By Constance A. Harrington, James P. McElroy and DeanS. DeBell
RED ALDER
The value of this Northwest species fluctuates.
Forest
resources
and the
societies
medicinal uses. Alder played an impor­
which use them are constantly changing.
tant role in the native economy.
traditional management and utilization
development
Some of these changes may alter the
of a tree species and thus change our
With
pioneer
of
settlement
steam
and
power
the
and
machinery, harvest of the large Douglas­
establishment and development of con­
ifers after several decades, have been a
part of the natural order of things in this
region for centuries.
As the exploitation phase of forest
perception of its worth. Such is the case
fir and other Northwest conifers became
development wound down and more and
For centuries the native inhabitants of
developed. For many years, red alder
management, the establishment of alder
with red alder.
possible. A productive forest industry
more forest land came under intentional
the Pacific Northwest valued red alder.
received little attention in the region.
used by coastal Indian tribes. Alder's size
however, red alder grew abundantly on
forester and Dean DeBell is principal
revegetated many burns. Some people
Northwest Forest and Range Experiment
Only western redcedar was more widely
and wood characteristics made for easy
handling
and
working
in
the
pre­
industrial age. Alder was fashioned into
hand tools and used for smoking salmon.
It was a preferred firewood. The bark was
used for dyes, potliners and medicinal
teas. The cones and catkins also had
WESTERN WILDLANDS WINTER 1981
As the old-growth conifers were cut,
many of the logged-over areas. Alder also
think that there is more alder in the
Northwest today than there was before
pioneers settled the area, but it is also
possible that initial establishment of alder
after disturbance, and the subsequent
Constance
silviculturist,
Station,
Harrington
both
Olympia,
at
is
research
the
Pacific
Washington. James
McElroy is area manager of the South
Puget
Sound
Department
of
Area,
Natural
Washington
Resources,
Enumclaw.
19
became a serious concern. This concern
the construction industry is depressed,
stems, often with sweep or lean in them.
preparation costs required to establish
production.
low.
was due mainly to the lag time and site­
many local mills close down or reduce
With
the production
of
conifers once alder had taken over a site.
residue reduced, most pulp mills need to
conifer growth by competing for space,
pulpwood prices rise. As the construction
In natural mixed stands, alder reduced
light, moisture and nutrients. Attention
find
alternative sources of chips, so
industry recovers and mills go back to
was focused on methods of eliminating
regular production, the supply of residue
wanted to assess the potential role of
market returns to the normal low level.
regional resource.
also have fluctuating demand for red
alder from conifer stands. Few people
alder or learn to manage it effectively as a
Red alder is used in the production of a
is again adequate and the pulpwood
Non-local or non-traditional markets
alder. Alder can be substituted for many
Merchantable
Because
yields are consequently
alder
is a
short-lived,
intolerant species, many older overstock­
ed stands will deteriorate rather than
grow to sawtimber size. Without early
spacing
control,
the
percent
of
sawtimber-sized material is usually fairly
low. The combination of poor logging
conditions, low merchantable yields, and
small size results in high logging costs per
unit of alder. The fac that many loggers
do not have equipment for harvesting
other non-specialty hardwoods (yellow
small logs adds to the problem.
chipboard, and made into furniture and
furniture or cabinet production. It is at a
their alder stands. Commercial thinning
firewood in the Pacific Northwest. Why
mills, however, due to shipping costs.
wide range of products. It is pulped, used
in
the
production
of
plywood
and
cabinets.
In addition, it .is a favorite
then
most foresters consider the
do
species to be a weed? The answer lies in
poplar,
sweetgum
or
soft maple) in
Most landowners are not managing
disadvantage as a raw material in eastern
is the most common management activi­
Alder logs and chips have been exported
unsuitable for most other species ­
to
Pacific
and
Rim countries, principally
Korea.
Although
these
ty. A few landowners plant alder in areas
streamsides, areas of poor drainage, root­
rot pockets, and areas with low fertility or
economics. Stumpage values for alder
Japan
with low merchantable yields per acre
1980, foreign markets for alder have been
cuts,
is a small but increasing use of alder in
mostly
market for alder.
ed to provide nitrogen for the other trees
erosion problems (avalanche paths, road
have generally been low; this, coupled
markets were excellent in late 1979 and in
and high logging costs per unit, make the
short-lived and erratic in the past. There
mining spoils). Some recent planting,
plywood and veneer, basically a new
species mixtures in which alder is includ­
management
of
alder
stands
un­
profitable.
