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Definitive Reference on Ecology and Silviculture of OaksOak trees are entrenched in our cultural heritage and folklore, an American symbol of strength and endurance that rivals the bald eagle in its stature. They also represent about $3 billion a year in a harvest that finds its way primarily to furniture and flooring.Despite the tree's history and significance, the silviculturist interested in learning the complexities of oak management has been forced to turn to various journal articles and obscure conference proceedings. To rectify that, Paul Johnson, the retired master silviculturist at the North Central Research Station (Columbia, MO), collaborated with Stephen Shifley and Robert Rogers to write The Ecology and Silviculture of Oaks, published in March 2002 by CABI Publishing. "I guess you'd say that from a silvicultural point of view, our book is really the first one to comprehensively deal with the subject of oak forests," Johnson says, adding that the book's emphasis on ecology also makes it different from most books on silviculture. What's now known, in one place
"There is this enormous body of
literature on oak ecology and silviculture, and it's scattered all over
the library in various types of
publications.... For many foresters and
land managers, it's difficult first of all to
find these things and secondly to read
them all and synthesize them. That was
the goal at the outset for writing the
book, to bring together all this
literature and compile it into a rather
comprehensive synthesis," says Johnson.
"That lack of synthesis has often led to
the reinvention of the wheel when it
comes to oak management and
recovery", Johnson says. "When we
went into the field to talk to foresters,
many were unaware of the existence of
a lot of this information."The book begins by classifying oak ecosystems, describing ecosystems as they vary by region. The authors then delve into such topics as regeneration ecology, development of natural stands, and silvicultural methods for oak stands of different types. The book differentiates among various oak ecosystems because they vary widely in their response to management practices, often more so than other types of forests. Ecological aspects of regeneration
Oak regeneration is a hot topic in oak silviculture, in part because success has
been uneven. "There has been some
confusion and misdirected efforts on
the part of forest managers largely
because we haven't brought an
understanding of ecology to the
silviculture of oak forests. Sometimes
they were trying to apply generaliza-tions
from (oak ecosystems in) another
region that wouldn't be appropriate in
their region. There are many different
kinds of oak forests, and they all have a
different regeneration ecology."
Despite the current economic importance of oaks-dominated by northern red oak and white oak-it is more important to consider restoration of oaks for their ecological value, says Luppold. "Over time the market has reacted to what is available. What I like about the oak is its ecological aspects. It's a food production tree (in the form of acorns and foliage)." Add that to the tree's cultural significance, and there are plenty of reasons to regenerate America's oak stands. Johnson hopes his book will help that process along. |
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![[Photograph]: Cover - The Ecology and Silviculture of Oaks.](/4154/images/oakbook.gif)
USDA Forest Service - North Central Research Station
Last Modified: June 02, 2004