States. It is able to project forest growth and yield for different forest types and management prescriptions, but it is a relatively new, complex, and untested model. These limitations notwithstanding, FVS-Sn once tested and validated could meet the critical need of a comprehensive growth and yield model for the mixed hardwood forests of the southern Appalachian region. In this study, sensitivity analyses were performed on the FVS-Sn model using Latin hypercube sampling. Response surfaces were fitted to determine the magnitudes and directions of relationships between FVS-Sn model parameters and predicted 10-year basal area increment. Model sensitivities were calculated for five different test scenarios for both uncorrelated and correlated FVS-Sn input parameters and sub-models. Predicted 10-year basal area increment was most sensitive to parameters and sub-models related to the stand density index and, to a lesser degree, the large tree diameter growth sub-model. The testing procedures and framework developed in this study will serve as a template for further evaluation of FVS-Sn, including a comprehensive assessment of model uncertainties, followed by a recalibration for southern Appalachian mixed hardwood forests. / Master of Science

Old-growth forests provide important habitat for wildlife, support the maintenance of biodiversity and serve as control areas for scientific research. Expanding current old-growth stand area by utilizing neighboring younger, managed stands allows private landowners to meet management needs and enables government agencies and private conservation organizations to meet old-growth forest objectives. Seven old-growth upland oak stands and seven adjacent younger, managed stands of the same site and stand type were measured in the Ridge and Valley, Blue Ridge, and Piedmont provinces of Virginia and Pennsylvania in an effort to characterize species composition, diameter distribution and canopy structure. A computer-based ecosystem/gap model (JABOWA-3) was modified and used to simulate silvicultural manipulations in the younger stands that would reproduce older forest characteristics. Various silvicultural techniques were used to convert the primarily even-aged younger stands into uneven-aged stands and then into old-growth. These manipulations included single-tree selection, herbicide application, culling larger diameter stems and planting seedlings where required. Individual trees within each of the younger, managed stands were removed at various time intervals and these simulated stands were then projected to a point in time in which the stand approximated the diameter distribution and composition of its paired old-growth stand. Several projections were made in each of the younger stands to meet this objective. Once a satisfactory projection was made for conversion of a younger stand to old-growth, a success rate was determined to gauge how close the simulated stand approximated the diameter distribution and composition of its old-growth counterpart. From this information, biologically feasible and environmentally sound management plans were created to carry out the silvicultural manipulations required by the model for each of the sites. / Master of Science

