NCCSP

Champion Information:

Height (Ft): 106

Circumference (In): 182

Average Crown Spread (Ft): 9

Total Points: 297

Nominator Name: Kim Parsley

Location: Douglas County, Take exit 86 off I5, go east on Quines Ck Rd, turn left on Bull Run Rd 32-5-23.4. Go to end of road and hike south about 75 yards to the clearcut.  At timberline and clearcut line, hike east 50 yards and arrive at tree.

Species Information:

Giant chinkapin (Castanopsis chrysophylla), also called golden chinkapin, giant evergreen-chinkapin, and goldenleaf chestnut, is an interesting hardwood species in a landscape dominated by coniferous forests. Over much of its range, giant chinkapin shows several growth forms; it grows in a wide variety of habitats but is rarely a dominant component of any stand. In certain portions of its range, it can be an undesirable competitor of commercial species during early stages of stand development. Ecologically and taxonomically, it remains a poorly understood species.

Native Range

The natural range of giant chinkapin extends from San Luis Obispo County in California to Mason County in west-central Washington. In California, it grows primarily in the Coast Ranges, with a disjunct population in the Sierra Nevada in El Dorado County. In Oregon, it is found in the Coast Ranges as far north as Benton County, and throughout the Cascade Range. Giant chinkapin is represented in Washington by two disjunct populations in Mason and Skamania Counties. Shrub forms of the species are found throughout its range. The tree form is primarily distributed from Lane County, OR, south to Marin County, CA. It is found from near sea level in the Coast Ranges of Oregon and California to over 1525 m (5,000 ft) in elevation in the Cascades. Although giant chinkapin is generally thought of as a mid- to low-elevation species, the shrub form can be found along the crest of the Cascade Range in Oregon from 1525 to 1830 m (5,000 to 6,000 ft).

Climate

The generally mild climate over the range of giant chinkapin is characterized by winter precipitation and summer drought. Rainfall ranges from an annual mean of less than 510 mm (20 in) in southern California to more than 3300 mm (130 in) in the Cascades in Oregon. Much of the winter precipitation in the higher elevations of the Cascades occurs as snow. Little rain falls from June to September, and the duration and intensity of drought increase in the southern portion of the range, which has a Mediterranean climate.

The tree form of the species occurs in the warm but relatively moist portion of the climatic conditions within which it grows. Although the shrubby form is found throughout the species range, it achieves greatest coverage in the more extreme climates of xeric sites and higher elevations.

Soils and Topography

Giant chinkapin is found in a wide variety of topographic positions, from valley bottom to ridgetop, and on a wide range of soils. It achieves the highest cover in the northern portion of its range on Inseptisols and Entisols. In the southern portion of its range, highest cover is found on Inceptisols, Ultisols, and Alfisols. A partial list of parent materials includes basaltic, dioritic, sedimentary, metasedimentary, and serpentinaceous types. Giant chinkapin is ubiquitous in some portions of its range, such as the central part of the Cascades in Oregon, where it is a minor shrubby component of many forest stands on a range of soils. It achieves maximum size and cover, however, on sites that have relatively deep soils that apparently are deficient in nutrients.

In other portions of its range, giant chinkapin may be quite restricted, or its different growth forms may be found in markedly contrasting topographic and soil conditions. Nowhere is the latter more evident than in the Siskiyou and Klamath Mountains of southwestern Oregon and north coastal California, where the shrub form achieves greatest cover on dry, sterile, rocky ridgetops and southerly facing slopes in chaparral associations. The tree form is found on northerly aspects on benches and broad ridges with deep soils and more moderate moisture stresses.

Over much of the range of giant chinkapin, a general pattern emerges of a species that is at its competitive best on sites that are relatively infertile.

Associated Forest Cover

Pure stands of giant chinkapin are uncommon and rarely exceed 10 ha (25 acres). The species is a minor component in a wide range of forest communities and in its shrub form is a component of chaparral communities. Common tree associates in the Cascade Range are Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), incense-cedar (Libocedrus decurrens), sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana), western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla), white fir (Abies concolor), ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), Pacific madrone (Arbutus menziesii), and Shasta red fir (Abies magnifica var. shastensis). In southwestern Oregon, Douglas-fir, western white pine (Pinus monticola), incense-cedar, sugar pine, Pacific madrone, and ponderosa pine continue to be associates, with the additional species: tanoak (Lithocarpus densiflorus), California black oak (Quercus kelloggii), knobcone pine (Pinus attenuata), Port-Orford- cedar (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana), and canyon live oak (Quercus chrysolepis). Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) is added to the list in north coastal California.

