A beech bark disease induced change in tree species composition influences forest floor acid–base chemistry

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (7) ◽  
pp. 875-882 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.A. Arthur ◽  
K.C. Weathers ◽  
G.M. Lovett ◽  
M.P. Weand ◽  
W.C. Eddy
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Acer Saccharum ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Base Cations ◽  
Fagus Grandifolia ◽  
Beech Bark Disease ◽  
Acid Base ◽  
Tree Species Composition

Beech bark disease (BBD) has demonstrable ecosystem consequences for eastern US forests stemming from American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) mortality, often leading to increased dominance by its competitor, sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.). We hypothesized that this BBD-induced shift in tree species composition leads to changes in soil acid–base chemistry, mediated through differences in leaf litter chemistry of the two species. Using a sequence of plots representing the progression of the disease in the Catskill Mountains, NY, USA, we examined the influence of tree species composition shift on soil chemistry. The BBD impact on tree species composition was confounded by variability in substrate (or nonexchangeable soil) calcium (Ca). While substrate Ca explained much of the variation in acid–base chemistry, increasing BBD was associated with increasing forest floor exchangeable Ca, sum of base cations, base saturation, cation-exchange capacity, and decreasing hydrogen. An apparent threshold effect of substrate Ca on sugar maple litter Ca concentration suggests that underlying soil Ca availability may contribute to the spatial extent and timeframe of BBD-induced shifts in species composition. The species compositional shift is a mechanism contributing to a vegetation effect on soil acid–base status and may partially counteract soil acidification in this acid deposition impacted region.

Winter foraging by individual porcupines

1984 ◽  
Vol 62 (12) ◽  
pp. 2425-2428 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uldis Roze
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Food Choice ◽  
Acer Saccharum ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Fagus Grandifolia ◽  
Foraging Area ◽  
Winter Foraging ◽  
Study Population

Winter feeding of individual porcupines (Erethizon dorsatum L.) was studied in the northern Catskill Mountains of New York by following individual feeding trails in the snow. The study population as a whole fed primarily on beech (Fagus grandifolia) and sugar maple (Acer saccharum) and less frequently on eight other tree species. Individual porcupines limited their feeding to one or two species. An individual's primary food choice corresponded to the numerically most abundant tree species in its foraging area; its secondary food choice could not be related to relative density nor to relative basal area.

scholarly journals Assessing the Linkages between Tree Species Composition and Stream Water Nitrate in a Reference Watershed in Central Appalachia

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 1116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark B. Burnham ◽  
Martin J. Christ ◽  
Mary Beth Adams ◽  
William T. Peterjohn
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Acer Saccharum ◽  
Stream Water ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Importance Value ◽  
Mineral N ◽  
Tree Species Composition ◽  
Total N

Many factors govern the flow of deposited nitrogen (N) through forest ecosystems and into stream water. At the Fernow Experimental Forest in WV, stream water nitrate (NO3−) export from a long-term reference watershed (WS 4) increased in approximately 1980 and has remained elevated despite more recent reductions in chronic N deposition. Long-term changes in species composition may have altered forest N demand and the retention of deposited N. In particular, the abundance and importance value of Acer saccharum have increased since the 1950s, and this species is thought to have a low affinity for NO3−. We measured the relative uptake of NO3− and ammonium (NH4+) by six important temperate broadleaf tree species and estimated stand uptake of total N, NO3−, and NH4+. We then used records of stream water NO3− and stand composition to evaluate the potential impact of changes in species composition on NO3− export. Surprisingly, the tree species we examined all used both mineral N forms approximately equally. Overall, the total N taken up by the stand into aboveground tissues increased from 1959 through 2001 (30.9 to 35.2 kg N ha−1 yr−1). However, changes in species composition may have altered the net supply of NO3− in the soil since A. saccharum is associated with high nitrification rates. Increases in A. saccharum importance value could result in an increase of 3.9 kg NO3−-N ha−1 yr−1 produced via nitrification. Thus, shifting forest species composition resulted in partially offsetting changes in NO3− supply and demand, with a small net increase of 1.2 kg N ha−1 yr−1 in NO3− available for leaching. Given the persistence of high stream water NO3− export and relatively abrupt (~9 year) change in stream water NO3− concentration circa 1980, patterns of NO3− export appear to be driven by long-term deposition with a lag in the recovery of stream water NO3− after more recent declines in atmospheric N input.

