Spring Ground Layer Vegetation 50 Years After Harvesting in Northern Hardwood Forests

The effects of partial harvest on the understory vegetation of southern Ontario woodlands

“…As harvesting intensifies, particularly through a loss of trees !38 cm dbh (medium sawlogs and larger), we see a significant increase in overall plant richness and diversity. Other studies have documented higher diversity on harvested stands than uncut or reference stands, and increases in diversity after harvest (Crawford, 1976;Metzger and Schultz, 1981;Roberts and Zhu, 2002;Elliott and Knoepp, 2005;Götmark et al, 2005;Zenner et al, 2006; but see Fredericksen et al, 1999). These trends may be linked to changes in canopy cover.…”

Impacts of summer versus winter logging on understory vegetation in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest

“…Effects of logging activities on understory plants are now well documented for a variety of forest types (Metzger and Schultz, 1981;Reader, 1987;Gilliam et al, 1995;Roberts and Gilliam, 1995;Greenberg et al, 1997;Crow et al, 2002 and others). In northern hardwood forests, logging is associated with increased species richness and total cover of understory species, although the added species tend to be common in the first place (or alien) and do not contribute significantly to the overall native species diversity at a given site (Crow et al, 2002).…”

Can plantations develop understory biological and physical attributes of naturally regenerated forests?

“…In fact, it has been reported to principally favor generalist (Herault et al, 2005) and exotic (Parker et al, 2001;Newmaster et al, 2006) species. Many forest herbs are sensitive to competition with pioneer species, which is likely to occur following such types of disturbance (Meier et al, 1995), and are sensitive to desiccation following forest floor disturbance (Metzger and Schultz, 1981). Pruning probably had a similar, but less pronounced impact than thinning.…”