Assessing the stability of tree ranges and influence of disturbance in eastern US forests

• Published in: Forest ecology and management 2013-03, Vol.291, p.172-180
• Main Authors: Woodall, C.W., Zhu, K., Westfall, J.A., Oswalt, C.M., D’Amato, A.W., Walters, B.F., Lintz, H.E.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: adults; Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Biological and medical sciences; Canopy gaps; Climate change; Disturbance; Disturbances; Dynamic tests; Dynamics; forest inventory; Forestry; Forests; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Monitoring; risk reduction; Seedlings; species diversity; Stockpiling; Synecology; Terrestrial ecosystems; Tree range retreat; Tree species migration; Trees
• ISSN: 0378-1127; 1872-7042
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2012.11.047

► Most study species had reasonably stable northern range margins. ► Canopy gaps appeared to slightly facilitate the northern retreat for some species. ► Monitoring of tree ranges using inventories over longer time periods is suggested. ► Disturbance effects on ranges has implications for future forest extent/biodiversity. Shifts in tree species ranges may occur due to global climate change, which in turn may be exacerbated by natural disturbance events. Within the context of global climate change, developing techniques to monitor tree range dynamics as affected by natural disturbances may enable mitigation/adaptation of projected impacts. Using a forest inventory across the eastern U.S., the northern range margins of tree distributions were examined by comparing differences in the 95th percentile locations of seedlings to adults (i.e., trees) by 0.5° longitudinal bands over 5-years and by levels of disturbance (i.e., canopy gap formation). Our results suggest that the monitoring of tree range dynamics is complicated by the limits of forest inventory data across varying spatial/temporal scales and the diversity of tree species/environments in the eastern U.S. The vast majority of tree and seedling latitudinal comparisons across measurement periods and levels of disturbance in the study were not statistically different from zero (53 out of 60 comparisons). A potential skewing of ranges towards a northern limit was suggested by the stability of northern margins of tree ranges found in this study and shifts in mean locations identified in previous work. Only a partial influence of disturbances on tree range dynamics during the course of the 5-years was found in this study. The results of this study underscore the importance of continued examination of the role of disturbance in tree range dynamics and refined range monitoring techniques given future forest extent and biodiversity implications.