The Southern Appalachian hardwood forests contain a wide diversity of flora and fauna. Understanding processes that affect nutrient availability in these forests is essential for sound forest management. Three interconnected research projects regarding soil resource heterogeneity were designed to increase our understanding of this ecosystem. The objective of these projects were as follows: 1) to examine and quantify the role of decaying stumps in regards to total carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) pools and fine-root dynamics, 2) compare and contrast the use of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) vs. a soil auger for estimating soil depth and site quality and 3) to evaluate how eastern red-backed salamanders (Plethodon cinereus) affect N-availability. For the stump study, results show that decomposing stumps occupy approximately 1.2% of the total soil volume and constitute 4% and 10% of total soil N and C pools. Significant differences in N (p = 0.0114), C (p = 0.0172), microbial biomass C (p = 0.0004), potentially mineralizable N (p = 0.0042), and extractable NH4+ (p = 0.0312) concentrations were observed when compared to mineral soil horizons. In particular, potentially mineralizable N was 2.5 times greater in stump soil than the A-horizon (103 vs. 39 mg kg-1), 2.7 times greater for extractable NH4+ (16 vs. 6 mg kg-1) and almost 4 times greater for MBC (1528 vs. 397 mg kg-1). These measured properties suggest higher N-availability, organic matter turnover and N uptake in stump soil versus the bulk soil. 19% of the total fine root length and 14% of fine root surface area also occurred in the stump soil. The increased fine root length suggests higher concentrations of labile nutrient in the stumps since roots often proliferate in areas with higher nutrient availability. Significant differences occurred in N and C concentrations between all four decay classes and the A-horizon, which validated the use of this system and the need to calculate weighted averages based on the frequency and soil volume influenced by each decay class. In the GPR Study, depth estimations were shallower using a soil auger compared to estimates obtained using GPR across all plots (p = 0.0002; Figure 3.4). On a soil volume basis, this was equivalent to about 3500 m3 of soil per hectare unaccounted for using traditional methods. In regards to using soil depth as a predictor for site quality, no significant relationships were observed with soil depth estimations obtained from the auger (Table 3.3). On the other hand, depth measurements from GPR explained significant amounts of variation across all sites and by physiographic region. Across all sites, soil depth estimates from GPR explained 45.5% of the residual variation (p = 0.001; Table 3.3). When the data were stratified by physiographic region, a higher amount of variation was explained by the regression equations; 85% for the Cumberland Plateau (p = 0.009), 86.7% for the Allegheny Plateau (0.007) and 66.7% for the Ridge and Valley (p = 0.013), respectively (Table 4.2). Results from this study demonstrate how inaccurate current methods can be for estimating soil depth rocky forests soils. Furthermore, depth estimations from GPR can be used to increase the accuracy of site quality in the southern Appalachians. In the salamander study, no significant salamander density treatment or treatment by time effects were observed over the entire study period (p < 0.05). However, when the data were separated by individual sampling periods a few significant treatment by time interactions occurred: 1) during August 2006 for available NH4+ under the forest floor (i.e. horizontal cation membranes; p = 0.001), 2) August and 3) September 2006 for available NH4+ in the A-horizon (p = 0.026), and 4) May 2007 for available NO3- under the forest floor (p = 0.011). As a result of these trends, an index of cumulative N-availability (i.e. NH4+ and NO3-) under the forest floor and in the A-horizon was examined through the entire study period. Cumulative N-availability under the forest floor was consistently higher in the low- and medium-density salamander treatments compared to the high-density treatment. For cumulative N-availability in the A-horizon, a gradient of high to low N-availability existed as salamander density increased. Factors such as a prolonged drought in 2007 may have affected our ability to accurately assess the effects of salamanders on N-availability. We concluded that higher salamander densities do not increase N-availability. Implementing methodologies that accurately account for soil nutrient pools such as stump soil, physical properties such as depth and fauna such as salamanders, increase our understanding of factors that regulate site productivity in these ecosystems. As a result, landscape-level and stand-level management decisions can be conducted more effectively. / Ph. D.

The regeneration in oak-dominated stands following five silvicultural treatments was examined on four sites in the mountains of Virginia and West Virginia. Treatments included: silvicultural clearcut, leave-tree, commercial clearcut, shelterwood, and group selection. The effects of harvesting were compared among sites and among treatments. Oak regeneration dominance, measured by the relative density of dominant and codominant oak regeneration, was the most important variable calculated from the data. Oak regeneration dominance varied by site, but did not vary by silvicultural treatment; all treatments resulted in relatively low numbers. Therefore, the silvicultural treatments used here were not enough to overcome the site specific limitations to successful oak regeneration. Oak species also seemed to be less important in the regenerating stands than in their parent stands. The biggest losses in oak importance occurred on the intermediate and high quality sites; competitive oak regeneration was relatively scarce on two of the three sites with an oak site index (base age 50) of over 70 ft. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to identify the factors controlling oak regeneration at a smaller scale. The most important variables were those that described the oak stump sprouting potential, the understory and overstory oak component in the pre-harvest stand, post-harvest light and soil nitrogen levels. / Master of Science

The vegetation responses to seven silvicultural treatments one growing season after harvesting were examined on seven sites in the southern Appalachian mountains of Virginia and West Virginia. Treatments included: 1) control, 2) understory control by herbicide, 3) group selection, 4) high-leave shelterwood, 5) low-leave shelterwood, 6) leave tree, and 7) clearcut. The effects of harvesting were compared between treatments and between pre-harvest and post-harvest samplings. Species richness, percent cover, and local species extinctions were calculated for sample plots ranging in size from 1m2 to 2 ha. Vegetation richness and cover increased with increasing harvest intensity. Local species extinctions were similar in the control and disturbed treatments. Additional analyses were performed using the control, high-leave shelterwood, and clearcut on five of the seven sites to determine the relationships between soil, litter, and other environmental characteristics and vegetation in the herbaceous layer (<1 m in height). Multivariate analysis techniques were used to analyze average differences in species abundance between pre-harvest and post-harvest and to relate post-harvest vegetation to microsite characteristics. Regional-scale differences in site location were more important in explaining the presence of a species than were environmental characteristics. Within a region, species primarily were distributed along a light/litter weight gradient and secondarily along a soil properties and nutrient gradient. / Master of Science