Nationally Representative Plot Network Reveals Contrasting Drivers of Net Biomass Change in Secondary and Old-Growth Forests

Holdaway, Robert J.; Easdale, Tomás A.; Carswell, Fiona E.; Richardson, Sarah J.; Peltzer, Duane A.; Mason, Norman W. H.; Brandon, Andrea; Coomes, David A.

doi:10.1007/s10021-016-0084-x

Cited by 40 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…National biomass estimates for a similar forest and tall shrubland association dominated by Kunzea sp. (Kunzea Wiser et al 2011) has a mean live tree aboveground biomass of 48 Mg ha −1 (6 ± 1 SE, n = 32 plots) (Holdaway et al 2017).…”

Section: Fire and Management Historymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Post-hoc tests for differences in mean cover for each group at each measurement were made using the glht function in the multcomp v.1.4-0 package (Hothorn et al 2008). Tree dimensions were converted to aboveground biomass following standard allometric methods for the species sampled (Coomes et al 2002;Holdaway et al 2014Holdaway et al , 2017. We determined the relationships between aboveground biomass and landform index using a general linear model (GLM) with Gaussian error model.…”

Section: Data Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Post-fire recovery of a dryland forest remnant in the Wither Hills, Marlborough

Richardson¹,

King²,

Rose³

et al. 2018

NZ J Ecol

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Fire is a major threat to remnant native woody vegetation in dry, lowland New Zealand. This is because the woody flora lacks specific adaptations to survive fire, and seedling regeneration is constrained by summer drought, limited native seed rain and intense competition from non-native grasses that are often favoured by fire. In December 2000, a fire burnt a 41 ha remnant of mature Kunzea robusta (Myrtaceae) forest in the Wither Hills, Marlborough, a dry region with little remaining native woody vegetation. Shortly after the fire the area was fenced to exclude grazing animals and oversown with pasture species to stabilise the soil. A study was then initiated in June 2001 to determine the rate and direction of native forest recovery using 15 randomly located monitoring plots. Plots were re-measured in summer 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2015. Additional strategically located plots monitored the survival and re-growth of burnt individuals of Kunzea robusta, Sophora prostrata (Fabaceae) and Clematis quadribracteolata (Ranunculaceae). In spite of the dry climate, limited seed rain, oversowing and absence of grazing, woody biomass has started to recover after fire in the Wither Hillsbut slowly as non-native grasses are overwhelmingly dominant. After 15 years, woody biomass and cover are less than 5% of the original estimate for the area. However, while fire-damaged Kunzea mostly died, Sophora and Clematis individuals have recovered through resprouting. Our study site is typical of many dryland areas in New Zealand in which native biodiversity is part of a productive landscape and is under threat from fire, weeds and grazing. It is inevitable that a proportion of dryland reserves will be burnt each decade and our results underscore the need for conservation planning to incorporate fire and for experimental investigations to assist with accelerating native vegetation recovery.

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Section: Fire and Management Historymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Data Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Post-fire recovery of a dryland forest remnant in the Wither Hills, Marlborough

Richardson¹,

King²,

Rose³

et al. 2018

NZ J Ecol

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show abstract

“…Aboveground live tree biomass (Mg/ha) was estimated using NZ‐specific allometric relationships and values of stem‐specific density (Holdaway et al. ). Large trees have immense cultural (Blicharska and Mikusiński ) and ecological (Lindenmayer and Laurance ) value and are defined in NZ as those with a dbh ≥ 60 cm.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A recent objective survey of NZ's indigenous forests revealed that while large trees account for only 0.8% of all stems, they contain 41% of aboveground live tree biomass (Holdaway et al. ). Evidence for tree regeneration was estimated as the frequency of woody seedlings ≥15 cm tall, by species, across 24 seedling subplots (0.75 m 2 ) spaced evenly throughout the plot (Hurst and Allen ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Complementarity of indigenous and western scientific approaches for monitoring forest state

