Forest disequilibrium caused by rapid Little Ice Age cooling

Campbell, Ian; McAndrews, John H.

doi:10.1038/366336a0

Cited by 133 publications

(84 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…1B, C). Explanations for the decline and associated forest changes have included Native American burning (Clark and Royall 1995), temperature changes (Gajewski 1987, Campbell andMcAndrews 1993), interactions between temperature changes and anthropogenic disturbance (Munoz Proxy records of hydroclimate and vegetation demonstrate a clear linkage between multi-decadal moisture variability and declining beech populations (Fig. 2).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1). Although the range limit of beech has been stable in the region for the past 2000 years (Woods and Davis 1989), beech populations rapidly declined in portions of the Great Lakes region after 1000 BP, and the cause of this decline has been widely debated (e.g., Gajewski 1987, Campbell and McAndrews 1993, Clark and Royall 1995, Booth and Jackson 2003.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Multi‐decadal drought and amplified moisture variability drove rapid forest community change in a humid region

Booth

Jackson

Sousa

et al. 2012

Ecology

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Abstract. Climate variability, particularly the frequency of extreme events, is likely to increase in the coming decades, with poorly understood consequences for terrestrial ecosystems. Hydroclimatic variations of the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) provide a setting for studying ecological responses to recent climate variability at magnitudes and timescales comparable to expectations of coming centuries. We examined forest response to the MCA in the humid western Great Lakes region of North America, using proxy records of vegetation, fire, and hydroclimate. Multi-decadal moisture variability during the MCA was associated with a widespread, episodic decline in Fagus grandifolia (beech) populations. Spatial patterns of drought and forest changes were coherent, with beech declining only in areas where proxyclimate records indicate that severe MCA droughts occurred. The occurrence of widespread, drought-induced ecological changes in the Great Lakes region indicates that ecosystems in humid regions are vulnerable to rapid changes in drought magnitude and frequency.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi‐decadal drought and amplified moisture variability drove rapid forest community change in a humid region

Booth

Jackson

Sousa

et al. 2012

Ecology

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“…Davis et al (1996) discussed similar patterns in northern Michigan. However, Campbell and McAndrews (1993) subsequently argued that these changes are also evident in areas unaffected by aboriginal farming and actually reflect Little Ice Age cooling (ca. 1200-1850).…”

Section: Historical Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

Presettlement forest in southern Ontario: Ecosystems measured through a cultural prism

Suffling¹,

Evans²,

Perera³

2003

The Forestry Chronicle

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To better manage southern Ontario's natural forests, the former and present status of old growth must be understood. We hypothesize that old-growth pine (Pinus spp.), although dominant elsewhere, was less common in southern Ontario than popular history suggests: we are obliged to evaluate historical information that has been filtered both by the original compilers and through our own biases. Beginning around 600 AD, the predominant beech (Fagus americana) forest was partially replaced by maple (primarily Acer saccharum), oaks (Quercus spp.) and eastern white pine (P. strobus). This pine increase either followed abandonment of pre-Columbian agriculture or, more plausibly, accompanied climate cooling. Eighteenth and 19 th century European settlers encountered abundant large trees, which they hewed for square pine timber, milled timber, and tanbark. Other stands were cut and burned for agricultural clearance, with a potash by-product. Until recently, Ontario research emphasized the old-growth pine stands of central and northern Ontario to the relative exclusion of other kinds of old forest because very few southern Ontario old-growth stands remained to study. Ontario forest resource inventory data (FRI) show stands of over 150 years totalling only 1475 ha in 1978, concentrated on the Oak Ridges Moraine, the St. Lawrence Valley and the Awenda Peninsula. Red (P. resinosa) and eastern white pine stands constituted only 5.3% of the 1978 forested area, with virtually none of over 150 years, whereas eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) stands constituted 12.8%. The difficulty in finding modern old growth necessitates historical reconstruction using physical, written and graphical resources, including early survey records and trade statistics. In a case study of 1822 survey data from Darling Township (Lanark Co.) and 1960 FRI, vegetation was classified using TWINSPAN and mapped using ARC/INFO Thiessen polygons. In 1822, dominant hemlock occupied half the township but it has since been eliminated as a dominant. Conversely, there were no pine-dominated forests in 1822, but these had increased to 16% of the area by 1960. A second case used similar methods, with 1855 data for St. Edmunds and Lindsay townships (Bruce Co.) and 1981 FRI. Although logging halved the area and reduced the stature of pines in the large pinery, the elimination of dominant hemlock (originally 41% by area) is more significant. Fragmentary square timber trade data suggest that at least half the large pines in Bruce County were in St. Edmunds, so pine must have been spectacularly concentrated in a few areas. The third case, a map constructed from Gourlay's 1817-1819 survey, also demonstrates that pine-dominated areas were in the minority in southern Ontario, concentrated on sandy soils around Lakes Ontario and Erie. However, big hemlocks, beeches, maples and oaks were much more common overall. Management responses to this information should include designation of older southern Ontario forest stands (especially those never cleared since settlement) for mat...

