Decline of Red Spruce in the Adirondacks, New York

Scott, Jon T.; Siccama, Thomas G.; Johnson, Arthur H.; Breisch, Alvin R.

doi:10.2307/2995893

Cited by 107 publications

(45 citation statements)

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“…The harsh climate and short growing season are major factors that determine the species composition and life cycles of these organisms. Many scientists and ecologists have used Whiteface as a living laboratory to study the relationships between the mountain environment and the plants and animals that are able to survive in such harsh conditions (e.g., Reilly, 1963;Scott et al, 1984;Lovett and Kisman, 1990;Schmull et al, 2002).…”

Section: Whiteface Mountain Ecologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Atmospheric Science Research at Whiteface Mountain, NY: Site Description and History

Schwab

Wolfe

Casson

et al. 2016

Aerosol Air Qual. Res.

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Whiteface Mountain, with an elevation of 1483 m above sea level, is a relatively low mountain by global standards. At the same time, the summit is some 90 m above the tree line and it is the fifth highest peak in the Adirondack Mountain Range of New York State. Whiteface Mountain is set apart from the other Adirondack High Peaks, providing an ideal location for many types of atmospheric measurements. The geographical location in the northeastern U.S., the lone massif character of the mountain, and the fact that the summit is very often enveloped in cloud has made the observatory an attractive place for scientific research. A four story building specifically for the purposes of scientific research and fire monitoring was built on the summit in 1971. The headquarters of the Whiteface Mountain facility, the Marble Mountain Lodge, is perched on the shoulder of the massif at an elevation of 604 m a.s.l. In some cases the same measurements are made at the two locations to explore the two different but geographically close environments. A summary of past and current measurement activity at both locations is presented in the paper along with selected examples of data sets, analyses, and applications. Important research in the areas of forest ecology, cloud water chemistry, precipitation chemistry, reactive trace gases, and airborne particulate matter are reviewed. Collected data sets for temperature and ozone at the summit are presented, as well as research linking the measured gaseous SO 2 to acid deposition at this location. In addition, an example is given using this long-term data for both gases and particulate matter that helps to establish the accountability of air pollution regulations in the control of sulfur oxides.

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Section: Whiteface Mountain Ecologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Atmospheric Science Research at Whiteface Mountain, NY: Site Description and History

Schwab

Wolfe

Casson

et al. 2016

Aerosol Air Qual. Res.

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“…While the forestry and ecology literature has devoted significant attention to forest decline in northern hemisphere temperate forests (e.g., [1][2][3]), few would claim this to be a simple phenomenon. Forest decline is often linked to key forest biophysical measures, such as leaf area index (LAI) [4], basal area and aboveground biomass [5,6].…”

Section: Forest Declinementioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to Wardle [7], forest decline is a cyclical phenomenon with the decline phase being followed by a decrease in mean basal area within a forest. Basal area is used as a measure of biomass and also as an indicator of the condition of a forest [3,[8][9][10]. Skelly [11] describes "forest decline" as a much talked about concept, but holds the term to be a misnomer because entire forests may not actually be in decline; its supporting observations may instead be artifacts of increased attention to disease and forest health beginning in the 1980s.…”

Section: Forest Declinementioning

confidence: 99%

Deciduous Forest Structure Estimated with LIDAR-Optimized Spectral Remote Sensing

Chávez

Tullis

2013

Remote Sensing

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Coverage and frequency of remotely sensed forest structural information would benefit from single orbital platforms designed to collect sufficient data. We evaluated forest structural information content using single-date Hyperion hyperspectral imagery collected over full-canopy oak-hickory forests in the Ozark National Forest, Arkansas, USA. Hyperion spectral derivatives were used to develop machine learning regression tree rule sets for predicting forest neighborhood percentile heights generated from near-coincident Leica Geosystems ALS50 small footprint light detection and ranging (LIDAR). The most successful spectral predictors of LIDAR-derived forest structure were also tested with basal area measured in situ. Based on the machine learning regression trees developed, Hyperion spectral derivatives were utilized to predict LIDAR forest neighborhood percentile heights with accuracies between 2.1 and 3.7 m RMSE. Understory predictions consistently resulted in the highest accuracy of 2.1 m RMSE. In contrast, hyperspectral prediction of basal area measured in situ was only found to be 6.5 m 2 /ha RMSE when the average basal area across the study area was ~12 m 2 /ha. The results suggest, at a spatial resolution of 30 × 30 m, that orbital hyperspectral imagery alone can provide useful structural information related to vegetation height. Rapidly calibrated biophysical remote sensing techniques will facilitate timely assessment of regional forest conditions.