The supply of alder usually exceeds the
demand. In Washington, for example,
local mills can use about half the annual
increment in alder stands. The oversupp­
ly of alder in relation to local demand
keeps alder stumpage prices low.
Demand
for
alder
beyond
that
generated by local sawmills occurs in
irregular boom-or-bust cycles. For exam­
ple, most regional pulpmills buy alder
and conifer chips produced from sawmill
and plywood-plant residue. The price
paid for the chips is generally quite low,
but the market is fairly constant. When
20
Alder is often expensive to harvest.
Because the species can tolerate wet
compacted
areas
experimental,
and
has
surface­
included
(usually Douglas-fir).
There are a number of factors which
conditions, it is frequently found in
may influence future alder management.
and lakes. These wet areas can cause
northwestern forest-products
poorly drained areas and along streams
logging problems. They are often brushy,
and many of them can be logged only
during
dry
seasons.
resource
pockets.
is
in
small
overstocked
with
many
heating
and
industrial/commercial
power generation could increase. De­
scattered
processes or technologies using alder as a
Natural alder stands tend to be clumpy
and
industry
could expand. Use of wood for home
some
Although
extensive alder stands exist, much of the
alder
Specialty and furniture markets in the
slender
mand for pulpwood could increase. New
raw material may develop.
The development and use of logging
equipment designed for small trees and
In such systems, alder would be grown for
tilizers. Perhaps inclusion of alder species
tions on herbicides may make manage­
crops of Douglas-fir.
conifers in other forest regions would
reasonable alternative to eliminating all
mixed
for site conditions typical of alder stands
will help reduce logging costs. Restric­
ment of alder in pure or mixed stands a
one rotation followed by one or more
Red alder may also be managed in
stands
when
primary
required investments which are possible
insure that differences in early growth
in
some
alder
management
systems
is
landowner's
alder from conifer plantations. In addi­
tion, the short rotations and minimal
objective
a
production
of
another species. Care must be taken to
rates do not suppress either species. In
in mixtures with other hardwoods or
produce similar benefits.
Some landowners predict that future
alder prices will be high
warrant
planting
or
enough to
managing
alder
stands now, especially in areas near mills
or metropolitan areas. In the long run, we
b ecome increasingly attractive as interest
some cases, alder may grow faster than.its
The growth of northwestern forests is
instances, it may grow more slowly (e.g.
Red alder has root nodules which change
problems can be adjusted to some degree
well as produce wood, will be doubly
Red alder was interplanted in part of a
foresters will view red alder as a resource
rates climb.
often limited by nitrogen deficiencies.
companion (e.g.
Douglas-fir); in other
cottonwood
alluvial
on
sites).
Such
the nitrogen in the air into forms which
by planting the trees at different times.
for commercial fertilizers as a means of
young Douglas-fir plantation on the U.S.
plants can use. Thus, alder can substitute
believe that all species of trees which can
rapidly
produce
appreciated
and
wood
fiber
managed.
will
be
Nitrogen­
fixing trees which can improve a site, as
appreciated.
When
this
time
comes,
rather than a weed.
Selected References
"Early control of stand density is essential in short-rotation
management of alder."
ATKINSON, W. A., B. T. BoRMANN and D. S.
DEBELL. 1979. Crop rotation of Douglas-fir
and red alder: A preliminary biological and
economic
assessment.
Bot.
Gaz.
140
(Suppl.): SI02-SI07.
adding nitrogen to forests. Once these
and the other beneficial effects of alder in
f orest ecosystems are quantified (alder
adds organic matter and improves the soil
structure), such values can be taken into
account when alder management is con­
s idered.
Alder Management
Forest Service Wind River Experimental
Forest in southwest Washington. When
Utilization
Douglas-fir growth, soil nitrogen and soil
USDA Forest Service, GTR PNW-70. 379
Growth and nitrogen relations of coppiced
than the surrounding pure stand, but they
mixed plantings. Bot. Gaz. 140 (Suppl.):
wood production in the mixed stand was
can be managed in short rotations of
volume was added to that of Douglas-fir,
fixation in the management of temperate
nearly twice that in the pure stand.
