Variations in beech bark disease and its effects on species composition and structure of northern hardwood stands in central New England

1984 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 565-574 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark J. Twery ◽  
William A. Patterson III
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
New England ◽  
Beech Bark Disease ◽  
Northern Hardwood ◽  
Disease Mortality ◽  
Composition And Structure ◽  
Understory Composition ◽  
Bartlett Experimental Forest ◽  
Compositional Changes

The extent of beech bark disease was examined on 41 permanent inventory plots in western Massachusetts and on 25 plots in Bartlett Experimental Forest in New Hampshire. The amounts of disease-caused mortality and defect were correlated to differences in species composition and 12 other site variables. Stands dominated by hemlock had significantly more beech mortality than other stands. Importance of both beech and yellow birch decreased on plots with beech bark disease mortality. Hemlock benefited most from the loss of beech. Beech bark disease has not noticeably changed understory composition on these plots. In the long term, beech bark disease appears to have caused minor compositional changes on most of the areas studied.

Long-term dynamics and destruction of marsh vegetation in the Kolokolkova Bay of the Barents Sea

2012 ◽  
pp. 66-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. A. Lavrinenko ◽  
O. V. Lavrinenko ◽  
D. V. Dobrynin
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Barents Sea ◽  
Mean Value ◽  
Marsh Vegetation ◽  
Composition And Structure ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Species Composition And Structure

The satellite images show that the area of marshes in the Kolokolkova bay was notstable during the period from 1973 up to 2011. Until 2010 it varied from 357 to 636 ha. After a severe storm happened on July 24–25, 2010 the total area of marshes was reduced up to 43–50 ha. The mean value of NDVI for studied marshes, reflecting the green biomass, varied from 0.13 to 0.32 before the storm in 2010, after the storm the NDVI decreased to 0.10, in 2011 — 0.03. A comparative analysis of species composition and structure of plant communities described in 2002 and 2011, allowed to evaluate the vegetation changes of marshes of the different topographic levels. They are fol­lowing: a total destruction of plant communities of the ass. Puccinellietum phryganodis and ass. Caricetum subspathaceae on low and middle marches; increasing role of halophytic species in plant communities of the ass. Caricetum glareosae vic. Calamagrostis deschampsioides subass. typicum on middle marches; some changes in species composition and structure of plant communities of the ass. Caricetum glareosae vic. Calamagrostis deschampsioides subass. festucetosum rubrae on high marches and ass. Parnassio palustris–Salicetum reptantis in transition zone between marches and tundra without changes of their syntaxonomy; a death of moss cover in plant communities of the ass. Caricetum mackenziei var. Warnstorfia exannulata on brackish coastal bogs. The possible reasons of dramatic vegetation dynamics are discussed. The dating of the storm makes it possible to observe the directions and rates of the succession of marches vegetation.

scholarly journals Species Composition and Structure of a Northern Hardwood Stand After 61 Years of Group/Patch Selection

1999 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 151-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. B. Leak
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
New Hampshire ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Diameter Distribution ◽  
Patch Selection ◽  
Northern Hardwood ◽  
Composition And Structure ◽  
Species Composition And Structure

Abstract The 61-year results from a study of group/patch selection in New Hampshire (four entries, 0.5 ac average opening size) showed that this system will maintain a continued proportion of about 20% of the basal area in bitches and ash, or about one-third in all intolerant/intermediate species.The diameter distribution closely followed the J-shaped curve typical of unevenaged forests. There was a dead standing component of about 20 trees per acre including 3 sawtimber-sized stems. North. J. Appl. For: 16(3):151-153.

Carbon cycling along a gradient of beech bark disease impact in the Catskill Mountains, New York

2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 1267-1274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica E. Hancock ◽  
Mary A. Arthur ◽  
Kathleen C. Weathers ◽  
Gary M. Lovett
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Primary Production ◽  
Forest Structure ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Net Primary Production ◽  
Catskill Mountains ◽  
Beech Bark Disease ◽  
Aboveground Net Primary Production ◽  
Northern Hardwood

