Dendroecology of American chestnut in a disjunct stand of oak–chestnut forest

American chestnut (Castanea dentata (Marsh.) Borkh.) was once an important hardwood species in the forests of eastern North America. Following the chestnut blight fungus (Cryphonectria parasitica (Murrill) Barr) pandemic of the early 20th century, C. dentata remains only as sprouts throughout much of its range. We conducted a dendroecological analysis of a large naturalized stand of mature C. dentata to evaluate the species' growth capacity, ecology, and restoration potential. Eestablishment of C. dentata was sporadic in the first 40 years of our chronology, followed by a disturbance-associated recruitment pulse. The species appears to be tolerant of suppression in the understory, but responded to release with rapid radial growth (>10 mm·year–1). Although its climate–growth relationships are similar to those of other hardwood species, mean radial growth of C. dentata was nearly twice that of other hardwood species found in the stand (4.7 ± 0.21 vs. 2.5 ± 0.16 mm·year–1). Chestnut blight has recently infected this stand, resulting in a sharp depression in the growth chronology of C. dentata, even when outward signs of infection were not yet visible. Observed establishment and growth patterns suggest that blight-resistant C. dentata is likely to attain dominance rapidly in forests where restoration efforts include canopy manipulations that increase light availability.