Short-term response of salal (Gaultheria shallon Pursh) to commercial harvesting for floral greenery

• Published in: Agroforestry systems Vol. 68; no. 2; pp. 103 - 111
• Main Authors: Cocksedge, W, Titus, B.D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer 01-10-2006; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Biological and medical sciences; dry matter accumulation; floriculture crops; Flowers & plants; Forest products; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gaultheria shallon; General agronomy. Plant production; Harvest; Harvesting. Postharvest. Storage; nontimber forest products; plant growth; Regrowth; Vancouver Island; Vegetative propagation. Sowing and planting. Harvesting; Northwestern United States; British Columbia; Canada; North America; America; INE, USA, Pacific Northwest; Short term; Gaultheria shallon; Nonwood forest product; Harvesting; Shrub; Dicotyledones; Salal; Angiospermae; Flower crop; Spermatophyta; Ericaceae; Floral greenery; Non-timber forest product; Agroforestry; Pacific Northwest
• ISSN: 0167-4366; 1572-9680
• DOI: 10.1007/s10457-006-9001-1

Salal (Gaultheria shallon Pursh), which is widely used for floral greenery, is an important non-timber forest product (NTFP) from the coastal forests of the Pacific Northwest of North America. However, there are no known studies on the impacts of commercial salal harvesting on subsequent growth. A study was therefore initiated to quantify the growth of salal 1 year after commercial harvesting, and to compare this with growth of unharvested salal. The amount of biomass removed from shrubs through commercial harvesting (131 g m^sup -2^) was the same as the amount of annual growth in adjacent undisturbed plots (135 g m^sup -2^). One year later, the amount of regrowth in previously harvested plots (144 g m^sup -2^) was greater than the amount of new growth in adjacent undisturbed plots (111 g m^sup -2^). As there was little difference in the weight per current stem, the increased biomass after commercial harvesting was attributed to the observed increase in stem number (60 stems m^sup -2^) as compared to undisturbed salal (50 stems m^sup -2^). Our study does not incorporate either repeated annual harvesting or variable harvesting intensities, both of which have been anecdotally reported to affect levels of re-growth and therefore sustainability.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]