Canopy Gap Dynamics in a Second-Growth Appalachian Hardwood Forest in West Virginia

Himes, Jamie M.; Rentch, James S.

doi:10.2179/13-006

Cited by 11 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…In red spruce forests, average gaps sizes range from 53.4 m 2 to 66 m 2 in second and oldgrowth stands, respectively Rentch et al, 2010). For this region, our gap size is comparable to some research (Rentch et al, 2010) and smaller on average to others (Himes and Rentch, 2013). Our findings may be attributed to the high proportion of beech gap makers suffering from beech bark disease.…”

Section: Gap Size Distributionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Characterizing Red Spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) Advanced Reproduction in an High Elevation Stand in West Virginia

Lutz¹

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Section: Gap Size Distributionsupporting

confidence: 74%

Characterizing Red Spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) Advanced Reproduction in an High Elevation Stand in West Virginia

Lutz¹

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“…Invasive understory plants, including R. multiflora , can exist in a lag phase until suitable conditions arise (Martin and Marks, 2006; Banasiak and Meiners, 2009). Gap closure can take as long as 9 years (Himes and Rentch, 2013), allowing sufficient time for seeds or clones of R. multiflora to establish or nearby plants to flourish. Based on our work, current management techniques should focus on removal of edge populations, which serve as potential sources of spread into younger forests with more open canopies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The non‐native plant Rosa multiflora expresses shade avoidance traits under low light availability

Dlugos

Collins

Bartelme

et al. 2015

American J of Botany

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“…Previous research in the central Appalachian region observed higher post-harvest abundance up to four years post-harvest in moderate to heavy harvests, although the response to lighter harvests decreased across time more rapidly (Boves et al, 2013b. The increase of sunlight into the open canopy for two growing seasons may have allowed the canopy trees in the lighter harvests to grow enough to reduce the number and size of gaps (Perkey et al, 2011;Himes and Rentch, 2013) such that the openings were no longer appropriate for Cerulean Warbler territories. The decline we observed three years post-harvest may have been driven by the small number of points sampled three years post-harvest, many of which were at our Kentucky (GL) study area.…”

Section: Response To Years-post-harvestmentioning

confidence: 95%

Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea) response to operational silviculture in the central Appalachian region

Nareff

Wood

Brown

et al. 2019

Forest Ecology and Management

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The Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea) is a species of conservation need, with declines linked in part to forest habitat loss on its breeding grounds. Active management of forests benefit the Cerulean Warbler by creating the complex structural conditions preferred by the species, but further research is needed to determine optimal silvicultural strategies. We quantified and compared the broad-scale influence of timber harvests within central Appalachian hardwood forests on estimated abundance and territory density of Cerulean Warblers. We conducted point counts at seven study areas across three states within the central Appalachian region (West Virginia [n = 4], Kentucky [n = 1], Virginia [n = 2]) and territory mapping at two of the study areas in West Virginia, pre-and post-harvest, for up to five breeding seasons from 2013 to 2017. Our primary objective was to relate change in abundance to topographic and vegetation metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of current Cerulean Warbler habitat management guidelines. We used single-species hierarchical (N-mixture) models to estimate abundance while accounting for detection biases. Pre-harvest mean basal area among study areas was 29.3 m 2 / ha. Harvesting reduced mean basal area among study areas by 40% (mean 17.2 m 2 /ha) at harvest interior and harvest edge points. Territory density increased 100% (P = 0.003) from pre-harvest to two years post-harvest. Cerulean Warbler abundance increased with increasing percentage of basal area that comprised tree species preferred for foraging and nesting (i.e., white oak species, sugar maple [Acer saccharum], hickories) or of large diameter trees (≥40.6 cm diameter at breast height). Positive population growth was predicted to occur where these vegetation metrics were > 50% of residual basal area. Post-harvest abundance at harvest interior points was greater than at reference points and when accounting for years-post-harvest in modeling abundance, Cerulean Warbler abundance increased at harvest interior and reference points two years post-harvest and subsequently decreased three years post-harvest. Modeled abundance remained the same at harvest edge points. Increases in abundance and territory density were greater in stands with low pre-harvest densities (< 2 birds/ point or < 0.40 territory/ha) of Cerulean Warblers, whereas populations within stands with higher densities preharvest had minimal changes in abundance and territory density. Overall, our results indicate that harvests based on the Cerulean Warbler Management Guidelines for Enhancing Breeding Habitat in Appalachian Hardwood Forests, at all available slope positions and aspects where pre-harvest densities are < 0.40 territory/ ha, may provide breeding habitat for Cerulean Warblers for at least two years post-harvest in the central Appalachian region.

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Canopy Gap Dynamics in a Second-Growth Appalachian Hardwood Forest in West Virginia

Cited by 11 publications

References 57 publications

Characterizing Red Spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) Advanced Reproduction in an High Elevation Stand in West Virginia

Characterizing Red Spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) Advanced Reproduction in an High Elevation Stand in West Virginia

The non‐native plant Rosa multiflora expresses shade avoidance traits under low light availability

Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea) response to operational silviculture in the central Appalachian region

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