Development of the seedling stand . - -Although a larger proportion of spruce to subalpine 

 fir seedlings was established in the partial cutting, the best growth and development of seed- 

 lings after they were established occurred in the clearcutting. None of the spruce seedlings in 

 the partial cutting had attained a measurable diameter at breast height in 1954, but in the clear- 

 cutting the spruce seedlings attained mean diameters of 1.56 and 1.93 inches in the basin and 

 slope units, respectively. Subalpine fir, on the other hand, attained mean diameters at breast 

 height of 1.50, 1.59, and 2.22 inches in partial cutting, basin, and slope units, respectively. 

 Height growth is also much better in spruce seedlings in the clearcuttings than in the partial 

 cutting (see table 8). The tallest spruce seedlings in the partial cutting fell in the 5-foot height 

 class, while 30 percent of the seedlings in the basin unit and 50 percent of those in the slope 

 unit exceeded the 5-foot height class. Subalpine fir height growth, in contrast to the spruce 

 development pattern, was much better in the partial cutting, where 38 percent of the seedlings 

 were taller than the 5-foot height class, and only 6 and 10 percent of the seedlings exceeded 

 the 5-foot height in basin and slope units, respectively. This relationship indicates that despite 

 the protected conditions and preponderance of spruce seed source that favor seedling establish- 

 ment in the partial cut , the best environment for later growth was in the clearcut areas . 



Table 8. - -Distribution of reproduction by total height classes 



Height 

 class 



: Engelmann spruce 





: Alpine fir 





: Clearcutting : 



Partial 



: Clearcutting : 



Partial 







(feet) 



\ Basin unit * Slope unit [ 



cutting 



] Basin unit " Slope unit ' 



cutting 



Percent 



1 



34 



22 



43 



82 



77 



50 



2 



10 



7 



26 



6 



10 



7 



3 



7 



7 



15 



3 



2 



3 



4 



8 



9 



8 



1 



1 







5 



7 



6 



8 



2 



1 



3 



6 



12 



6 







1 



2 



17 



7 



3 



2 







1 



2 







8 



6 



4 







1 



1 



3 



9 



1 



4 















3 



10 



9 



18 







2 



2 



11 



20 



2 



10 







1 



2 



3 



30 



1 



5 











1 







Total 100 100 100 100 100 100 



11 