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“…Though climatic change was present throughout the history of forests (e.g. "the Little Ice Age"; Bradshaw & Zackrisson 1990, Huntley 1990, Campbell & McAndrews 1993, in recent years the global climate warming has emerged as a particularly important factor influencing forest ecosystems, with frequently occuring extreme events (windthrow, drought) that lower forest stability (Overpeck et al 1990, Wohlgemuth et al 2008. The potential influence of global warming on forest vegetation has so far been mainly investigated by analysing species composition along temperature gradients (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vegetation dynamics of beech forests on limestone in central Germany over half a century – effects of climate change, forest management, eutrophication or game browsing?

Heinrichs¹,

Winterhoff²,

Schmidt³

2012

Biodivers. Ecol.

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Abstract:The aim of this study was to investigate the vegetation dynamics of suboceanic, submontane, mesic beech forests on limestone that are very rich in spring geophytes over half a century, considering changes in abiotic and biotic conditions including global climate change. Vegetation relevés sampled in the Göttinger Wald, southern Lower Saxony, Germany, between 1955 and 1960 (n = 25) and in 1968 (n = 10) were re-surveyed in 2009 on quasi-permanent plots. Differences in species composition, species abundance and vegetation structure were compared between inventories using detrended correspondence analysis (DCA), multiple response permutation procedure (MRPP) and the Wilcoxon signed ranks test. Forty to fifty years ago, a shrub layer was scarcely present, but is common today as a consequence of intensified hunting. An increasing abundance of Allium ursinum, Urtica dioica and Sambucus nigra and a general shift to species composition with higher Ellenberg indicator values for nitrogen can be ascribed to atmospheric nitrogen deposition. The spring geophytes A. ursinum, Corydalis cava and Leucojum vernum can also benefit from global climate change with an earlier start of the vegetation period. A shift towards more oceanic conditions, with mild winters in the past fifty years, may also have increased the competitive strength of evergreen species that are susceptible to long frost periods (e.g. Hedera helix). The resampling of the beech forest vegetation on limestone revealed that many factors have influenced the dynamics over the past half century. These include eutrophication and a reduction in roe deer browsing, but our results also indicate a possible influence of climate change on community composition. In focussing on a small dataset from a very rich sub-unit of beech forests on limestone, the positive response of the spring geophytes becomes particularly obvious.Keywords: Allium ursinum; Ellenberg indicator value; Hedera helix; species composition change; spring geophyte; vegetation resampling.Nomenclature: Wisskirchen & Haeupler (1998) for vascular plants; Koperski (1999) for bryophytes.Abbrevations: a.s.l. = above sea level; DCA = detrended correspondence analysis; DWD = Deutscher Wetterdienst; MRPP = multiple-response permutation procedure.

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Forest disequilibrium caused by rapid Little Ice Age cooling

Cited by 133 publications

References 16 publications

Multi‐decadal drought and amplified moisture variability drove rapid forest community change in a humid region

Multi‐decadal drought and amplified moisture variability drove rapid forest community change in a humid region

Presettlement forest in southern Ontario: Ecosystems measured through a cultural prism

Vegetation dynamics of beech forests on limestone in central Germany over half a century – effects of climate change, forest management, eutrophication or game browsing?

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