Regeneration responses to gap size and coarse woody debris within natural disturbance-based silvicultural systems in northeastern Minnesota, USA

Bolton, Nicholas W.; D’Amato, Anthony W.

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2011.06.019

Cited by 124 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 58 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Without the opportunity to bypass this critical early filter, species traits that may otherwise facilitate gap capture including shade tolerance, browse tolerance, drought tolerance, and competitive ability would be rendered effectively moot. Thus, our findings support the notion put forth by Bolton and D'Amato (2011) suggesting that germination substrate may override the influence of harvest gap size for smaller-seeded species, and demonstrate the importance of incorporating surface disturbance into silvicultural prescriptions (e.g., harvesting in the absence of snow or scarification). However, it should be emphasized again that seed supply issues may override the influence of substrate under natural regeneration conditions.…”

Section: Conclusion and Management Recommendationssupporting

confidence: 89%

“…R 2 and partial P values represent the effect of light on seedling survival. 2005; Bolton and D'Amato, 2011;Bèland and Chicoine, 2013), and post scarification seedling layer composition from other forest types (Raymond et al, 2003;Lorenzetti et al, 2008;Beguin et al, 2009;and Prèvost et al, 2010). Collectively, these findings suggest that substrate-related germination failures are likely contributing to the scarcity of smaller seeded species seedlings in mesic northern temperate forests (Neuendorff et al, 2007;Matonis et al, 2011).…”

Section: Germinationmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Emulating natural disturbance is one often suggested approach for promoting tree species diversity in northern temperate forests (Scheller and Mladenoff, 2002;Seymour et al, 2002;Bolton and D'Amato, 2011). Harvest disturbance using single-tree selection, a commonly used silvicultural system in northern hardwood forests for over 60 years, creates a series of environmentally similar small harvest gaps (<80 m 2 meters) (Crow et al, 2002;Angers et al, 2005;Klingsporn-Poznanovic et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This paradigm is based on the assumption that the lower light environments produced in smaller harvest gaps favor the establishment of shade tolerant species, while the higher light environments of larger harvest gaps promote the establishment of mid to shade intolerant species (Ricklefs, 1977;Denslow, 1980;McClure et al, 2000;Webster and Lorimer, 2005;Kneeshaw and Prèvost, 2007). Nevertheless, recent evidence from gap regeneration studies suggests that gap dynamics are far less predictable, and may be influenced by several factors in addition to gap size (Shields et al, 2007;Falk et al, 2010;Gasser et al, 2010;Bolton and D'Amato, 2011;Matonis et al, 2011;Kern et al, 2012Kern et al, , 2013Fahey and Lorimer, 2013;Klingsporn-Poznanovic et al, 2013). Consequently, management that manipulates gap size alone to regenerate a more diverse seedling cohort will likely fail.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Scarification and gap size have interacting effects on northern temperate seedling establishment

Willis

Walters

Gottschalk

2015

Forest Ecology and Management

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

a b s t r a c tAfter decades focused on promoting economically valuable species, management of northern temperate forests has increasingly become focused on promoting tree species diversity. Unfortunately, many formerly common species that could contribute to diversity including yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britton.), paper birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh), eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis L.), and eastern white pine (Pinus strobus L.) are now uncommon in the seedling layer, raising concerns about our ability to use these species to increase diversity. In this study, two related seed addition experiments conducted in 45 variably-sized harvest gaps (unharvested to 6500 m 2 ) in adjacent mesic northern hardwood stands, Emmet County, Michigan, USA were used to investigate mechanisms potentially limiting seedling recruitment. The first experiment examined the influence of light (i.e. harvest gap size), competing vegetation, and deer browsing on seedling survival for three years in a 2 Â 2 factorial, where subplots were unfenced or fenced to exclude deer, unclipped or clipped to control competing vegetation, and located across the gradient of gap sizes. The second experiment explored the influence of scarification, light, and competing vegetation on germination and subsequent survival for 2 years in a 2 Â 2 factorial, in subplots that were unscarified or scarified to remove litter, unclipped or clipped to control competing vegetation, and located across the gradient of gap sizes. Eastern hemlock, paper birch, and yellow birch, all smallerseeded species, were 12, 17, and 95 times more abundant in scarified plots compared to unscarified plots. In contrast, white pine, the largest-seeded species, was unaffected by scarification and had low overall germination. Shade tolerant hemlock and shade intolerant paper birch germinated at higher densities in lower light, smaller harvest gap environments, while both mid-tolerant species, white pine and yellow birch, were unaffected by light. Each species' initial survival significantly increased with increasing light availability, and with the exception of yellow birch, each species also survived at a significantly higher rate with increasing light availability. Paper birch and hemlock third year survival also increased with increasing light. By the end of the third growing season, only paper birch survival was negatively impacted by competition from vegetation and no species were affected by exposure to deer browse pressure. At the conclusion of the study, large group selection gaps (24-50 m diameter) contained the highest density of each species except white pine, suggesting that large group selection gaps may provide the best opportunity for reestablishing this particular group of species in the seedling layer.

