Nurseries in the Northwest: A Unique Opportunity for Improving Forest Yield

Abstract

Nursery management represents the greatest concentration of technology and investment in the forest growth cycle and rivals wood processing in capital and labor intensity. Northwest nursery managers are thereby in a unique position to increase forest yield by (1) using environmental control techniques unavailable elsewhere in forestry operations to tailor their product, (2) by taking advantage of diverse and productive Northwest conifer species, and (3) by producing stock types adapted to specific site conditions to improve regeneration success. Current nursery research and information transfer have been inadequate to fully realize potential yield increases because of (1) poor communication between researchers and nursery managers and (2) lack of stimulating and well-articulated goals. Future challenges to nursery managers will result from (1) the use of genetically improved seed, (2) the need to produce a wide array of species, and (3) the introduction of new systems and concepts for growing bareroot seedlings.