Short-Term Dynamics of Second-Growth Mixed Mesophytic Forest Strata in West Virginia

The short-term dynamics of mixed mesophytic forest strata in West Virginia were examined using similarity analysis and linear correlation of shared ordination space. The overstory tree, understory tree, shrub/vine, and herb strata were stable over a six year interval, whereas the tree seedling and s...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Castanea 2007-06, Vol.72 (2), p.65-81
Main Authors: Huebner, Cynthia D, Stephenson, Steven L, Adams, Harold S, Miller, Gary W
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Castanea
Data collection
Data entry
Deciduous forests
Ecology
Environmental conditions
Forest ecology
Forest management
Forest regeneration
Herbs
Moisture gradient
Old growth forests
Ordination
Overstory
Saplings
Seedlings
Soil fertility
Soil pH
Species composition
States
Trees
Understory
Variables
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Summary:The short-term dynamics of mixed mesophytic forest strata in West Virginia were examined using similarity analysis and linear correlation of shared ordination space. The overstory tree, understory tree, shrub/vine, and herb strata were stable over a six year interval, whereas the tree seedling and sapling strata were unstable. All strata but the shrub/vine and tree seedling strata were correlated with soil pH, elevation, P, K, Fe, Mn, Ca, and Mg, with the latter two variables being the weakest for the overstory tree, understory tree, and sapling strata. The herb stratum was also significantly correlated with the shrub/vine and tree seedling strata. The soil fertility gradient corresponded with a moisture gradient. More xeric plots tended to be less stable than more mesic plots for all strata. Successful forest management may depend on knowledge of the lower tree strata species composition, because such composition will likely vary prior to future disturbance events.
ISSN:0008-7475
1938-4386
DOI:10.2179/0008-7475(2007)72[65:SDOSMM]2.0.CO;2