As a result of the wide ecological amplitude of both shrub and tree forms, giant chinkapin is found in many Society of American Foresters forest cover types. It is most important in terms of size and cover in certain communities in the following types: Pacific Douglas-Fir (Type 229), Douglas-Fir-Western Hemlock (Type 230); Port Orford-Cedar (Type 231); Sierra Nevada Mixed Conifer (Type 243), and Pacific Ponderosa Pine-Douglas-Fir (Type 244).

Reaction to Competition

The competitive ability of giant chinkapin appears to be improved relative to its associates on nutritionally poor sites with high moisture stress. The shrub form is quite tolerant of shade. The tree form is less tolerant of shade and is probably most accurately classified as intermediate in tolerance, comparable to incensecedar or sugar pine with which it is often found. Chinkapin does not attain the height of many of its associates, is often overtopped in mature stands of conifers, and declines in importance during later stages of succession. Over much of its range, some disturbance-such as fire, logging, or windstorm-is required for giant chinkapin to remain an important component of the forest on most sites. Under relatively droughty, infertile conditions, it can be a very aggressive and undesirable species during early succession. This is the aspect of giant chinkapin that is perhaps best known by foresters. Considerably more research has been conducted on how to rid sites of giant chinkapin than on how to promote its establishment and growth.

The most effective site preparation methods for controlling giant chinkapin have been scarification by tractor or spraying and burning. Neither slash burning nor hand scalping is effective, and herbicides produce only moderate results.

Because giant chinkapin is usually found mixed with other undesirable species, broad-spectrum herbicides, such as 2,4-D and triclopyr ester, have been used most frequently. Formulations of triclopyr ester have proven the most successful for both aerial and ground applications, including basal and stem treatment. The registration status of herbicides is subject to change. Consultation with local extension agents is advised when considering herbicide use.

Damaging Agents

Few diseases or insects are reported to affect growth and survival of giant chinkapin, but it is susceptible to heart-rotting fungi, such as Phellinus igniarius. It is resistant to chestnut blight (Cryphonectria parasitica) despite its close relationship to chestnut. Common leaf fungi appear to do little harm. Twig fungi are reported to be secondary to other agents of damage, and root and butt rots are rare.

Although in general giant chinkapin has few insect pests, seed-infesting species, such as the filbertworm (Melissopus latiferreanus), may play a significant local role in impeding regeneration. In portions of its range, certain foliage feeders, such as California oakworm (Phryganidia californica), can reduce growth. The roundheaded borer (Phymatodes aeneus) is occasionally found in dying branches and thin-barked portions of the bole.

Special Uses

Giant chinkapin is an important species for wildlife because of the cover and food it provides. Its ability to grow on harsh sites on infertile soils, and to sprout rapidly after fire, also makes it important for soil stabilization in watersheds.

Genetics

If much of the earlier discussion seemed to deal with two or perhaps three species, it may be because the taxonomy of the genus is poorly understood. Only 2 of about 150 species of Castanopsis are found in North America.

The uniqueness of the two species at the genus level does not imply a simple relationship between them. The ranges of the shrub form of giant chinkapin and of evergreen chinkapin overlap from northern coastal California into the Cascade Range of Oregon. The two species probably hybridize where they coexist. An apparently continuous intergradation of characters can be found in the Cascades in southern Oregon and in the Siskiyou Mountains.

The two growth forms of giant chinkapin are probably not the result of plastic phenotypic response to site conditions, although they may be in portions of the species range. In the northern Coast Ranges of California, the tree form occupies relatively moist conditions; the shrub form grows on dry, sterile ridgetops in chapparal communities. In the central part of the Cascades of Oregon, the pattern is reversed-the tree form is found primarily in relatively open and dry ridgetop forest communities, and the shrub form is spread through the more mesic forest stands. Only the shrub form is found at high elevations in the Cascade Range.

This variation is due to the probable existence of at least three ecotypes of giant chinkapin: a dry-site chaparral shrub ecotype of southwestern Oregon and northwestern California that probably matches the taxonomic category of Castanopsis chrysophylla var. minor Benth; a high-elevation ecotype adapted to heavy snowpack, cool temperatures, and short growing seasons found along the Oregon Cascades and in eastern Oregon; and a tree form that occurs in forest stands at lower elevations. The latter ecotype seems well adapted to dry, relatively infertile sites but can and does do well in more mesic conditions that have a history of disturbance by fire.

From US Forest Service: http://na.fs.fed.us/spfo/pubs/silvics_manual/