Tree shelters and weed control: Effects on protection, survival and growthof cherrybark oak seedlings planted on a cutover site

In the southern USA oaks (Quercus spp.) are often favored by forest owners having multiple objectives for forest ownership as oaks provide mast for wi ldlife, are considered aesthetically pleasing, and are valuable for timber products. Regeneration and early seedling growth is a concern to those fore st owners interested in sustaining oaks as a component of their forests. Th e effects of tree shelters and herbaceous weed control on second-year seedl ing survival, browse by deer and rabbits, and seedling growth of hand-plant ed cherrybark oak (Quercus pagoda Raf.) were examined. The study was establ ished on a cutover mixed pine-hardwood forest in Alabama. Four treatments w ere: weed control only, tree shelter only, tree shelter with weed control, and a control consisting of a seedling without a tree shelter or weed contr ol. No significant difference in seedling survival was found among the trea tments after two years. Tree shelters were effective in preventing browsing . No seedlings in the tree-shelter-only treatment were browsed. There was n o significant, difference, however, in the percentage of seedlings browsed between the control treatment and the weed control treatment. The use of tr ee shelters with weed control was the most effective treatment for promotin g 2-year ground-line diameter, height, and stem volume growth.