Exotic pests and pathogens, through direct and indirect effects on forest structure and species composition, have the potential to significantly alter forest ecosystem processes, including C cycling. Throughout the northern hardwood forest, beech bark disease (BBD) is causing widespread disruption in forest structure and composition. In the Catskill Mountains of New York, some forests formerly codominated by American beech ( Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) and sugar maple ( Acer saccharum Marsh.) are shifting to sugar maple dominance. The effects of BBD and a subsequent shift in species composition on annual aboveground net primary production and soil CO2 efflux were examined in eight forest plots selected to represent a gradient of BBD impact. There were no significant trends in aboveground net primary production across this gradient. However, growing season soil CO2 efflux decreased linearly along the BBD gradient, declining by 40%. Although the mechanism controlling this decline is uncertain, the decrease in soil CO2 efflux with BBD impact and a shift to greater composition of sugar maple in litterfall could significantly alter C cycling in northern hardwood stands in the Catskill Mountains.

Long-Term Evolution of Composition and Structure after Repeated Group Selection Over Eight Decades

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Rogers ◽  
Anthony W. D'Amato ◽  
William Leak
Keyword(s):  
Group Selection ◽  
Stand Structure ◽  
Fagus Grandifolia ◽  
Long Term Results ◽  
Northern Hardwood Forests ◽  
Composition And Structure ◽  
Shade Tolerant Species ◽  
Bartlett Experimental Forest ◽  
Developmental Dynamics

: In northeastern North America, group selection is frequently used in northern hardwood forests to maintain uneven-aged stand structure and promote regeneration of tree species spanning a range of shade tolerances. For this study, long-term application of group selection at the Bartlett Experimental Forest, New Hampshire, USA provided a unique opportunity to address cohort and stand level progression after 80-years of treatment. Cohort-level evolution reflected successional and developmental dynamics associated with even-aged forest systems, whereas aggregate, stand-level conditions were consistent with expectations for uneven-aged systems. As cohorts aged, diameter distributions progressed towards descending monotonic forms and species composition transitioned from shade-intolerant species to shade-tolerant species. Standing deadwood and downed woody material in cohorts followed trajectories of aging even-aged stands through time. Although American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) was a primary species across cohorts and at the stand level, stand level regeneration included a mixture of ecologically and commercially valuable species. These long-term results offer important insights into emergent cohort and stand-level conditions and processes that may affect continued recruitment of desirable compositional and structural conditions in stands managed using group selection over numerous cutting cycles.

scholarly journals Accuracy of Regeneration Surveys in New England Northern Hardwoods

2007 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 227-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
William B. Leak
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
New England ◽  
New Hampshire ◽  
Northern Hardwoods ◽  
Harvest Intensity ◽  
Tolerant Species ◽  
Shade Tolerant Species ◽  
Small Plot ◽  
Bartlett Experimental Forest ◽  
Current Species

Abstract Four 5-ac demonstration harvests were initiated in 1951 on the Bartlett Experimental Forest, New Hampshire: light selection, moderate selection, diameter limit, and liquidation. In 1952 and 1959, regeneration surveys were conducted that measured several different attributes of the seedlings and saplings in the cutover stands. In 2005, the stands were remeasured to determine the relationships of the various regeneration measures to current species composition of the pole-timber portion of the stands. Although predictions were somewhat variable and imperfect, the best measures for shade-tolerant species were those that took account of the sapling layer, and measures based on the dominant stem per small plot were best for less-tolerant species. Combining both attributes, these results suggest that the best approach would be a small-plot survey (milacre or slightly larger) that simply records the dominant stem per plot including stems up through the sapling size classes (less than 4.5-in. dbh). This could be taken before harvest, to predict the effects of a light partial cut, or 5–7 years after harvest, to predict future species composition after any harvest intensity.

PERENNIAL MONITORING OF A PASTURE DEPRESSION DEVELOPMENT UNDER DIFFERENT LOADS OF THE TERSKO-KUMSKAYA LOWLAND

1970 ◽  
pp. 15-18
Author(s):  
М. А. Babaeva ◽  
S. V. Osipova
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Vegetation Cover ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Atmospheric Precipitation ◽  
Anthropogenic Pressure ◽  
Dominant Plant Species ◽  
Composition And Structure

