Seeds began to germinate around May 13, and seedling counts were made weekly from 

 May 14 through June 23, then every 2 weeks until August 21. A record of seedling mor- 

 tality was kept during seedling counts, including the seedling age and apparent cause 

 of death. In this study the causes of death were placed into eight categories. (1) 

 Cutworm dxmage was observed as clipping of the stem near ground level leaving whole or 

 partially consumed cotyledons separated from the stem. Similar types of damage by cut- 

 worms were reported by Powells (1940) . A number of large, green cutworms were found eat- 

 ing freshly cut seedlings. (2) Bivd or small mammal damage occurred predominantly with- 

 in 4 weeks after germination while seed coats were still attached to the cotyledons. 

 Both seed coats and cotyledons were removed leaving various amounts of the latter, from 

 small stubs to three-fourths of the needle. Small mammals, probably voles or deer mice, 

 and birds were the prime suspected causes of this type of seedling damage (Gashwiler 

 1971; Lawrence and others 1961). (3) An unknown agent caused seedlings to turn chlorotio 

 and brittle while standing upright. They were obviously dehydrated, but water stress 

 was not thought to be the cause of death because in most instances the soil was still 

 moist. (4) When no evidence of a seedling could be found it was placed in the dis- 

 apipearance category. It is likely that death was due to cutworms and the entire seed- 

 ling was consumed. Also if the seedling collapsed into the pine litter it could have 

 blended in beyond recognition. (5) Poorly developed roots often occurred when root 

 tips grew against large rocks near the soil surface. Fungal infected roots were rare. 



(6) Sun saald was usually determined by a heat lesion on the stem near ground level. 



(7) Damping-off "was observed as a soft, mushy spot on the seedling at or slightly below 

 ground level. (8) Miscellaneous mortalities included cotyledons wrapped in spiders' 

 webs, seedlings crushed by falling pine cones, seedlings buried by erosion, and seed- 

 lings stepped on by observers. 



Initial (first year) seedling establishment was calculated by dividing the number 

 of seedlings remaining alive near the end of the growing season (September 25) by the 

 number of seeds planted (400) . 



To determine the effect of treatment influences on productivity, five randomly 

 chosen pine seedlings including their entire root systems were lifted from each plot 

 during October 1975. Total shoot lengths, crown lengths, taproot lengths, and the 

 lengths and number of all lateral roots over 1 cm long were measured. Seedling shoot 

 and root biomasses were determined after overdrying. Before this, a very generalized esti- 

 mate of mycorrhizal associations was made by placing each seedling into one of three 

 categories according to observed number of mycorrhizal tips. Lightly infected roots 

 were characterized by a few widely spaced mycorrhizae, usually existing as one tip 

 alone, and heavily infected roots had great numbers of fungal tips, often forming clus- 

 ters. Medium infections fell between these two. 



Two tests were used in the statistical analysis of seed germination, seedling mor- 

 tality, and seedling productivity. A two-sample T test was used to compare the average 

 seedling characteristics of the three opening treatments to those of the six pine- 

 influenced treatments at specified significance levels. To compare the average seed- 

 ling characteristics of the nine individual teatments with each other simultaneously, 

 Duncan's Multiple Range Test was utilized at the 5 percent significance level. Because 

 of heterogeneous variances transformations of germination percentages, shoot lengths, 

 lateral root lengths, and total and shoot biomasses were required. 



5 