show abstract

Section: Conclusion and Management Recommendationssupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Germinationmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Scarification and gap size have interacting effects on northern temperate seedling establishment

Willis

Walters

Gottschalk

2015

Forest Ecology and Management

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Dead wood contributes to the accumulation of organic matter in the soil, provides habitat for decomposer organisms, maintains moisture during dry periods, can be an important substrate for the regeneration of many tree species, and represents a capital pool of nutrients and carbon storage (Harmon et al, 1986;Harmon and Sexton, 1996;Wirth et al, 2002;Bolton and D'Amato, 2011). Furthermore, dead wood maintains biodiversity in forest ecosystems, as it provides habitat and shelter for bacteria, fungi, bryophytes, arthropods, birds and mammals (Stokland et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structure and Spatial Distribution of Dead Wood in Two Temperate Old-Growth Mixed European Beech Forests

Vasile

Petriţan

Tudose

et al. 2017

Not Bot Horti Agrobo

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Old-growth forests are often looked at as reference for close to nature silviculture, which aims to manage forests in a natural way. An important component of these forests is the large amount of deadwood they possess; the role of dead wood in the forest ecosystem has been well recognised. A detailed investigation of dead wood characteristics (the amount per stand, species, dead wood type, decay class, size and spatial distribution) was performed in two Romanian old-growth European mixed beech forests: Runcu Grosi Reserve (sessile oak-beech) and Sinca (silver fir-beech). Dead wood pieces were classified as belonging to one of seven dead wood types and one of five decay classes. The total amount of the dead wood was greater in Runcu Grosi (240.8 m ). The majority of the dead wood in Runcu Grosi was composed of sessile oak (91.7%), whereas in Sinca Forest, the main dead wood species was silver fir (67.0%); both species exhibited higher values of probability density than beech, the second most important species. The dead wood exhibited much variation in tree size and in dead wood type, and covered the entire spectrum of decomposition classes. The main spatial pattern of all standing dead trees was random in both forests (over 55%), with a reduced participation of regularity and aggregation. The results of this investigation could be used as key values derived from natural conditions to enhance the biodiversity related to dead wood in managed temperate beech mixed forests.

show abstract

Managing for diversity: harvest gap size drives complex light, vegetation, and deer herbivory impacts on tree seedlings

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Many managed northern hardwood forests are characterized by low-diversity tree regeneration. Small harvest gaps, competition from shrub-herb vegetation, and browsing by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) contribute to this pattern, but we know little about how these factors interact. With a stand-scale experiment, we examined the effects of gap size (0-3234 m 2 ), vegetation (weeded:unweeded), and deer (fenced:unfenced) on seedling growth and survival for 18 tree species. With increasing gap size and light, shrub-herb vegetation density increased, while deer browsing on seedlings in unweeded plots decreased. Fenced:weeded seedlings of all species increased in height up to 35-45% light, with optimal growth in large-group selection and patch cut harvest gaps. Height growth rank order among tree species changed between gap sizes, but growth varied little in small, low-light gaps. Instead, a low-light survival (i.e., shade tolerance) vs. high-light growth tradeoff we observed is likely more important for species sorting of gap sizes. Shrub-herb vegetation decreased seedling survival and growth, especially in larger harvest gaps, shifting gap size optima to smaller gaps, but had little effect on growth/survival rank order among species. In contrast, deer had strong impacts on growth rank order, especially in larger gaps where species differences in growth potential were trumped by differences in deer browsing pressure responses. However, contrary to their consistently negative main effects, vegetation and deer had two positive interacting effects: dense shrub-herb vegetation in large gaps protected seedlings of faster-growing species from browsing and deer browsing of shrub-herb vegetation modestly increased light and growth of short, suppressed, browsing-avoided species. In summary, harvest gap size-mediated light availability, shrub-herb vegetation, and deer herbivory had strong interacting effects on tree seedling interspecific performance ranks and intraspecific optimal gap sizes. For management, a broad range of harvest gap sizes and rapid establishment of tree regeneration (naturally or planted) to minimize shrub-herb competition should increase tree diversity in forests with few deer. However, with deer browsing pressure, a more limited set of lesser-browsed species are likely to recruit successfully regardless of gap size, except in large patch cut gaps, where recruitment of faster-growing, shade-intolerant species is possible.

show abstract

Regeneration responses to gap size and coarse woody debris within natural disturbance-based silvicultural systems in northeastern Minnesota, USA

Cited by 124 publications

References 58 publications

Scarification and gap size have interacting effects on northern temperate seedling establishment

Scarification and gap size have interacting effects on northern temperate seedling establishment

Structure and Spatial Distribution of Dead Wood in Two Temperate Old-Growth Mixed European Beech Forests

Managing for diversity: harvest gap size drives complex light, vegetation, and deer herbivory impacts on tree seedlings

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About