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“…Clearcutting of spruce-fir and mixedwood stands during the last 200 years eliminated advance regeneration, favoured shade-intolerant competitive species and removed seed sources. This resulted in a drastic reduction in the amount of red spruce in its natural range (Frank and Blum 1978, Pielke 1981, Siccama et al 1982, Scott et al 1984, Gordon 1994, Smith and Nicholas 1999, Fortin et al 2003a, Loo and Ives 2003, Schwarz et al 2003. Exceptionally, in the eastern part of Nova Scotia, red spruce regenerates successfully in clearcuts.…”

Section: Clearcuttingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Management for red spruce conservation in Québec: The importance of some physiological and ecological characteristics – A review

Dumais¹,

Prévost²

2007

The Forestry Chronicle

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The physiological and ecological characteristics of red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) are reviewed and integrated into ecosystem management options. Red spruce is a shade-tolerant, late-successional conifer species found in the temperate forests of northeastern North America. Its wood, being of excellent quality, is prized by the forest industry. Unfortunately, this high-value species has been in decline throughout its entire range for the past 50 years. At high elevations, in northeastern United States, crown dieback caused by the combined effect of atmospheric pollution and climate is largely responsible of this decline. In other areas, such as Québec (Canada), the scarcity of red spruce is mainly caused by forest management practices that are poorly adapted to the species' ecophysiology. Many physiological studies have shown that the species is sensitive to full sunlight (at juvenile and advance growth stages), high temperatures and frost. It also has particular microsite requirements for seed germination and early seedling establishment, such as the presence of large decaying woody debris. Hence, a management strategy adapted for red spruce should favour the use of partial cutting, maintaining some overstory and dead wood. This will emulate the natural dynamics of small canopy gaps and minimize the physiological stresses to regeneration. The ecophysiological aspects of natural and artificial regeneration of red spruce should be examined with respect to the increased use of partial cutting techniques.Keys words: advance regeneration, balsam fir (Abies balsamea L.), ecophysiology, ecosystem management, frost susceptibility, light response, microenvironment, red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.), seedling establishment, shade tolerance, silvicultural systems, thermosensitivity RÉSUMÉ Les caractéristiques physiologiques et écologiques de l'épinette rouge (Picea rubens Sarg.) sont révisées et intégrées dans des options d'aménagement écosystémique. L'épinette rouge est un conifère tolérant à l'ombre et de fin de succession que l'on retrouve dans les forêts tempérées du nord-est de l'Amérique du Nord. Son bois, d'excellente qualité, est recherché par l'industrie forestière. Depuis 50 ans, cette essence de grande valeur a malheureusement connu un déclin sur l'ensemble de son aire de répartition. En haute altitude, dans le nord-est des États-Unis, le dépérissement de la cime causé par l'effet combiné de la pollution atmosphérique et du climat est en grande partie responsable de ce déclin. En d'autres endroits, comme au Québec (Canada), la raréfaction de l'épinette rouge est surtout attribuable à des pratiques d'aménagement forestier peu adaptées à son écophysiologie. Plusieurs études physiologiques ont montré que cette espèce est sensible à la pleine lumière (aux stades juvénile et de régénération préétablie), aux températures élevées et au gel. Elle requiert aussi des microsites particuliers, comme les gros débris ligneux en décomposition, pour la germination des graines et l'établissement initial des semis. Ainsi, ...

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Decline of Red Spruce in the Adirondacks, New York

Cited by 107 publications

References 0 publications

Atmospheric Science Research at Whiteface Mountain, NY: Site Description and History

Atmospheric Science Research at Whiteface Mountain, NY: Site Description and History

Deciduous Forest Structure Estimated with LIDAR-Optimized Spectral Remote Sensing

Management for red spruce conservation in Québec: The importance of some physiological and ecological characteristics – A review

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