Forest age and management effects on epiphytic bryophyte communities in Adirondack northern hardwood forests, New York, U.S.A.

2002 ◽  
Vol 32 (9) ◽  
pp. 1562-1576 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory G McGee ◽  
Robin W Kimmerer
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Community Composition ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Large Diameter ◽  
Hardwood Forests ◽  
Host Tree ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Northern Hardwood Forests ◽  
Northern Hardwood ◽  
Host Tree Species

The objective of this study was to assess the influence of substrate heterogeneity on epiphytic bryophyte communities in northern hardwood forests of varying disturbance histories. Specifically, we compared bryophyte abundance (m2·ha–1) and community composition among partially cut; maturing, 90- to 100-year-old, even-aged; and old-growth northern hardwood stands in Adirondack Park, New York, U.S.A. Total bryophyte cover from 0 to 1.5 m above ground level on trees [Formula: see text]10 cm diameter at breast height (DBH) did not differ among the three stand types. However, bryophyte community composition differed among host tree species and among stand types. Communities in partially cut and maturing stands were dominated by xerophytic bryophytes (Platygyrium repens, Frullania eboracensis, Hypnum pallescens, Brachythecium reflexum, Ulota crispa), while old-growth stands contained a greater representation of calcicoles and mesophytic species (Brachythecium oxycladon, Anomodon rugelii, Porella platyphylloidea, Anomodon attenuatus, Leucodon brachypus, Neckera pennata). This mesophyte-calcicole assemblage occurred in all stand types but was limited by the abundance of large-diameter (>50 cm DBH), thick-barked, hardwood host trees (Acer saccharum Marsh., Tilia americana L., Fraxinus americana L.). This study suggested that epiphytic bryophyte diversity can be sustained and enhanced in managed northern hardwood forests by maintaining host tree species diversity and retaining large or old, thick-barked residual hardwood stems when applying even-aged and uneven-aged silviculture systems.

Cavity trees and coarse woody debris in old-growth and managed northern hardwood forests in Wisconsin and Michigan

1998 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 427-438 ◽  
Author(s):  
John M Goodburn ◽  
Craig G Lorimer
Keyword(s):  
Coarse Woody Debris ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Large Diameter ◽  
Hardwood Forests ◽  
Northern Hardwoods ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Northern Hardwood Forests ◽  
Northern Hardwood ◽  
Tree Retention ◽  
Cavity Tree

The effects of uneven-aged management on the availability of coarse woody debris habitat were examined in northern hardwood forests (with and without a hemlock component) in north-central Wisconsin and adjacent western Upper Michigan. Snags, cavity trees, fallen wood, and recent tip-up mounds in 15 managed uneven-aged (selection) stands were compared with levels in 10 old-growth stands and six unmanaged even-aged second-growth stands. Amounts of coarse woody debris in selection stands were generally intermediate between old-growth and even-aged stands. Density of snags >30 cm DBH in northern hardwood selection stands averaged 12/ha, approximately double that found in even-aged northern hardwoods, but only 54% of the level in old-growth northern hardwoods. Highest densities of snags >30 cm DBH occurred in old-growth hemlock-hardwood stands, averaging over 40 snags/ha. For combined forest types, the volume of fallen wood (>10 cm in diameter) was significantly lower in selection stands (60 m3/ha) and even-aged stands (25 m3/ha) than in old-growth stands (99 m3/ha). Volume differences were even more pronounced for large-diameter debris (>40 cm). Cavity tree density in selection stands averaged 11 trees/ha, 65% of the mean number in old-growth stands. Densities of snags (>30 cm DBH) and large-diameter cavity trees (>45 cm) present in selection stands exceeded current guidelines for wildlife tree retention on public forests.

Old-Growth Northern Hardwood Forests in Northeastern Minnesota

Ecology ◽  
1964 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 448-459 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Flaccus ◽  
Lewis F. Ohmann
Keyword(s):  
Hardwood Forests ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Northern Hardwood Forests ◽  
Northern Hardwood

scholarly journals Interference to Hardwood Regeneration in Northeastern North America: Assessing and Countering Ferns in Northern Hardwood Forests

2006 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 166-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather M. Engelman ◽  
Ralph D. Nyland
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Hardwood Forests ◽  
Tree Seedlings ◽  
Control Methods ◽  
Northern Hardwood Forests ◽  
Northeastern North America ◽  
Northern Hardwood ◽  
Light Levels ◽  
Survival And Development ◽  
Further Development

Abstract The extremely dense shade cast by spreading ferns, particularly hayscented, New York, and bracken ferns, interferes with the survival and development of tree seedlings in northern hardwood forests. Excessive bracken frond litter and hayscented fern root mats can also prevent adequate germination and seedling development. In addition, the herbaceous cover may harbor detrimental small herbivores, while large ones often preferentially browse seedlings that grow through this layer. Increased understory light levels after an overstory disturbance, abundant soil moisture, fire, and herbivory promote ferns, whereas excessive and repeated cold or drought deter fern development and propagation. The most promising control methods repress ferns until seedlings cast adequate shade to inhibit further development of the fern layer. When ferns cover more than 30% of the understory, well-timed applications of either glyphosate or sulfometuron methyl have successfully controlled hayscented, New York, and bracken ferns. Two carefully timed mowings annually for at least 2 years have also provided long-lasting control on level, accessible sites. Deer populations must be reduced where browsing prevents development of desirable plants.