Influence of moisture regime and tree species composition on nitrogen cycling dynamics in hardwood forests of Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky, USA

2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 330-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric S. Fabio ◽  
Mary A. Arthur ◽  
Charles C. Rhoades
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
Soil Solution ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
N Cycling ◽  
Moisture Regime ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
Soil Leachate ◽  
Tree Species Composition

Understanding how natural factors interact across the landscape to influence nitrogen (N) cycling is an important focus in temperate forests because of the great inherent variability in these forests. Site-specific attributes, including local topography, soils, and vegetation, can exert important controls on N processes and retention. Seasonal monitoring of N cycling dynamics was carried out for 2 years in deciduous forest stands that differed in soil moisture status and geologic substrate, and thus, in tree species composition to determine the effects of tree species composition, mediated by moisture and soil chemistry, on N cycling. Geologic substrate influenced soil and soil leachate chemistry but did not appear to affect N cycling in the upper 10 cm. Moisture status was strongly correlated with tree species composition, which was significantly related to N cycling parameters. Sugar maple was associated with high net nitrification rates and soil solution NO3 concentrations, whereas in oak stands nitrification was low and soil solution NO3 was at or near detection limits. Tree species composition in the understory suggests that sugar maple may be increasing in mesic sites and that oak regeneration in all sites is very limited, and a shift in species composition could result in changes to N retention and export.

Beech–maple coexistence and seedling growth rates at Mont Saint Hilaire, Quebec

1982 ◽  
Vol 60 (7) ◽  
pp. 1279-1281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean Cypher ◽  
Douglas H. Boucher
Keyword(s):  
Seedling Growth ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Acer Saccharum ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Forest Tree ◽  
Fagus Grandifolia ◽  
American Beech ◽  
Main Hypothesis ◽  
Auxiliary Hypothesis ◽  
Light Gap

We tested the hypothesis that coexistence of forest tree species is promoted by canopy-dependent seedling growth, such that each tree species grows faster under adults of a different species. The study was carried out in the forest of Mont Saint Hilaire, P.Q., using seedlings of American beech (Fagus grandifolia) and sugar maple (Acer saccharum). The main hypothesis was confirmed, while an auxiliary hypothesis for coexistence involving differential longevity and light gap growth was not confirmed.

scholarly journals Two Hundred Years of Forest Change: Effects of Urbanization on Tree Species Composition and Structure

2015 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Dolan
Keyword(s):  
Acer Saccharum ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Fagus Grandifolia ◽  
Tree Planting ◽  
Forest Change ◽  
Additional Species ◽  
Tree Species Composition ◽  
Forested Areas

Despite their importance, the dynamics of urban floras are not well understood, and quantitative historical data are rare. The current study used three data sets for trees in Indianapolis/Marion County, Indiana, U.S., to document change over 200 years to the original beechmaple forest and to examine future implications of contemporary tree planting efforts in light of these changes. Data on tree composition and size collected before significant settlement in the early 1800s are compared with recent surveys of trees in remnant natural areas and with trees found on city streets and rights-of-way. All the species recorded in historical surveys are still present in either remnant natural area forests or among city street trees, but frequencies and sizes have changed, and many additional species are now present. Comparison of the composition of the original forest with current remnants shows a 95% decline of American beech (Fagus grandifolia), the most common species in presettlement forests. Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) has more than doubled in number. Silver maple (Acer saccharinum) is the most important street tree, with eight species of non-native broadleaf trees among the most common on city streets, along with evergreen gymnosperms that are not documented in the presettlement flora. Data for contemporary tree planting efforts in the city show a focus on native species that targets replacement of species that have declined in frequency, especially oaks, in proportions that should be sustainable. Patterns reported here are likely representative of those in many forested areas undergoing land conversion and development, so the findings apply to many cities.

Indirect effects of beech bark disease on sugar maple seedling survival

2003 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 807-813 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth N Hane
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Indirect Effects ◽  
Acer Saccharum ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Seedling Survival ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Fagus Grandifolia ◽  
Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest ◽  
Beech Bark Disease ◽  
Negative Effect

To investigate the mechanisms of indirect effects of the increased presence of American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) saplings on sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) seedling survival, I conducted several experiments in the area of the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in central New Hampshire, U.S.A. To investigate the effects of competition from beech saplings on sugar maple seedlings, a removal experiment was conducted. Sugar maple seedling survival was monitored in five replicate plots of each of the two treatments for 6 years. Survivorship in plots in which beech saplings had been removed was significantly higher (33%) than in control plots (1%). A shading experiment demonstrated that a large proportion of the mortality of sugar maple seedlings results from the effects of shading. Cutting and shade cloth treatments were done in a two-factor factorial block design, and results showed a strong negative effect of shading in the plot. A third experiment investigated the role of soil moisture. Plots that had higher soil moisture and also had beech removed had the highest survival (76%), while control plots in a dry area had the lowest (22%). Overall, the experiments showed that beech bark disease and the associated increase in beech saplings had a negative indirect effect on sugar maple seedling survival. Sugar maple regeneration failure appeared to be, at least in part, due to the indirect effects of beech bark disease.

