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Crop Tree Thinning Increases Availability of Soil Water to Small Yellow Birch Poles¹

ABSTRACT

Measurements of soil-moisture depletion with a neutron probe on five forest sites supporting yellow birch poles (Betula alleghaniensis Britton) in Vermont indicate moisture is depleted at slower rates around individual trees that have had "partial release" and "full release" than around trees with "no release." The effects of thinning on depletion are cumulative over a growing season; by late August moisture depletion curves have diverged substantially. Significant differences in depletion rates due to treatment effects occurred for 20 to 40% of the measurement intervals within a growing season. Most of the significant differences are judged to occur because of oddities in the data. Measures of net soil depletion rate are extremely variable because of microsite differences. Apparent depletion rates and theoretical depletion patterns for short intervals are examined. Moisture depletion rates between soil depth classes (0–15 cm, 15–46 cm, 46–76 cm) are significantly different during most intervals within a growing season. The data obtained in this study portray only general trends, and it is questionable whether more intensive studies of this nature should be planned to obtain significant differences in results.

¹ Contribution from the Dep. of Forestry, Univ. of Vermont, Burlington, Vt. 05401. Presented before Div. S-7 Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. at Miami, Fla., 1972. University of Vermont Agr. Exp. Sta. Journal Article no. 321.

² Associate Professor of Forestry and Associate Research Forester.

Received for publication July 6, 1973. Accepted for publication March 15, 1974.