Table 6. --Four-milacre plots stocked with one or more seedlings 





Partial cutting 



Clearcutting with seed -tree groups 





Year 



Engelmann * Subalpine 

 * spruce [ fir 



: Basin unit 



: Slope unit 



: Engelmann : Subalpine 

 : spruce : fir 



: Engelmann : 

 : spruce : 



Subalpine 

 fir 







- - - - - Percent - - - - 







1954 

 1929 



^ 64(43) 43(29) 



..(2) ..(2) 



58(34) 84(48) 

 35 39 



56(48) 

 60 



52(52) 

 71 



-"-Numerals in parentheses include only trees 2.6 feet and taller that were considered 

 well established and able to compete with other vegetation. 



Reproduction counts in the partial cutting area were not made in 1929. 



However, stocking by well-established reproduction in the clearcut area in 1954 did not 

 increase substantially after the 1929 examination (table 6). The increase in stocked quadrats in 

 the 1954 figures may be attributed to 1 -year-old seedlings and to older seedlings so badly sup- 

 pressed by other vegetation that their survival is doubtful. Many 1-year seedlings start even 

 under very heavy shrub cover, but very few survive long enough to become established trees. 

 After careful examination of the 1954 stand, only those seedlings that had reached the 3 -foot 

 height class were judged to have a fair probability of becoming a part of the productive stand 

 within a reasonable period of time. On the basis of seedlings 2,6 feet or taller, it appears that 

 the well-established seedlings are mainly those that were established by 1929; and accretion in 

 numbers of new seedlings very nearly balanced losses. On the slope unit, the stocking in 1929 

 considerably exceeded that of the basin unit, but by 1954 the difference in stocking on the two 

 areas was much less. The means of both total number of seedlings and seedlings 2.6 feet and 

 taller on the slope and basin units were not significantly different in 1954 as revealed by 

 "t" tests. 



Composition of the reproduction stand . --The highest ratio of spruce to subalpine fir 

 occurred in the reproduction established under the partial cutting. This is best illustrated in 

 table 7, which shows more than 1^ times as many spruce as subalpine fir trees. This favorable 

 ratio may be attributed to the greater number of spruce than subalpine fir seed trees in the 

 residual stand of the partial cutting. On the other hand, in the clearcuttings the subalpine fir 

 outnumber spruce in the reproduction by about four to one. The greater incidence of spruce 

 seedlings in the partial cutting reflects the better seed control achieved by the partial cutting. 



Table 7 . - - Composition of reproduction by cutting areas and species 



: Engelmann : Subalpine 

 Area ^ 



spruce : fir 



Trees per acre 



Clearcut basin 580 2,190 



Clearcut slope 450 . 1,980 



Partial cutting 838 519 



10 



