Greetings Netters, I am embarking on a study to assess differences in productivity among habitat types in western Maine. Evaluating productivity in uneven-aged, closed canopy northern hardwood stands that have been repeatedly entered for extraction of stems depending upon market conditions and access is a daunting task (to say the least). One possible approach is to evaluate growth efficiency by using the ratio of sapwood to leaf area. Herein lies my problem. My experience over the past few years suggests that identification of conducting sapwood in hardwoods cannot be readily done using increment cores. Does any one out there have any information about dyes that can be used to assist in identification of active sapwood in hardwoods (especially Acer saccharum and Betula alleghaniensis). Alternatively, does anyone have any experience in measuring conducting sapwood area. Finally, are there any available equations (or have there been any less than successful attempts) to develop prediction equations relating sapwood conducting tissue to leaf area (or root volume, length, etc) for hardwood species. I would be very grateful for any advice, suggestions, or related information that would help me to more fully focus on this problem as we prepare for a field season with intensive stem analysis. Russell Briggs Cooperative Forestry Research Unit University of Maine Orono, ME 04469-5755 EMAIL: RBRIGGS@MAINE.MAINE.EDU Telephone: (207) 581-2899 Fax: (207) 581-2858
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