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Yellow Birch and the Adirondack Forest 
INFLUENCE OF BURNING ON THE FOREST 
Reproduction on burns is influenced by the size of the area, 
the severity or number of times burned, and the amount and 
size of reproduction started at the time of the fire. Type also 
influences the time necessary for reclaiming such an area. 
A large burn on the College forest near Wanakena in St. 
Lawrence county, was selected for study. The fire occurred 
in the fall of 1908, and followed the logging operation by about 
five years. This gave opportunity for hardwood reproduction to 
start. An area varying in width from eight to twenty. chains 
was covered by strip survey, with square rod sample plots at two- 
chain intervals. The fire had killed all vegetation except a few 
large trees in wet spots, but did not destroy the humus except 
on the outcropping ledges. The area faces in a gentle slope to 
the southward, and is intersected by one dry watercourse. On 
the north boundary, near the top of ridge, the fire was checked, 
and left untouched a stand of hardwood timber. From this a 
zone of young growth had started, having a width of three to 
five chains along the edge of the live timber. This zone was not 
included in the study, although it represents the common condi- 
tion along the edge of burned areas adjacent to standing hard- 
wood timber. 
The presence of such a large number of permanent hard- 
woods, which is a pronounced feature of this burned area, is 
probably due to the period of time elapsing between the cutting 
and burning. <A period of about five years elapsed between the 
logging and the time of the fire. The area was burned but once 
without serious destruction of the soil cover. It is very doubt- 
ful if any appreciable amount of this reproduction is due to 
storage of seed, since the softwoods are noticeably lacking. In 
some few places on thin soils over outcropping ledge rock the 
only tree found is the fire cherry, which exceeds the aspens in 
_ ability to endure a dry site. A plantation established on this 
area with Norway spruce, white pine, and Scotch pine, is only 
partially successful, due to competition of trees and ferns. 
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