|s. FOREST SERVICE RESEARCH NOTE NE-26 



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1964 



MAY 1 o tioo 



CURRLHT SEftlAL RECORDS 



GERMINATION, SURVIVAL, ANP FIRST-YEAR 

 GROWTH OF BLACK CHERRY^ UNDER VARIOUS) 

 SEEDBED AND SUPPLEMENT AX TREATMENTS'^ 



In Pennsylvania and New York there are 2,350,000 acres or plantable 

 land that could be utilized for growing timber for future needs. 1 Much 

 of this plantable land lies on the Allegheny Plateau — a region that is 

 eminently suited to growing black cherry (Prunus serotina Ehrh.). On 

 the Allegheny National Forest alone, 26,000 acres are classed as plant- 

 able. Besides this, the even-aged management program recently adopted 

 on the Forest calls for clearcutting about 3,000 acres each year. Although 

 these cut areas are expected to regenerate naturally for the most part, 

 some of the acreage very likely will require artificial restocking. 



Because black cherry is the most valuable timber tree on the Allegheny 

 Plateau, methods for establishing this species on the plantable lands 

 and on the clearcuttings hold particular interest. However, the planting 

 of hardwood species has not generally been successful anywhere in the 

 Northeast. Direct seeding of hardwoods has not been tried extensively; 

 a few trials in the past with black cherry on the National Forest were 

 not successful. Nevertheless, we need a reliable method for regenerating 

 black cherry artificially; and, in terms of probable costs and general 

 feasibility, direct seeding offers considerable promise. So a study was 

 undertaken to determine some of the effects of seedbed and certain 

 supplemental treatments on black cherry germination and first-year 

 growth on an open, grassy site. 



'United States Forest Service. Timber Resources for America's Future. U. S. Forest 

 ^erv. Forest Resources Rpt. 14, 713 pp., 1958. 



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