Changes in faunal and vegetation communities along a soil calcium gradient in northern hardwood forests

2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 1141-1152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin M. Beier ◽  
Anne M. Woods ◽  
Kenneth P. Hotopp ◽  
James P. Gibbs ◽  
Myron J. Mitchell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Acidic Deposition ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Hardwood Forests ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Community Diversity ◽  
Northern Hardwood Forests ◽  
Northern Hardwood ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Increasing Trends

Depletion of Ca from forest soils due to acidic deposition has had potentially pervasive effects on forest communities, but these impacts remain largely unknown. Because snails, salamanders, and plants play essential roles in the Ca cycle of northern hardwood forests, we hypothesized that their community diversity, abundance, and structure would vary with differences in biotic Ca availability. To test this hypothesis, we sampled 12 upland hardwood forests representing a soil Ca gradient in the Adirondack Mountains, New York (USA), where chronic deposition has resulted in acidified soils but where areas of well-buffered soils remain Ca rich due to parent materials. Along the gradient of increasing soil [Ca2+], we observed increasing trends in snail community richness and abundance, live biomass of redback salamanders ( Plethodon cinereus (Green, 1818)), and canopy tree basal area. Salamander communities were dominated by mountain dusky salamanders ( Desmognathus ochrophaeus Cope, 1859) at Ca-poor sites and changed continuously along the Ca gradient to become dominated by redback salamanders at the Ca-rich sites. Several known calciphilic species of snails and plants were found only at the highest-Ca sites. Our results indicated that Ca availability, which is shaped by geology and acidic deposition inputs, influences northern hardwood forest ecosystems at multiple trophic levels, although the underlying mechanisms require further study.

Mass of downed wood in northern hardwood forests in New Hampshire: potential effects of forest management

1986 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 335-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffery A. Gore ◽  
William A. Patterson III
Keyword(s):  
New Hampshire ◽  
Dead Wood ◽  
Large Diameter ◽  
Hardwood Forests ◽  
Northern Hardwood Forests ◽  
Northern Hardwood ◽  
Rapid Decomposition ◽  
Short Rotation ◽  
Downed Wood ◽  
Fallen Dead Wood

Downed (i.e., fallen, dead) wood was sampled in 1-, 15-, 50-, and 100-year-old managed stands, an uneven-aged, managed stand, and an uncut stand of northern hardwoods in New Hampshire. Mass of downed wood ranged from a mean of 32 t/ha in the 15- and 50-year-old stands to 86 t/ha in the recently cut stand. Mean estimates varied significantly among stands, although most of the variation was due to the large amount of downed wood in the recently cut stand. The range of downed-stem diameters was greatest in the 100-year-old and uncut stands. Large (>38 cm) logs were notably absent from the uneven-aged, managed stand, indicating that selective cutting utilizes mature stems efficiently. Comparison of our data with other estimates shows that the amount of downed wood in northern hardwood stands declines to about 20 t/ha within 20–30 years after logging. Quantities remain relatively stable for up to an additional 30 years and then begin to increase. They stabilize at 35–40 t/ha after approximately 100 years. Large-diameter logs become an increasingly important component of downed wood as stands mature beyond 50 years of age. Rapid decomposition of even the largest logs precludes continued accumulation of downed wood in uncut, old-growth stands. The data suggest that less downed wood and fewer large-diameter logs are likely to accumulate under short-rotation (<50 years) harvest, whole-tree harvests, and selection cuts than under long rotations or in uncut forests.

Gradual and sudden forest canopy gaps in Allegheny northern hardwood forests

1992 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianne E. Krasny ◽  
Mark C. Whitmore
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Forest Canopy ◽  
Hardwood Forests ◽  
Line Transect ◽  
Gap Dynamics ◽  
Northern Hardwood Forests ◽  
Northern Hardwood ◽  
Dead Trees ◽  
Standing Dead ◽  
Standing Dead Trees

To determine the importance of gradual tree death to gap dynamics in Allegheny northern hardwood forests, line transect surveys of gaps and gap makers were conducted in three mature forests in central New York. Of the total number of gaps, 71.7% were classified as gradual gaps, meaning they were partial openings in the canopy caused by either trees with greater than 50% branch loss or standing dead trees. Sudden gaps, caused by trees that had fallen, constituted 9.7% of the total number of gaps. Another 18.6% of the gaps had mixed causes. American beech (Fagusgrandifolia Ehrh.), which is subject to beech bark disease in the study area, was the predominant gap maker, representing 52.4% of the gap makers compared with 25.6% of the canopy trees. It is suggested that future studies of forest gap dynamics include measures of gaps forming over a period of time, particularly in forests subject to decline and biotic diseases and in other forests where gradual tree death and standing dead trees are known to be important.

Economic and tree diversity trade-offs in managed northern hardwoods

1992 ◽  
Vol 22 (11) ◽  
pp. 1807-1813 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Neal Niese ◽  
Terry F. Strong
Keyword(s):  
Species Diversity ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Hardwood Forests ◽  
Northern Hardwoods ◽  
Tree Species Diversity ◽  
Economic Returns ◽  
Northern Hardwood Forests ◽  
Northern Hardwood ◽  
Shannon’S Index ◽  
Trade Offs

Forest ecologists have long believed that greater tree species diversity in hardwood forests reduces biological risk, but researchers have not yet linked diversification with economic returns for managed hardwood forests. This paper shows how management of northern hardwood forests affects tree species diversity and economic returns. Shannon's index is used to measure regeneration diversity for eight even- and uneven-aged cutting methods from a 40-year study on the Argonne Experimental Forest. These indices of tree species diversity are compared with the potential economic returns for the research sites.

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