Disturbance regimes of hemlock-dominated old-growth forests in northern New York, U.S.A.

2002 ◽  
Vol 32 (12) ◽  
pp. 2106-2115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susy Svatek Ziegler
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Radial Increment ◽  
Quasi Equilibrium ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Disturbance Regimes ◽  
Canopy Tree ◽  
Canopy Trees ◽  
Old Growth Forests ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Decadal Rate

Old-growth forests often have complex, uneven age structures reflecting both the long time elapsed since a major disturbance and the periodic formation of small canopy gaps. I established 12 plots of 0.1 ha in four areas of old growth to describe the stand-scale disturbance regime of forests dominated by eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carrière) in northern Adirondack Park, N.Y., U.S.A. I analyzed radial-increment patterns of cores from all canopy trees (398 trees in total) on each plot to determine the date of accession to canopy for each tree. Major growth releases indicated disturbance events that resulted in either gap origin (16% of events) or release from suppression (82% of events). The average decadal rate of disturbance for all plots and decades of the 130-year period from 1850 to 1979 is 4.8–5.4% of current exposed crown area. The average canopy-tree residence time is 184–211 years. The stand-scale disturbance regimes in these Adirondack forests are similar to those of hemlock–hardwood forests in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and New York. These hemlock-dominated old-growth stands appear to be in quasi-equilibrium when viewed together over 13 decades.

scholarly journals Predicting the potential for old-growth forests by spatial simulation of landscape ageing patterns

2003 ◽  
Vol 79 (3) ◽  
pp. 621-631 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ajith H Perera ◽  
David J.B. Baldwin ◽  
Dennis G Yemshanov ◽  
Frank Schnekenburger ◽  
Kevin Weaver ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Variation ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Simulation Modelling ◽  
Spatial Simulation ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Disturbance Regimes ◽  
Old Growth Forest ◽  
Large Scale Disturbance ◽  
Old Growth Forests ◽  
Spatio Temporal

Planning for old-growth forests requires answers to two large-scale questions: How much old-growth forest should exist? And where can they be sustained in a landscape? Stand-level knowledge of old-growth physiognomy and dynamics are not sufficient to answer these questions. We assert that large-scale disturbance regimes may provide a strong foundation to understand the spatio-temporal ageing patterns in forest landscapes that determine the potential for old growth. Approaches to describe large-scale disturbance regimes range from scenarios reconstructed from historical evidence to simulation of landscapes using predictive models. In this paper, we describe a simulation modelling approach to determine landscape-ageing patterns, and thereby the landscape potential of old-growth forests. A spatially explicit stochastic simulation model of landscape fire–forest cover dynamics was applied to a 1.8 million-ha case study boreal forest landscape to quantify the spatio-temporal variation of landscape ageing. Twenty-five replicates of 200-year simulation runs of the fire disturbance regime, at a 1-ha resolution, generated a suite of variables of landscape ageing and their error estimates. These included temporal variation of older age cohorts over 200 years, survivorship distribution at the 200th year, and spatial tendencies of ageing. This information, in combination with spatial tendency of species occurrence, constitutes the contextual framework to plan how much old-growth forest a given landscape can sustain, and where such forest could be located. Key words: landscape management, old growth, spatial simulation modelling, landscape ecology, boreal forest, Ontario, fire regime simulation, natural forest disturbances, stochastic models, age-class distribution

Patterns between crown characteristics and radial increment in trees are similar during recovery and normal growth: a long-term example from old-growth forests

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (9) ◽  
pp. 1069-1077
Author(s):  
Rafał Podlaski
Keyword(s):  
Tree Growth ◽  
Abies Alba ◽  
Normal Growth ◽  
Additive Models ◽  
Silver Fir ◽  
Radial Increment ◽  
Prediction Errors ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Old Growth Forests ◽  
Crown Characteristics

Crown traits and competition attributes have an important effect on tree radial increment. Relationships among these elements are modeled using the distributions of the crown characteristics in a given calendar year, but these patterns can differ over time. The suitability of the patterns during recovery and normal growth was investigated using silver fir, Abies alba Mill., in old-growth forests. Generalized additive models (GAMs) for silver fir in the older (OG, trees aged 136–300 years) and younger (YG, trees aged 45–135 years) generations were developed. To test the validity of these GAMs, field data sets representing silver fir recovery and normal growth were used. For silver fir in OG, crown transparency had the largest effect on tree growth, explaining more than 25% of the variance. For silver fir in YG, relative crown length had the largest effect on tree growth, explaining more than 15% of the variance. The absolute relative prediction errors, AREmin and AREmax, were less than 0.03 and 1.50 mm, respectively. The developed GAMs are suitable during recovery and normal growth, but the GAMs were fitted to a relatively small area, neglecting climatic gradients and different disturbance types. This type of investigation should be continued on a larger scale.

scholarly journals Unveiling the Diversity of Tree Growth Patterns in Boreal Old-Growth Forests Reveals the Richness of Their Dynamics

