VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Calocedrus decurrens | Incense-Cedar 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
Incense-cedar wood is resistant to decay, making it very desirable for
exterior use.  This wood is used as mud sills, window sashes, sheathing
under stucco or brick veneer construction, greenhouse benches, fencing,
poles, and trellises.  It is also widely used for exterior and interior
siding.  Much of the top quality incense-cedar is used in the
manufacture of pencils [19].


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Incense-cedar is rated low to moderate in value as a wildlife browse.
It is browsed moderately by mule deer in California [12,16].  Its seeds
are eaten by small mammals but are not a preferred food of chipmunks.
The presence of oils in the seeds may make them unpalatable [11,25].



PALATABILITY : 
Incense-cedar is low in palatability to livestock and wildlife [25].


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


COVER VALUE : 
Wildlife primarily use incense-cedar as cover.  Large mammals use dense,
young stands as hiding and thermal cover.  Mature trees are used to a
limited extent by arboreal species such as birds, squirrels, and other
small mammals [10].



VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Incense-cedar is widely planted in the mountains for erosion control.
Los Angeles County has used this species with good success on road fills
and along streams at altitudes from 2,000 to 6,000 feet (610-1,829 m)
[12].



OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Incense-cedar is an attractive landscape tree [12].

Essential leaf oils commercially extracted from incense-cedar are as
follows [3]:

    Oil        Specific                    Principal
   Yield*      Gravity**                  Constituents
   -----       --------                   ------------
    .23       .8655-.8733     a-pinene, limonene, librocedrene, borneal
 
* Percent of fresh weight.
** At 59 degrees Fahrenheit (15 deg C).



MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Disease:  The most damaging agent to incense-cedar is pocket dry rot
(Tyromyces amarus).  This fungus affects 75 to 100 percent of mature
trees in parts of the Sierra Nevada.  Fire scars provide the most
prevalent point of entry for this fungus's spores.  Generally,
suppressed trees are subject to severe dry rot infections after they
reach 165 years, but open-grown trees are safe until they reach 210
years old.  Two other fungi that occasionally rot the heartwood of
living incense-cedar are Phellinus pini and Phaeolus schweinitzii.

Root disease kills more incense-cedar than any other pathogen.  The most
destructive fungus is Heterobasidion annosum.  This and other fungi
contribute to a serious problem of wind-fall trees, which cause
considerable property damage.  The only foliar disease is caused by
Gymnosporangium libocedri.  This disease causes witches broom on young
branches [19].

Insects:  Many species of insects are found on incense-cedar, but few
cause any serious damage.  A cone sawfly (Augomonoctenus libocedrii)
does minimal damage to incense-cedar cones.  Six species of cedar bark
beetles have been found to consume the inner cambium.  Although damage
is usually minimal, beetles occasionally become sufficiently numerous
and aggressive to attack and kill healthy trees [19].

Ozone from air pollution does not harm incense-cedar [19].

Related categories for Species: Calocedrus decurrens | Incense-Cedar