Title: Ice storm damage: Effects of competition and fertilization on the growth of sugar maple trees
Abstract: Treatment plots in blocks established in productive sugar maple (Acer saccharum) bushes throughout southeastern Ontario were used to quantify effects of fertilizers, vegetation control and interactions on maple growth following the 1998 ice storm. Treatments were applied during the spring of 1999. Increment cores from six mature sugar maple trees in each plot in each block were extracted and examined during October 2001. Maple growth was highly variable before the storm, but fell to a 30-year low during both the first and second year after the storm. Growth reductions increased with increasing crown damage. Treatment-related statistical differences were marginal; however, the data suggest that phosphorus and potassium additions and competition control improved the growth of ice-damaged mature sugar maple trees. The combination of competition control and fertilization increased growth of ice-damaged maple the most. Key words: Acer saccharum, increment cores, glyphosate, phosphorus, potassium