Progress 10/01/01 to 09/30/06
Outputs
As of July 1st 2005, the principal investigator's appointment changed and he no longer has an experiment station appointment; this project has thus ended a year early. Original project objectives: To determine techniques of artificial regeneration and culture of brown ash that can help offset the effects of the current, documented decline in Maine's natural brown ash stands. Approach: 1. Collect seed from native brown ash trees and stands with emphasis on basket quality trees. 2. Conduct germination experiments and tests on Maine brown ash seed to find reliable ways to break the stubborn dormancy of the seeds in ways that are more efficient than waiting 2-3 winters as is necessary with outdoor seedbeds. 3. Learn whether brown ash can be reliably cultured from rooted cuttings or root stocks. 4. Conduct tests of outplanting seeds, seedlings, or rooted cuttings to find which cultural techniques and sites work best to propagate basket quality trees. Findings: We were able
to collect seed from some trees with a pole pruner and one of our Native American cooperators gathered seed from the tops of trees he cut for basket bolts. We sewed these seeds in pots and flats that were kept outside. As reported by others working on brown ash, there was almost no germination after the first winter. Those flats that did germinate did so after the second winter. No additional seedlings were noted in these or any other flat after a third winter. Seeds collected early in the fall from recently cut trees had heavy germination; seeds collected later in the fall whether by using a pole pruner or from the tops of trees cut weeks earlier had almost no germination. Our one attempt to encourage rooted cuttings by gathering dormant sprouts in the late winter using methods described in the literature for green ash totally failed regardless of whether the cuttings were treated with rooting hormone or not. We outplanted brown ash seedlings acquired from a nursery and protected
them using two deer repellants and tree tubes. Browsing damage was minimal on protected and unprotected seedlings alike. We did document a very pronounced positive effect on height growth for seedlings in the translucent tubes. When we added tubes to a sample of unprotected seedlings their height growth accelerated the very first season and after three seasons they had almost caught up with those seedlings that had been in tubes from the outset. Seedlings not in tubes were only about half as tall as seedlings in tubes after 4 growing seasons. On the cutover site the tree tubes greatly facilitated the annual brushing by making the seedlings much easier to see and by protecting the seedlings from the brushing tools. However, also on the cutover forest site, every year black bears bit and mangled about 1/3 of the tree tubes and so caused some mortality and damage to tubed seedlings. After the fourth season, many of the seedlings were growing above the tops of the 4 foot tall tubes and
were starting to be lightly browsed by moose. There was no bear damage on the old field site.
Impacts
The impact of this study will depend on the degree to which basketmakers and landowners use plantations to augment the dwindling natural supply of brown ash basket bolts. The three key findings of this project are that seed should be collected early in the fall eg. October in Maine, it will take two winters for flats left outside to germinate, and tree tubes both protect brown ash seedlings from browsing and weeding tools, and markedly accelerate their height growth. The first two findings confirm results from previous studies; the third finding is new information.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 10/01/03 to 09/30/04
Outputs
This year the brown ash plantation on the field site was kept mowed by the cooperators; the PI brushed out the plantation on the cutover site. The total height of all trees on both sites was measured again and the data will be analyzed over the winter of 2004-2005. The vegetative reproduction experiment totally failed and will be discontinued. Seed from all three Maine seed collection sites has now germinated. The flats of seedlings were thinned by clipping out competing vegetation and then moved to a University shadehouse where they were mulched for the winter. A transplant bed was mowed and mulched for tilling in the spring.
Impacts
Still hoping to find a reliable way to establish brown ash plantations as a source of basket quality trees for Maine's Native American basketmakers to offset the growing shortfall in supply.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 10/01/02 to 09/30/03
Outputs
We remeasured pilot plantations established with seed from the Lake States. Still little browsing, so no gain from repellants but the trees inside tree tubes in both old field site and cutover forest site continue to grow significantly faster than trees without tubes. Tubed trees are also much easier to locate when manually cutting back competing vegetation each year. Bear damage continues to impact about 1/3 of the tubes on the cutover forest site annually. Only two trees died in crushed tubes; most survived but with markedly compromised height growth. The seed collected from 3 sites in Maine in late fall 2002 was sown in pots with various media. As expected only limited germination noted after the first winter. Brown ash stump sprouts were collected from sites in central and northern Maine while still dormant in the spring of 2003; clipped to a standard length of 10" with several lateral buds, laid horizontally in planting flats, and lightly covered with Promix.
Almost all buds broke and grew at first but only one flat rooted and survived through the first summer.
Impacts
Still hoping to find a reliable way to establish brown ash plantations as a source of basket quality trees for Maine's Native American basketmakers to offset the growing shortfall in supply.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 10/01/01 to 09/30/02
Outputs
Remeasured existing pilot plantations established with seed from Lake States sources. Initial analysis shows little browsing and no gains from deer/hare repellants but significant positive height response for seedlings inside tree tubes. So far, one third of the tree tubes on the wooded site have been disturbed/bitten by black bears, two tubes destroyed, one seedling killed. Fall 2002 heavy seed year for Maine brown ash; collected and planted seed gathered from three cooperators' woodlots. Contacts with Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance (MIBA) yielded one seed collection site and one scion collection site for spring 2003.
Impacts
Collaboration with MIBA to test and share brown ash culture techniques. MIBA has made huge strides to insure that there will be another generation of skilled basketmakers but the long-term supply of quality brown ash basket stock remains uncertain.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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