scholarly journals Land-use history impacts spatial patterns and composition of woody plant species across a 35-hectare temperate forest plot

PeerJ ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. e12693
Author(s):  
David A. Orwig ◽  
Jason A. Aylward ◽  
Hannah L. Buckley ◽  
Bradley S. Case ◽  
Aaron M. Ellison
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Pattern Analysis ◽  
Resource Competition ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Acer Rubrum ◽  
Point Pattern Analysis ◽  
Point Pattern ◽  
Forest Plot ◽  
Land Use History ◽  
Composition And Structure

Land-use history is the template upon which contemporary plant and tree populations establish and interact with one another and exerts a legacy on the structure and dynamics of species assemblages and ecosystems. We use the first census (2010–2014) of a 35-ha forest-dynamics plot at the Harvard Forest in central Massachusetts to describe the composition and structure of the woody plants in this plot, assess their spatial associations within and among the dominant species using univariate and bivariate spatial point-pattern analysis, and examine the interactions between land-use history and ecological processes. The plot includes 108,632 live stems ≥ 1 cm in diameter (2,215 individuals/ha) and 7,595 standing dead stems ≥ 5 cm in diameter. Live tree basal area averaged 42.25 m2/ha, of which 84% was represented by Tsuga canadensis (14.0 m2/ ha), Quercus rubra (northern red oak; 9.6 m2/ ha), Acer rubrum (7.2 m2/ ha) and Pinus strobus (eastern white pine; 4.4 m2/ ha). These same four species also comprised 78% of the live aboveground biomass, which averaged 245.2 Mg/ ha. Across all species and size classes, the forest contains a preponderance (> 80,000) of small stems (<10-cm diameter) that exhibit a reverse-J size distribution. Significant spatial clustering of abundant overstory species was observed at all spatial scales examined. Spatial distributions of A. rubrum and Q. rubra showed negative intraspecific correlations in diameters up to at least a 150-m spatial lag, likely indicative of crowding effects in dense forest patches following intensive past land use. Bivariate marked point-pattern analysis, showed that T. canadensis and Q. rubra diameters were negatively associated with one another, indicating resource competition for light. Distribution and abundance of the common overstory species are predicted best by soil type, tree neighborhood effects, and two aspects of land-use history: when fields were abandoned in the late 19th century and the succeeding forest types recorded in 1908. In contrast, a history of intensive logging prior to 1950 and a damaging hurricane in 1938 appear to have had little effect on the distribution and abundance of present-day tree species. Our findings suggest that current day composition and structure are still being influenced by anthropogenic disturbances that occurred over a century ago.

scholarly journals Land-use history impacts spatial patterns and composition of woody plant species across a 35-hectare temperate forest plot

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A Orwig ◽  
J. A. Aylward ◽  
Hannah L. Buckley ◽  
Bradley S. Case ◽  
Aaron M Ellison
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Woody Plant ◽  
Acer Rubrum ◽  
Point Pattern ◽  
Forest Plot ◽  
Land Use History ◽  
Woody Plant Species ◽  
Competition For Light

Land-use history is the template upon which contemporary plant and tree populations establish and interact with one another and exerts a legacy on the structure and dynamics of species assemblages and ecosystems. We use the first census (2010-2014) of a 35-ha forest-dynamics plot at the Harvard Forest in central Massachusetts to explore such legacies. The plot includes 108,632 live stems ≥ 1 cm in diameter (2215 individuals/ha) and 7,595 dead stems ≥ 5 cm in diameter. Fifty-one woody plant species were recorded in the plot, but two tree species - Tsuga canadensis (eastern hemlock) and Acer rubrum (red maple) - and one shrub - Ilex verticillata (winterberry) -comprised 56% of all stems. Live tree basal area averaged 42.25 m2/ha, of which 84% was represented by T. canadensis (14.0 m2/ha), Quercus rubra (northern red oak; 9.6 m2/ha), A. rubrum (7.2 m2/ha) and Pinus strobus (eastern white pine; 4.4 m2/ha). These same four species also comprised 78% of the live aboveground biomass, which averaged 245.2 Mg/ha, and were significantly clumped at distances up to 50 m within the plot. Spatial distributions of A. rubrum and Q. rubra showed negative intraspecific correlations in diameters up to at least a 150-m spatial lag, likely indicative of competition for light in dense forest patches. Bivariate marked point-pattern analysis showed that T. canadensis and Q. rubra diameters were negatively associated with one another, indicating resource competition for light. Distribution and abundance of the common overstory species are predicted best by soil type, tree neighborhood effects, and two aspects of land-use history: when fields were abandoned in the late 19th century and the succeeding forest types recorded in 1908. In contrast, a history of intensive logging prior to 1950 and a damaging hurricane in 1938 appear to have had little effect on the distribution and abundance of present-day tree species.