Activity of flying beetles (Coleoptera) at two heights in canopy gaps and intact forests in a hardwood forest in Quebec

2009 ◽  
Vol 141 (5) ◽  
pp. 515-520 ◽  
Author(s):  
Briana Schroeder ◽  
Christopher M. Buddle ◽  
Michel Saint-Germain
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Acer Saccharum ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Fagus Grandifolia ◽  
Hardwood Forest ◽  
Forest Gap ◽  
American Beech ◽  
Forest Gaps ◽  
Closed Canopy

AbstractWe studied the effects of forest height and forest gap on assemblages of flying beetles in an American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh. (Fagaceae) – sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh. (Aceraceae)) forest in Quebec. From June until August of 2005, beetles were collected in Lindgren funnel traps placed in the canopy (20–25 m height) and upper understorey (3–5 m height) in proximity to five forest gaps (15–30 m in diameter) (at the edge of the forest opening or within the closed-canopy forest). We collected 1852 beetles representing 38 families and 172 species. Based on rarefaction curves, species richness was significantly higher in the canopy than in the upper understorey. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling ordination revealed a change in species composition in relation to vertical stratification but not to the forest gaps. Our findings confirmed the importance of the vertical forest gradient to overall diversity of forest coleopterans.

scholarly journals Comment on “Present-day expansion of American beech in northeastern hardwood forests: Does soil base status matter?”Appears in Can. J. For. Res. 39: 2273–2282 (2009).

2011 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 649-653 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Messier ◽  
Nicolas Bélanger ◽  
Jacques Brisson ◽  
Martin J. Lechowicz ◽  
Dominique Gravel
Keyword(s):  
Acer Saccharum ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Complex Dynamics ◽  
Base Cations ◽  
Base Cation ◽  
Hardwood Forests ◽  
Fagus Grandifolia ◽  
Soil Base ◽  
American Beech ◽  
Atmospheric Acid Deposition

In a recent rapid communication, Duchesne and Ouimet (2009. Can. J. For. Res. 39: 2273–2282) reported that the current expansion of American beech ( Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) in Quebec is mainly caused by soil base cation depletion due to atmospheric acid deposition. They based their conclusions on an examination of the relationships between stem densities in the sapling and tree strata compared against canopy composition and the availability of base cations in 426 sample plots. Here in this comment, we raise some shortcomings with their study and provide a more prudent and complete perspective on the complex dynamics associated with fluctuations in American beech and sugar maple ( Acer saccharum Marsh.).

Langfristige Entwicklung von zwei Waldgesellschaften im Białowieża-Urwald

2008 ◽  
Vol 159 (4) ◽  
pp. 80-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bogdan Brzeziecki ◽  
Feliks Eugeniusz Bernadzki
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Stand Structure ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Structural Parameters ◽  
Forest Communities ◽  
Natural Forests ◽  
Tree Species Composition ◽  
Strong Trend ◽  
Long Term Study

The results of a long-term study on the natural forest dynamics of two forest communities on one sample plot within the Białowieża National Park in Poland are presented. The two investigated forest communities consist of the Pino-Quercetum and the Tilio-Carpinetum type with the major tree species Pinus sylvestris, Picea abies, Betula sp., Quercus robur, Tilia cordata and Carpinus betulus. The results reveal strong temporal dynamics of both forest communities since 1936 in terms of tree species composition and of general stand structure. The four major tree species Scots pine, birch, English oak and Norway spruce, which were dominant until 1936, have gradually been replaced by lime and hornbeam. At the same time, the analysis of structural parameters indicates a strong trend towards a homogenization of the vertical stand structure. Possible causes for these dynamics may be changes in sylviculture, climate change and atmospheric deposition. Based on the altered tree species composition it can be concluded that a simple ≪copying≫ (mimicking) of the processes taking place in natural forests may not guarantee the conservation of the multifunctional character of the respective forests.

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