U. Ss. FOREST SERVICE” ee 
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RESEARCH NOTE LS: 19 
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LAKE SNES FOREST EXPERIMENT STATION *-UrS:DEPARTMENT-—OF AGRICULTURE 
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| B97, 
EG 2r Crown Weights in Red Pine Plantations) 
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Red pine plantations represent a large tent of 110 percent — an average based on 
| concentration of fuels associated with rela- moisture content of needles and branchwood 
| tively high forest investments. These fuels from the sample trees. 
are present from the ground to the treetops. 
They consist mainly of dead needles, woody 
and herbaceous vegetation, dead branches, 
and green crowns (fig. 1). 
Fuel weight is an important basic fire be- 
havior consideration. Determining fuel weight 
) on specific areas will provide for more ade- 
quate hazard reduction measures, indicate 
potential energy release on fires, and help 
; predict possible blowup fire conditions. A 
previous Station Paper has described weights 
of dead branches and surface fuels in red 
pine plantations.’ 
, The study discussed in this paper was 
undertaken to determine the crown weights 
; of red pine at different tree diameters, and 
the influence of different conditions of site 
and density on the weight of individual 
crowns. 
In plantations on the Lower Michigan 
National Forest, trees ranging from 2 to 9 
inches d.b.h. were selected for crown weight 
measurements. Weight of the overstory for 
this range of diameters was studied on good 
and poor sites in high- and low-density stands. 
All live branches on each sample tree 
were cut and weighed. On representative 
trees in each diameter class, needles were 
TE stripped from one branch per whorl and 
| weighed to provide an estimate of needle 
For purposes of this study, a site index 
of 68 or greater was considered good, and one 
of 52 or less was considered poor. The 
diameter distributions for stand densities 
weight per tree. Green weights were re- FicurE 1. — This high-density red pine plantation 
th duced to dry weights, using a moisture con- is growing on a good site. Needles on the 
») a ground, dead branches, and green crowns make 
1 LaMois, Loyd. Fire fuels in red pine plantations. up the major fuel components. One acre con- 
U.S. Forest Service, Lake States Forest Expt. tains approximately 29,100. pounds (dry weight ) 
Ste., Sta. Paper 68, 19 pp., illus. 1958. of live pine crowns. 
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