In 1921, Lowdermillc^ examined a portion of the area that had been cut in 1916 and 1917; 

 slash had been piled and burned in 1918. He reported the following condition of the seedbed: 



Percent 



Burned seedbed (burning of slash piles, etc.) 13. 1 



Mineral soil (exposed by mechanical disturbance) 13.3 

 Natural undisturbed forest floor 73.6 



100.0 



Although these values represent only the lower slopes, they nevertheless indicate the propor- 

 tions of mineral soil and burned seedbed that were exposed by the logging and slash disposal 

 operations. No additional seedbed was prepared. It seems safe to assume that these figures 

 may apply reasonably well to the whole area. 



The superiority of mineral soil seedbed as opposed to undisturbed natural forest floor 

 was established by Lowdermilk's studies in 1921. The following tabulation compares the per- 

 centages of stocked milacre plots by surface conditions as he found them: 



Engelmann Subalpine fir 



Seedbed spruce and other 



Burned surface 20.4 30.6 



Mineral soil 95.0 100.0 



Natural forest floor 9.0 9.0 



Lowdermilk pointed out that the stocking on burned areas was disappointing. He theorized 

 that the hot fires caused by burning piles sterilized the soil; such sterilization may explain why 

 the centers of the burned spots did not stock satisfactorily. Even so, the burned surface was 

 two or three times better stocked than the natural forest floor. The number of trees per acre 

 shows a similar trend, as illustrated by the following tabulation: 



Engelmann Subalpine fir 



Seedbed spruce and other 



Burned surface 405 356 



Mineral soil 2,300 1,405 



Natural forest floor 109 118 



Although Lowdermilk's observations were limited to cutting before 1919, comments in reports 

 of later examinations bear out the same trends in other parts of the area. 



Stocking of reproduction . - -In both 1929 (Dejamette)^ and 1954, a fair stocking of Engel- 

 mann spruce and subalpine fir on the clearcut areas was found despite the heavy loss of seed 

 source shortly after logging and the limited amount of favorable seedbed (table 6). These exam- 

 inations dealt with three units based upon physiography and method of cutting, and made no 

 attempt to recognize seedbed condition that was no longer discernible or to distinguish between 

 the kinds of the seed source (i.e. , 15 to 20 tree groups or strips) in the clearcutting. 



■^Op. cit. 

 ^Op. cit. 



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