More info for the terms:
codominant,
fire management,
forest,
hardwood,
root crownHardwood timber: Silviculture of California laurel may become more
important as East Coast hardwood production lessens. Although
California laurel wood is valuable, young trees are not currently planted
for future commercial harvest. A serious management problem of this
species is heart rot. The fungus (Ganoderma applanatum) causing this
disease will infect even young trees. Heart rot can be virtually
eliminated from a stand by cutting down trees to stumps of less than 8
inches (20 cm) in height to promote root crown sprouting. Root crown
sprouts have a very low incidence of heart rot. Slash disposal by
broadcast burning is recommended to increase sprouting and kill fungi
harbored in the slash [
27]. California laurel has no serious insect pests,
although the powderpost beetle (Ptilinus basalis) and various oak bark
beetles (Pseudopithyophthorus spp.) will sometimes attack injured trees
[
9]. California laurel is not windfirm [
27].
Conifer timber: California laurel severely reduces growth of conifer
timber seedlings through allelopathic inhibition. The leaves contain
water-soluble terpenes which retard root elongation [
16]. A study done
in the Siskiyou National Forest of southwestern Oregon showed that root
elongation of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) seedlings was 16
percent of normal following treatment with California laurel leaf extract.
This was a greater rate of suppression than that shown by 10 other
chaparral species tested for potential conifer growth inhibition [
44].
Unless controlled, the California laurel understory in coniferous forests
often becomes dominant or codominant within a few years following
clear-cutting of mature timber trees [
9].
Control: California laurel can be controlled by aerosol or injection/cut
surface treatment with 2,4-D [
8]. (also see Fire Management
Considerations regarding control by burning)
