Gap regeneration in some old-growth forests of the eastern United States [Tree replacement]

Tree replacement in gaps was studied in old-growth mesic forest stands in western Pennsylvania, Ohio, and the southern Appalachian Mountains. Predictions of future overstory composition, based on sapling composition in small gaps (average 200 m^2), were compared to current canopy composition. Both M...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecology (Durham) 1981-08, Vol.62 (4), p.1041-1051
Main Author: Runkle, James Reade
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Climax forests
Forest canopy
Forest ecology
Forest regeneration
Forest stands
Maple sugar
Old growth forests
Saplings
Species
Trees
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Tree replacement in gaps was studied in old-growth mesic forest stands in western Pennsylvania, Ohio, and the southern Appalachian Mountains. Predictions of future overstory composition, based on sapling composition in small gaps (average 200 m^2), were compared to current canopy composition. Both Markov analyses and simple average sapling composition of gaps support the hypotheses that regeneration in small gaps was sufficient to perpetuate the current canopy species composition of the stands studied. In some cases the saplings most likely to replace a dead canopy tree were of the same species. In other cases, especially low-diversity beech-sugar maple stands, each species seemed to enhance significantly the success of the other species.
ISSN:0012-9658
1939-9170
DOI:10.2307/1937003