VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Chamaecyparis lawsoniana | Port-Orford-Cedar 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
Since its discovery by European settlers in the 1850's,
Port-Orford-cedar wood has been used in manufacturing many diverse
products.  Early use was primarily as lumber for house and ship
building, timbers for mines, and in the manufacture of furniture.
Port-Orford-cedar has been used in making a variety of products
including airplanes, arrow shafts, boats, cabinets, crates, decking,
doors, handles, hangers, lawn furniture, mouldings, plywood, telephone
poles, screens, shelves, siding, stools, tables, toys, and yardsticks.
During the 1920's and 1930's production increased dramatically because
of two specialty industries:  the manufacture of battery separators and
venetian blinds.  Following World War II, substitute materials were
found for these products.  Subsequently domestic use almost disappeared,
and today remains almost nonexistent.

Today nearly all harvested Port-Orford-cedar is exported to Japan.
Port-Orford-cedar is very similar to hinoki (Chamaecyparis obtusa) wood,
which is used in traditional Japanese house and temple construction.  On
federal timber sales, Japanese trading companies sometimes purchase
stumpage on bid after examining individual trees.  The wood is regarded
so highly as a hinoki substitute that trees are felled with great care;
sometimes cables are used to control the fall.  Because the supply of
hinoki is very limited, Port-Orford-cedar sells for a premium price as a
hinoki substitute.  Logs exported from the Powers Ranger District,
Oregon, in 1981 sold for an average of $2,166 per thousand board feet.
(the above information is summarized from Zobel and others 1985 [37] and
Zobel 1986 [35])


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
As a food source, Port-Orford-cedar is of little importance to wildlife
and livestock.  Seedlings and saplings within regenerating stands show
little browsing damage [37].  Some plantations, however, have shown
moderate use.  In a wildlife damage study, 19 percent of
Port-Orford-cedar in 8- to 26-year-old plantations was moderately or
severely damaged from browsing.  Sixty percent of the damage was from
deer and elk, and 40 percent from domestic livestock and small mammals
[13].

Douglas squirrels harvest Port-Orford-cedar cones and eat the seed [32].
Mountain beavers and rabbits occasionally eat the foliage of saplings,
and woodrats and porcupines eat the bark [23,37].  Caged white-footed
deer mice showed a dislike for Port-Orford-cedar seed [23].


PALATABILITY : 
Port-Orford-cedar appears to be of low palatability to hooved browsers.


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


COVER VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Due to its susceptibility to a fatal root rot, Port-Orford-cedar is
probably of very limited use for rehabilitating disturbed sites (see
Management Considerations).


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Port-Orford-cedar is a commercially important ornamental tree in Europe.
Numerous cultivars exist.  It was first cultivated in 1854.  Within the
natural range of Port-Orford-cedar, branches are collected for use in
florist's greens [37].  This activity is often regulated by permits.
Native Americans used Port-Orford-cedar wood for house planks, canoes,
utensils, and arrows, and wove the shredded bark into clothing [37].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Port-Orford-cedar is extremely susceptible to a fatal root rot caused by
two soil-borne fungi, Phytophthora lateralis and P. cinnamomi.  The
crown of infected trees changes color from the normal blue-green to
gold, bronze, reddish brown, and finally a dull brown.  Moisture stress
in the spring and summer initiates the rapid death of the entire crown.
Within the roots, the fungus moves from the root tips throughout the
tissue to the root crown.  Roots turn a dark brown and finally black and
rot within a few months [35].

Sometime prior to 1923, root rot spread within hundreds of nurseries,
ornamentals, and windbreaks in the Pacific Northwest north of the
natural range of Port-Orford-cedar and attacked only Port-Orford-cedar
[35,37].  In 1952 the disease was introduced into the natural range of
Port-Orford-cedar, apparently from infected soil of transplanted
ornamentals [35].  The disease has now spread throughout much of the
range of Port-Orford-cedar.  The fungus is carried through water-borne
spores transported primarily by natural water flow or in mud carried by
animals or machinery.  Thus spread of the disease has been greatly
accelerated by road construction and maintenance, logging, and house
building [35,37].  In the 1970's mortality of old-growth trees was about
10 million board feet annually and has gradually decreased to about 5
million board feet annually, largely due to the depletion of the
resource [37].  About 60 percent of coastal second-growth
Port-Orford-cedar which developed following cutting from 1880 to 1930
has been lost to this disease [37].  It may be over 100 years before
Port-Orford-cedar harvest can contribute significantly to the regional
economy, and this will only happen through proper timber and disease
management [37].

There is currently no known cure for trees infected with root rot.  Work
is being conducted to find a genetic source resistant to root rot for
developing planting stock [35].  Root rot can be avoided on sites where
topography prevents the flow of runoff water [35].  For future harvests,
managers may have to concentrate on growing Port-Orford-cedar on sites
unlikely to be reached by the fungus [37].  Current root rot management
generally consists of minimizing the spread of the disease by
restricting or regulating human activities.  Zobel and others [37]
discuss ways to manage Port-Orford-cedar to minimize the spread of the
root rot disease.  With a better understanding of root rot, planting has
begun on some federal and forest industry lands.  Eight to 12 inch
(20-30 cm) tall container stock has been planted at 20 to 26 foot (6-8
m) spacing [37].  The wide spacing minimizes root overlap and root to
root spread of the root rot fungus.

Because of its high commercial value, numerous Port-Orford-cedar
plantations were begun north of its natural range prior to 1950.  In the
fall of 1955, a severe cold spell caused high mortality of trees on
these plantations [14].  Some plantations received up to 100 percent
mortality.  Because of its susceptibility to cold injury and root rot,
Port-Orford-cedar should not be used in forestry projects outside its
natural range [14].

Related categories for Species: Chamaecyparis lawsoniana | Port-Orford-Cedar