A comparison of three foliar-applied herbicides for controlling mountain laurel thickets in the mixed-oak forests of the central Appalachian Mountains, USA

2019 ◽  
Vol 432 ◽  
pp. 568-574 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick H. Brose ◽  
Gary W. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Appalachian Mountains ◽  
Oak Forests ◽  
Mountain Laurel

scholarly journals Forest dynamics and climate sensitivity of an endangered Carolina hemlock community in the southern Appalachian Mountains, USA

Botany ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 94 (4) ◽  
pp. 301-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Austin ◽  
Saskia L. van de Gevel ◽  
Peter T. Soulé
Keyword(s):  
Appalachian Mountains ◽  
Hemlock Woolly Adelgid ◽  
Tree Age ◽  
Northern Red Oak ◽  
Eastern United States ◽  
White Oak ◽  
Southern Appalachian Mountains ◽  
Southern Appalachian ◽  
High Elevations ◽  
Mountain Laurel

During the last century, the eastern United States has functionally lost two major tree species (American chestnut and American elm), two more, eastern and Carolina hemlock, will likely be functionally extinct during much of their ranges by 2050. Carolina hemlock forests are geographically limited to high elevations in the southern Appalachian Mountains and are considered to be endangered. We collected forest stand, composition, and tree age data at the beginning of a hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) infestation. Prior to the arrival of HWA, Carolina hemlocks were healthy and densely populated in the overstory and understory. While Carolina hemlock regenerated successfully and continuously from 1850 to 2010, the development of this Carolina hemlock forest will be altered by the HWA and may result in an increase in the density of northern red oak, white oak, mountain laurel, and Catawba rhododendron. Carolina hemlocks prefer cool, wet summers with older trees experiencing greater reductions in radial growth than younger trees during droughts. This study demonstrates that dendrochronological techniques can provide critical annual information on Carolina hemlock forest development and tree age–climate response. Our results provide a multicentury perspective for conservation efforts and management of Carolina hemlock forests in the southern Appalachian Mountains.

Factors affecting recruitment of Pinuspungens in the southern Appalachian Mountains

1992 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 878-887 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles E. Williams ◽  
W. Carter Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Nearest Neighbor ◽  
Appalachian Mountains ◽  
Oak Forests ◽  
Summer Drought ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Seedling Survivorship ◽  
Southern Appalachian ◽  
Population Maintenance ◽  
Nearest Neighbor Distances ◽  
Habitat Variables

Factors affecting the establishment and recruitment of seedlings of the Appalachian endemic Pinuspungens Lamb were studied in pine–oak forests of dry, southwesterly mountain slopes in southwestern Virginia, United States. Recruitment of P. pungens was not limited by seedfall from serotinous cones or by postdispersal seed predation. Total viable seedfall ranged from 35 000 to 69 000 seeds/ha in 1988 and was concentrated in the spring and summer months. Low availability of suitable seedling habitat strongly limited recruitment of P. pungens seedlings. The distributions of habitat variables for P. pungens seedlings and random points in the forest overlapped little, indicating that suitable microsites were relatively rare. Seedlings occurred in microsites characterized by shallow pine litter, low ground and canopy covers, and larger nearest neighbor distances than occurred at random. Summer drought also contributed to low seedling survivorship, particularly in young seedlings. Our results suggest that optimal recruitment and population maintenance of P. pungens in pine–oak forests is unlikely in the absence of fire.

Modeling the Effects of Fire on the Long-Term Dynamics and Restoration of Yellow Pine and Oak Forests in the Southern Appalachian Mountains

2007 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 400-411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles W. Lafon ◽  
John D. Waldron ◽  
David M. Cairns ◽  
Maria D. Tchakerian ◽  
Robert N. Coulson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Appalachian Mountains ◽  
Oak Forests ◽  
Southern Appalachian Mountains ◽  
Southern Appalachian ◽  
Yellow Pine

Actual organization of forest communities with broad-leaved trees in broad-leaved-coniferous zone (with Moscow Region as an example)

2018 ◽  
pp. 107-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. V. Chernenkova ◽  
O. V. Morozova ◽  
N. G. Belyaeva ◽  
M. Yu. Puzachenko
Keyword(s):  
Tree Species ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Activity Index ◽  
Plant Cover ◽  
Moscow Region ◽  
Pine Forests ◽  
Coniferous Forests ◽  
Oak Forests ◽  
Study Region ◽  
Spruce Forests