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maxence Martin ◽  
Cornélia Krause ◽  
Nicole J. Fenton ◽  
Hubert Morin
Keyword(s):  
Radial Growth ◽  
Growth Patterns ◽  
Radial Increment ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Growth Trends ◽  
Silvicultural Treatments ◽  
Old Growth Forest ◽  
Old Growth Forests

Research Highlights: Radial growth patterns of trees growing in old-growth boreal forests in eastern Canada can be grouped into a small number of simple patterns that are specific to different old-growth forest types or successional stages. Background and Objectives: Identifying the main radial growth trends in old-growth forests could help to develop silvicultural treatments that mimic the complex dynamics of old-growth forests. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the main radial growth patterns and determine how their frequencies change during forest succession in old-growth forests, focusing on boreal landscapes in eastern Canada. Materials and Methods: We used dendrochronological data sampled from 21 old-growth stands in the province of Quebec, Canada. Tree-ring chronologies were simplified into chronologies of equal length to retain only primary growth trends. We used k-means clustering to identify individual growth patterns and the difference in growth-pattern frequency within the studied stands. We then used non-parametric analyses of variance to compare tree or stand characteristics among the clusters. Results: We identified six different growth patterns corresponding to four old-growth forest types, from stands at the canopy breakup stage to true old-growth stands (i.e., when all the pioneer cohort had disappeared). Secondary disturbances of low or moderate severity drove these growth patterns. Overall, the growth patterns were relatively simple and could be generally separated into two main phases (e.g., a phase of limited radial increment size due to juvenile suppression and a phase of increased radial increment size following a growth release). Conclusions: The complexity of old-growth forest dynamics was observed mainly at the stand level, not at the tree level. The growth patterns observed in true old-growth forests were similar to those observed following partial or stem-selection cuts in boreal stands; thus, these silvicultural treatments may be effective in mimicking old-growth dynamics.

Stand development in an old-growth subalpine forest in southern interior British Columbia

1999 ◽  
Vol 29 (9) ◽  
pp. 1347-1356 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Parish ◽  
J A Antos ◽  
M -J Fortin
Keyword(s):  
Bark Beetles ◽  
Subalpine Forest ◽  
Radial Increment ◽  
Abies Lasiocarpa ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Engelmann Spruce ◽  
Dryocoetes Confusus ◽  
Old Growth Forest ◽  
Canopy Trees ◽  
Short Period

The dynamics of an old-growth Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii Parry) - subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa (Hook.) Nutt.) forest were investigated using stand-history reconstruction. Age and size structures, tree location, and radial increment patterns were used to link establishment and growth to disturbances. The spatial distribution of trees was used to infer patterns of establishment and mortality. The forest originated in the 1650s, probably after fire. Initial establishment took almost 80 years, after which fir continued to recruit effectively, but spruce did not. The tree-ring record showed no evidence of widespread disturbance during the first 200 years, but from about 1855 to 1900 a major period of canopy mortality caused by bark beetles released suppressed trees and provided opportunities for establishment and rapid growth of seedlings of both species. Most current canopy trees established or released during this period of disturbance; thus, many canopy trees are fairly young in this old-growth forest and canopy turnover is high. A short period of disturbance (1927-1932) caused by the balsam bark beetle (Dryocoetes confusus Swaine) resulted in release of suppressed trees but did not promote seedling establishment. At the time of study (1994), the stand was undergoing another minor disturbance caused by this insect. Bark beetles appear to be of fundamental importance in controlling the dynamics of spruce-fir forests during the long intervals that often occur between fires in cool, wet climates.

Northwest Forest Plan–the first 15 years (1994–2008): status and trends of late-successional and old-growth forests

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melinda Moeur ◽  
Janet L. Ohmann ◽  
Robert E. Kennedy ◽  
Warren B. Cohen ◽  
Matthew J. Gregory ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Old Growth ◽  
Status And Trends ◽  
Old Growth Forests ◽  
Northwest Forest Plan

Alternatives to clearcutting in the old-growth forests of southeast Alaska: study plan and establishment report.

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael H. McClellan ◽  
Douglas N. Swanston ◽  
Paul E. Hennon ◽  
Robert L. Deal ◽  
Toni L. de Santo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Old Growth ◽  
Southeast Alaska ◽  
Old Growth Forests ◽  
Study Plan

scholarly journals Our New Cathedrals: Spirituality and Old-Growth Forests in Western Australia

2006 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Worth
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
The State ◽  
The South ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
The Past ◽  
South West ◽  
Old Growth Forests ◽  
Heated Debate ◽  
Policy Proposals

Over the past 30 years in Western Australia (WA), there has been heated debate about the future use of the remaining karri and jarrah forests in the south-west of the State. This debate revolves around policy proposals from two social movements: one wants to preserve as much of the remaining old-growth forests as possible, and an opposing movement supports a continued

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