Lyver

Richardson

Gormley

et al. 2018

Ecological Applications

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Cross-cultural environmental monitoring systems inform on a broad suite of indicators relevant to both scientific and local communities. In this study, we used forest-plot-based survey measures developed by western scientists and a set of community-based survey indicators developed by Māori, the indigenous people of New Zealand (NZ), to compare the current state of two ecologically congruent forests (Whirinaki and Ruatāhuna), as they related to a historic Ruatāhuna forest state (Baseline; 1955-1975) in NZ. Both the plot-based and community-based field surveys indicated that the Whirinaki forest was in a better state than the Ruatāhuna forest. This was supported by a stronger mauri (concept of life essence) rating assigned by Māori elders to the Whirinaki forest compared with the Ruatāhuna forests. However, both the Ruatāhuna and Whirinaki forests were deemed to be in a significantly poorer state than the Baseline forest. A cross-cultural monitoring system provides understanding of forest state that both managers and communities can use for decision-making. Historical baselines of forest state can provide ecological targets for restoration initiatives and also identify where on the restoration continuum current forest indicators lie. The alignment of plot-based measures with community-based indicators offers possibilities for future-proofing a cross-cultural monitoring system and buffering it from intergenerational shifts in ecological baselines. The opportunity for indigenous peoples and local communities to apply their traditional ways of knowing, and interpret and act on information they understand are crucial components of cross-cultural environmental management regimes.

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“…In the diverse forests of eastern North America, investigating temporal and spatial distributions of biomass allocation according to species (Eisen andBarker Plotkin 2015, Dye et al 2016) and canopy position (Alexander 2017a) can add valuable information that is lost by grouping total forest carbon sequestration under a single umbrella. Investigating the structural distribution of biomass production also holds potential to add invaluable detail to our understanding of the forest carbon cycle, as forest structure and disturbance has been hypothesized to significantly impact biomass dynamics (Pan et al 2011, Gough et al 2016, Holdaway et al 2017.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Annual Aboveground Biomass Growth in Temperate Forests of Eastern North America

Dye¹

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Annual aboveground biomass growth in temperate forests of eastern North America Alex Dye The below dissertation is organized into three individual standalone manuscripts supporting the overarching theme of reconstructing annual aboveground biomass growth in temperate forests of eastern North America using dendrochronological applications. Each manuscript is organized with the intent of submission to a peer-reviewed journal. The first manuscript validated the technique I use throughout my dissertation by comparing tree-ring derived estimates of annual aboveground productivity with estimates from co-located or nearby permanent remeasurement plots at Howland, Maine, Harvard Forest, Massachusetts, and Fernow, West Virginia. The second manuscript investigated the size-related distribution of biomass growth at 16 eastern U.S. forest sites and compared results with United States Forest Service inventory plot data. The goal of this manuscript was to determine where, structurally, biomass was allocated in forests and whether these quantities changed over time and between forests. The third manuscript was inspired by the results of my second chapter. Here, I investigated whether the degree of asymmetry, or the slope of the linear regression between tree diameter and growth, is a useful indicator of total forest productivity. Previous studies linking asymmetry and productivity have been inconclusive, and this chapter evaluates consistency or lack of consistency across the same 16-site eastern U.S. forest network. Works Cited Babst, F., et al. 2013. Above-ground woody carbon sequestration measured from tree rings is coherent with net ecosystem productivity at five eddy-covariance sites.

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Nationally Representative Plot Network Reveals Contrasting Drivers of Net Biomass Change in Secondary and Old-Growth Forests

Cited by 40 publications

References 57 publications

Post-fire recovery of a dryland forest remnant in the Wither Hills, Marlborough

Post-fire recovery of a dryland forest remnant in the Wither Hills, Marlborough

Complementarity of indigenous and western scientific approaches for monitoring forest state

Annual Aboveground Biomass Growth in Temperate Forests of Eastern North America

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