This study aimed at an investigation of the structure, ecology and mapping of mixed communities with the participation of spruce, pine and broad-leave trees in one of the regions of broad-leave–coniferous zone. Despite the long history of the nature use of the study area, including forestry practices (Kurnayev, 1968; Rysin, Saveliyeva, 2007; Arkhipova, 2014; Belyaeva, Popov, 2016), the communities kept the main features of the indigenous forests of the broad-leave–coniferous zone ­— the tree species polydominance of the stands, the multilayer structure of communities and the high species diversity. In the course of field works in the southwestern part of the Moscow Region (2000–2016) 120 relevés were made. Spatial structure, species composition as well as cover values (%) of all vascular plants and bryophytes were recorded in each stand. The relevés were analysed following the ecology-phytocenotic classification approach and methods of multivariate statistical analysis that allowed correctly to differentiate communities according the broad-leave species participation. The accuracy of the classification based on the results of discriminant analysis was 95.8 %. Evaluation of the similarity of the selected units was carried out with the help of cluster analysis (Fig. 12). Clustering into groups is performed according to the activity index of species (A) (Malyshev, 1973) within the allocated syntaxon using Euclidean distance and Ward’s method. The classification results are corrected by DCA ordination in PC-ORD 5.0 (McCune, Mefford, 2006) (Fig. 1). Spatial mapping of forest cover was carried out on the basis of ground data, Landsat satellite images (Landsat 5 TM, 7 ETM +, 8 OLI_TIRS), digital elevation (DEM) and statistical methods (Puzachenko et al., 2014; Chernenkova et al., 2015) (Fig. 13 а, б). The obtained data and the developed classification refine the existing understanding of the phytocenotic structure of the forest cover of the broad-leave–coniferous zone. Three forest formation groups with different shares of broad-leave species in the canopy with seven groups of associations were described: a) coniferous forests with broad-leave species (small- and broad-herb spruce forests with oak and lime (1)); broad-herb spruce forests with oak and lime (2); small- and broad-herb pine forests with spruce, lime, oak and hazel (3); broad-herb pine forests with lime, oak and hazel (4)), b) broad-leave–coniferous forests (broad-herb spruce–broad-leave forests (5)), and c) broad-leave forests (broad-herb oak forests (6), broad-herb lime forests (7)). In the row of discussed syntaxa from 1 to 7 group, the change in the ratio of coniferous and broad-leave species of the tree layer (A) reflects re­gular decrease in the participation of spruce in the plant cover (from 66 to 6 %; Fig. 3 A1, A2) and an increase in oak and lime more than threefold (from 15 to 65 %; Fig. 4 a). Nemoral species predominate in the composition of ground layers, the cove­rage of which increases (from 40 to 80 %) in the range from 1 to 7 group, the coverage of the boreal group varies from 55 to 8 % (Fig. 11) while maintaining the presence of these species, even in nemoral lime and oak forests. In forests with equal share of broad-leave and coniferous trees (group 5) the nemoral species predominate in herb layer. In oak forests (group 6) the species of the nitro group are maximally represented, which is natural for oak forests occurring on rich soils, and also having abundant undergrowth of hazel. Practically in all studied groups the presence of both coniferous (in particular, spruce) and broad-leave trees in undergrowth (B) and ground layer (C) were present in equal proportions (Fig. 3). This does not confirm the unambiguity of the enrichment with nemoral species and increase in their cover in complex spruce and pine forests in connection with the climate warming in this region, but rather indicates on natural change of the main tree species in the cenopopulations. Further development of the stand and the formation of coni­ferous or broad-leave communities is conditioned by landscape. It is proved that the distribution of different types of communities is statistically significant due to the relief. According to the results of the analysis of remote information, the distribution areas of coniferous forests with broad-leave species, mixed and broad-leave forest areas for the study region are represented equally. The largest massifs of broad-leave–coniferous forests are located in the central and western parts of the study area, while in the eastern one the broad-leave forests predominate, that is a confirmation of the zonal ecotone (along the Pakhra River: Petrov, Kuzenkova, 1968) from broad-leave–coniferous forests to broad-leave forests.

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