ASPEN REPRODUCTION IN RELATION TO MANAGEMENT 



• By pREDiiRicK S. Baker 



Forest Examiner, Utah Experiment Station, Ephraim, Utah 



One of the most important trees in the Great Basin of the western 

 United States is the aspen (Populus tremitloidcs), which covers great 

 areas in that region with pure or nearly pure stands. Its value has been 

 comparatively low and the demand small in comparison with the coni- 

 fers with which it associates. Nevertheless, on account of the ease 

 with which it propagates itself, its rapidity of growth, and simplicity of 

 management, together with its probable future value, some question 

 has arisen as to whether aspen or conifers are to be favored in future 

 forest management, particularly in many parts of Utah. 



One of the phases of this problem concerns the matter of reproduc- 

 tion, for the certainty and rapidity with which a stand may be re- 

 generated is a vital point in determining its value under management. 

 It has therefore been one of the objects of the aspen investigations car- 

 ried on at the Utah Forest Experiment Station in Central Utah to de- 

 termine the characteristics both of seed and of vegetative reproduction 

 Owing to the importance of the latter, cuttings have been made at three 

 different seasons — spring, summer, and fall — to determine the effect of 

 season of cutting, and in even-aged stands 70, 90, and no years old to 

 determine the effect of age upon the resultant sprout reproduction un- 

 der clear cutting methods. In connection with thinning and permanent 

 sample plots the reproduction in virgin and lightly cut areas has also 

 been investigated. 



The most striking fact l^rouglit out so far is the weakness of the seed 

 reproduction of the tree in contrast to its great s])routing vigor. This 

 fact has been known for some time in a general way both in the West 

 and East. I'earson^ states that aspens originating from seed are of 

 rare occurrence in Arizona and New Mexico, but tliat seed reproduc- 

 tion nnist take place under favorable circumstances, as its occupation of 

 great burns can hardly be otherwise accounted for. In the I'.ast. its 

 great abilitv to resced burns is well known ; but even here, under 



' Pearson. G. A. "The Role of Aspen in tlie Reforestation of Mountain Burns 



in Arizona." Plant World, 17 : 24()-2f^, 1914. 



;js5) 



