Prescribed burning aids reforestation of Oregon coast range brushlands Public Deposited
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Stands of brush and tree species of low commercial value dominate many potentially productive forest lands in western Oregon. Site preparation to reduce competition from such vegetation will improve the success of reforestation efforts, as well as reduce the cost of controlling small mammals that destroy seeds and seedlings. Site preparation methods include scarification to mechanically eradicate the brush, chemicals to kill it on site, and brown-and-burn which follows chemical treatment with burning. Of these, brown-andburn- properly applied as a management tool-reduces the volume of slashings and vegetative cover, lowers the density of small mammal populations, and makes small animal pests easier to control. The authors detail a brown-and-burn operation in western Oregon that successfully reduced small mammal populations so seedlings planted there experienced less damage than on untreated sites. However, because vegetation recovers rapidly in western Oregon, additional herbicide applications should be considered for several years after site preparation by the brownand- burn method.
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