Response of chestnut hybrid seedlings to forest management strategies in an Appalachian cove forest ecosystem

Abstract

American chestnut (Castanea dentata (Marsh) Borkh.), once a co-dominant canopy species in eastern U.S. forests, has been functionally extinct for almost a century. Hybrid American-Chinese chestnuts, with the potential to be blight-resistant, present an opportunity to study its functional niche. The objective of this research was to identify silvicultural strategies related to light, herbivory, and competition for increasing the success of hybrid chestnut (BC3F3 generation) plantings in an Appalachian cove forest ecosystem in West Virginia (WV). Large and small circular canopy gaps were created to manipulate light with the prediction that seedlings would perform best in larger gaps. Within these gaps, landscape fabric was added to half of the seedlings to decrease vegetative competition and 30.5 cm tall tree shelters were placed around half of the seedlings to help mitigate rodent predation. After five years, results show an interaction between landscape fabric and gap size whereby landscape fabric had a positive effect on seedling height in large gaps but not in small gaps (p < 0.05). Survival was dependent on interactions between treatments with the highest seedling survival (80%) in small gaps with tree shelters and landscape fabric. Differences between treatments were less pronounced in large gaps where survival was much lower (45%). In conclusion, seedlings are likely to have the greatest long-term survival if they are planted in smaller gaps protected from vegetative competition and rodent predation.

Keywords

• Castanea dentata
• Chestnut
• Light manipulation
• Competition
• Reintroduction
• Forest management