Yield of the Oak-Chestnut-Hard Pine Forest Type in Pennsylvania

Chestnut was formerly the key species in this important forest type. Its loss created many problems of far-reaching significance in the field of silviculture and forest management. One of the important facts to ascertain is the new rate of growth being made by our forests after the chestnut was eliminated. Presence of this tree on the poorer sites was formerly the great redeeming feature which tended to offset the low potentiality of such areas for wood production. It is doubtful if the species which replace it can maintain nearly so fast a rate of growth, even after the forests have been restored to full productivity. Under certain conditions the situation may even warrant attempts at conversion to faster growing conifers (13). Whatever the final solution may be, it hinges on a more definite knowledge of what growth is being made by the replacement species. The death of the chestnut rendered worthless much early work on growth appraisal done in hardwood stands of this type, not only in Pennsylvania but elsewhere. It now becomes necessary to investigate anew all phases of the growth and yield that will characterize our reconstructed forests of the future.