scholarly journals Spatial point-pattern analysis as a powerful tool in identifying pattern-process relationships in plant ecology: an updated review

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariem Ben-Said
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Patterns ◽  
Pattern Analysis ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Plant Ecology ◽  
Point Pattern Analysis ◽  
Point Pattern ◽  
Summary Statistics ◽  
Spatial Point Pattern ◽  
Spatial Point ◽  
Spatial Point Pattern Analysis

Abstract Background Ecological processes such as seedling establishment, biotic interactions, and mortality can leave footprints on species spatial structure that can be detectable through spatial point-pattern analysis (SPPA). Being widely used in plant ecology, SPPA is increasingly carried out to describe biotic interactions and interpret pattern-process relationships. However, some aspects are still subjected to a non-negligible debate such as required sample size (in terms of the number of points and plot area), the link between the low number of points and frequently observed random (or independent) patterns, and relating patterns to processes. In this paper, an overview of SPPA is given based on rich and updated literature providing guidance for ecologists (especially beginners) on summary statistics, uni-/bi-/multivariate analysis, unmarked/marked analysis, types of marks, etc. Some ambiguities in SPPA are also discussed. Results SPPA has a long history in plant ecology and is based on a large set of summary statistics aiming to describe species spatial patterns. Several mechanisms known to be responsible for species spatial patterns are actually investigated in different biomes and for different species. Natural processes, plant environmental conditions, and human intervention are interrelated and are key drivers of plant spatial distribution. In spite of being not recommended, small sample sizes are more common in SPPA. In some areas, periodic forest inventories and permanent plots are scarce although they are key tools for spatial data availability and plant dynamic monitoring. Conclusion The spatial position of plants is an interesting source of information that helps to make hypotheses about processes responsible for plant spatial structures. Despite the continuous progress of SPPA, some ambiguities require further clarifications.

Spatiotemporal Point Pattern Analysis Using Ripley's K Function

2017 ◽  
pp. 155-176
Author(s):  
Alexander Hohl ◽  
Minrui Zheng ◽  
Wenwu Tang ◽  
Eric Delmelle ◽  
Irene Casas
Keyword(s):  
Pattern Analysis ◽  
Point Pattern Analysis ◽  
Point Pattern ◽  
Ripley’S K Function ◽  
Ripley’S K ◽  
Ripley's K ◽  
K Function

scholarly journals Analyzing the Spatial Distribution of Drumlins: A Two-Phase Mosaic Approach

1984 ◽  
Vol 30 (106) ◽  
pp. 302-307
Author(s):  
B. N. Boots ◽  
R. K. Burns
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Pattern Analysis ◽  
Point Pattern Analysis ◽  
Point Pattern ◽  
Statistical Bias ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
Mosaic Approach ◽  
The Individual

AbstractResearchers have analyzed various properties of drumlins within individual drumlin fields in order to provide evidence to help in identifying the processes involved in drumlin formation. One property which has been examined is the spatial distribution of drumlins within a field. Traditionally, in such endeavours the individual drumlins have been represented as points and their distribution examined using techniques of point-pattern analysis. We suggest that not only is such a representation inappropriate at this scale, it also introduces statistical bias which makes the results of such analyses questionable. Consequently, we propose an alternative approach which involves representing individual drumlins as areal phenomena and considering their pattern as a two-phase mosaic. The advantages of such an approach are discussed and it is illustrated by applying it to two different drumlin fields.

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