stands with a site index above 130. Basal area followed a similar trend, 

 The percentage of cedar was highest on poor sites and lowest on the 

 better sites. 



Areas of young-growth with a low site index and a high proportion of 

 western redcedar often had a fire history. Cedar usually had been 

 present in the pre-fire old-growth. 



Leader Growth of Conifers in Alaska and 

 Vancouver Island Compared 



A comparison was made to determine if the seasonal distribution of west- 

 ern hemlock leader growth in Southeast Alaska—' followed the pattern re- 

 ported for the Cowichan Lake Forest Experiment Station on Vancouver 

 Islands' . The Cowichan Lake report included leader growth data for west- 

 ern redcedar. Observations in both regions were made on trees of sapling 

 size, but dates for commencement of growth at Cowichan Lake were based 

 on phenological records while the Alaska results were from direct measure- 

 ments on selected trees. 



Results of the comparison (fig. 14) show that there is little difference 

 between the two regions in the periodic distribution of western hemlock 

 leader growth after growth begins in the spring. The growth pattern for 

 western redcedar at Cowichan Lake is of interest because no data are 

 available for this species in Alaska. It begins leader growth at about 

 the same time as western hemlock but has a more rapid early growth rate-- 

 about 50 percent of the seasonal growth is made during the first four 

 weeks, after which it decreases and finally ceases at about the same time 

 as western hemlock. 



Douglas-fir and grand fir at Cowichan Lake cease growing earlier and 

 more abruptly than western hemlock and western redcedar. Sitka spruce, 

 which, like Douglas-fir and grand fir, has a rigid leader, shows the same 

 growth characteristics in Alaska. 



The Great Soil Groups of Southeast Alaska 



A study designed to provide descriptive data for some of the great soil 

 groups of Southeast Alaska, principally those encountered on the Maybeso 

 Experimental Forest, is currently under way. During the past several 



4/ Godman, R. M. and R. A. Gregory. Seasonal distribution of radial 

 and leader growth in the Sitka spruce -we stern hemlock forests of South- 

 east Alaska. Jour. Forestry 53 (11) :827-33 , 1955. 



_5/ Buckland, D. C. Terminal growth of four western conifers for a 

 single growing season. For. Chron. 32(4) :397-399 , 1956. 



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