Changes in phytocenoses in the long-term regime under the influence of anthropogenic pressure, natural and climatic factors are considered. Under the conditions of growing external influence the ordinary components of the community are transformed into its dominant synanthropic forms. Geobotanical studies have shown the heterogeneity of the vegetation cover of pastures in terms of phytocenotic composition, which is in a state of severe disruption. The long-term monitoring studies of pastures show that a complex of environmental factors has a significant impact on the change in species composition and structure under various loads. Change in the vegetation cover under the influence of weak grazing is disappearance of large-sod grasses of the Stipa series with a predominance of small-sod grasses such as Festuca sulcata. Intensive grazing causes disappearance of Festuca sulcata, as well as appearance of small Artemisia shrubs and more competitive plant species that cause changes in plant communities. Such changes make it possible to determine the dominant plant species, during the development of which the next transition of penetration into plant communities of other species begins. The phytocenoses of the compared species of this region differ in the structure and productivity of the dominant forage plants which give the highest phytomass depending on the humidity of the period and the type of load. The purpose of this work is to show the long-term influence of climatic factors in the absence of a minimum of atmospheric precipitation, as well as anthropogenic influences on the transformation of phytocenoses, changes in the structure of the vegetation cover of the semi-desert at different stages of loading. The article presents research data for several years on the species composition and productivity of pastures, depending on the load by the seasons of the year. The results of monitoring studies have established the number of dominant species and their productivity of phytocenoses at different stages of development of vegetation degradation.

Hardwood Tree Quality Development in the White Mountains of New Hampshire

2000 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul E. Sendak ◽  
William B. Leak ◽  
Wanda B. Rice
Keyword(s):  
New England ◽  
New Hampshire ◽  
Northern Hardwood Forest ◽  
Quality Development ◽  
Individual Tree ◽  
White Mountains ◽  
Northern Hardwood ◽  
Bartlett Experimental Forest ◽  
Hardwood Tree ◽  
Tree Quality

Abstract Few studies in New England have related timber cutting in northern hardwood stands to improvements in timber quality. The objective of this study was to assess tree-quality improvement for lumber production from initial cutting in a northern hardwood forest on the Bartlett Experimental Forest in New Hampshire that occurred about 40 yr ago. This study used nine compartments on the Forest that were initially cut in the 1950s. Cutting methods included three diameter-limit cuts and six individual tree selection cuts followed by timber stand improvement by chemical girdling.The nine compartments remained undisturbed by cutting for approximately 40 yr. By 1996, average tree grade had improved in all compartments, from 3.8 to 3.1 for the diameter limits combined and from 3.2 to 2.7 for the selection compartments combined. Returns per acre of standing inventory were influenced by tree quality but also were confounded with compartment volume and species mix. In general, return of standing inventory in 1996, whether per acre or per mbf, was greater in the selection compartments, but one of the diameter limits had a significant volume of high value red oak timber that skewed its total value upward. North. J. Appl. For. 17(1):9-15.

scholarly journals Managing Understory Fagus grandifolia for Promoting Beech Bark Disease Resistance in Northern Hardwood Stands

2019 ◽  
Vol 65 (5) ◽  
pp. 644-651
Author(s):  
Mary Ann Fajvan ◽  
Andrea Hille ◽  
Richard M Turcotte
Keyword(s):  
Disease Resistance ◽  
Fagus Grandifolia ◽  
Understory Vegetation ◽  
Beech Bark Disease ◽  
Treatment Resistant ◽  
Herbicide Application ◽  
Genetic Affinity ◽  
Northern Hardwood ◽  
Root Sucker

Abstract Many Allegheny hardwood stands contain dense understories of very shade-tolerant American beech, resulting from partial disturbances that have accelerated root sucker development. The low-shade produced by these sprouts hampers silvicultural regeneration efforts to maintain species diversity in new cohorts. An increasing proportion of sprouts result from stressed trees infested with beech bark disease. The clonal sprouts also have a genetic affinity for the disease. A mixture of Accord® and Oust® herbicides, applied to understory vegetation after shelterwood establishment cuts, can significantly reduce understory beech density. Yet, retention of some overstory beech, with demonstrated disease resistance, is ecologically desirable. The root sprouts from these parent trees should also have resistance to the disease. We used broadcast herbicide application to kill understory vegetation after shelterwood harvests in three stands, and tested the effect of herbicide on beech sprouts associated with resistant trees. Eight years after treatment, plots that had received herbicide had similar densities of beech to no-herbicide plots. However, there were significant differences in seedling densities among stands (P = .0303) and species (P = .0014). Our results indicate that there is much temporal variability in regeneration dynamics after treatment. Resistant beech sprouts are still competitive in the long term, even after herbicide application.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document