A CRITERION OF SITE 257 



requisite to research work in forestry, especially to a proper 

 study of site and site qualities. Since site is regarded as an area 

 considered as to its physical factors with reference to forest 

 producing power, or the combined effect of the climatic and 

 edaphic conditions of the forest habitat, it can be readily appre- 

 ciated that in a consideration of the fundamental natural laws 

 involved in a scientific study of the site the auxiliary sciences 

 such as botany, physics, chemistry, meteorology, soils and geol- 

 ogy, are concerned. In determining upon the indicator sig- 

 nificance of the native vegetation a full appreciation of plant 

 ecology, more especially the important principles of plant suc- 

 cession, must be realized. However, only a reasonable amount 

 of systematic botany is considered essential to the practical use 

 of the native shrubby and herbaceous vegetation as a criterion 

 of site. The relative ease with which the proposed criterion 

 may be applied by the field officer when the principles have once 

 been worked out is a point in its favor. The average forest 

 supervisor or ranger who possesses a sufficient knowledge of the 

 local forest flora to administer efficiently the utilization of the 

 forage resources of the administrative unit for which he is re- 

 sponsible should have no difficulty in recognizing the indicator 

 plants after they have once been determined. 



As suggested by Bates, 9 the increment of the arborescent 

 species to be perpetuated under management, when determined 

 by the measurement of an approximately fully stocked stand, is 

 admittedly the best ultimate criterion of site quality. However, 

 the native vegetation merits consideration as an entirely feasible 

 criterion of site, to be used as an adjunct to the criterion or 

 criteria which are based on the silviculturally important species. 

 Where increment data are meager or are utterly lacking, the 

 native vegetation on the area should serve as a valuable criterion 

 of site quality. 



In an integration of the vegetation it must be remembered 

 that the behavior of the vegetation is a resultant function of the 

 behavior of the component species. Therefore, the vegetation 



9 Op. cit. 