During the past five years there has
been much discussion of biomass farming
for energy production. If such farms were
r otations of up to 40 years. Estimates of
cottonwood would be very productive. In
of dense natural thickets suggest that
began a trial coppice management for
sawlog
and
veneer-log
potential productivity based on a sample
S97-SIOI.
GoRDON, J. C., C. T. WHEELER and D. A.
to develop in the Northwest, we believe
for
black cottonwood and red alder in pure and
in the mixed stand exceeded that in the
dense coppice (sprouts), or it can be
managed
Experiment Station, Portland, Ore.
were again measured and evaluated. The
in mixtures with other species. When this
When alder is grown in pure stands it
alder.
DEBELL, D. S. and M. A. RADWAN. 1979.
pure Douglas-fir stand. When the alder
extremely productive.
of
pure Douglas-fir. At age 48, the stands
stand than in the remaining plantation of
pure, even-aged stands. Under certain
has been done, such mixtures have been
management
p. Pacific Northwest Forest and Range
were larger. Total volume of Douglas-fir
circumstances, however, it can be grown
and
organic matter were greater in the mixed
early growth and relatively short life span
cause it to be most easily managed in
WILLIAM A. ATKINSON, compilers. 1978.
the plantation was about 30 years old,
mixed stand had fewer Douglas-fir trees
Red alder's shade intolerance, rapid
BRIGGS, DAVID G., DEAN S. DEBELL, and
that mixtures of red alder and black
1973,
Crown Zellerbach Corporation
yields of six oven-dry tons per acre per
maximum fiber on an island in the
r otations.
Washington. Red alder and black cot­
Symbiotic
nitrogen
forests. Oregon State University, Corvallis,
Ore., 501 p.
GUNTHER,
ERNA.
1973
(revised
edition).
Ethnobotany of western WGshington: The
knowledge and use of indigenous plants by
native
Americans.
71
p.
University
of
Washington Press, Seattle, Wash.
MILLER,
RICHARD E. and MARSHALL D.
MuRRAY. 1978. The effects of red alder on
growth of Douglas-fir. In Briggs, David G.,
Dean S. DeBell, and William A. Atkinson,
compilers. Utilization and management of
have been made to evaluate the produc­
tonwood were planted in both pure and
periment Station, Portland, Ore., p. 283­
(two to five years).
mixed plantings were substantially higher
TARRANT, RoBERT F. 1961. Stand develop­
Some small-scale plantings
tivity of alder under short coppice cycles
Our studies show that early control of
stand density is essential in short-rotation
management
of
alder.
Pulpwood
or
firewood could be grown in 10 to 14
in
1979.
alder. USDA Forest Service GTR PNW-70.
may be attained in very short
River
eds.
southwestern
year
Columbia
PERRY,
mixed-species plots. Fiber yields from
than from pure cultures of either species.
Mean
annual
yield
from
the mixed
plantation was 4.4 oven-dry tons per acre.
Yields from the pure plantations were less
Pacific Northwest Forest and Range Ex­
306.
ment and soil fertility in a Douglas-fir- red
alder plantation. For. Sci. 7(3): 238-246.
TARRANT,
ROBERT
F.,
and
R ICHARD
E.
MILLER. 1963. Accumulation of organic
years, with an initial spacing of 9x9 feet.
than three tons per acre. The fertilization
matter and soil nitrogen beneath a planta­
wouid require somewhat wider spacing
nitrogen content in cottonwood twigs
Soc. Am. Proc. 27: 231-234.
Management for sawlogs or peeler logs
effect of alder was evident in higher
for 25 to 40 years, depending on site
and in the soil.
might also be useful as components of
or cottonwood, high yields occur without
quality. Options for alder production
crop-rotation systems with Douglas-fir.
WESTERN WILDLANDS WINTER /98/
When alder is mixed with Douglas-fir
application of chemical nitrogen fer­
tion of red alder and Douglas-fir. Soil Sci.
TARRANT, ROBERT F., and JAMES M. TRAPPE.
1971. The role of Alnus is improving the
forest environment. Plant and Soil, Spec.
Vol. 1971: 335-348.
21
Reproduced from West.
Wildlands
7(1):19-21,
Mont. For. and Conserv. Exp. Stn.,
Missoula,
1981,
Univ. Mont.,
by the FOREST SERVICE,
Department of Agriculture,
GPO 992-364
U.S.
for official use.