Multi‐decade tree mortality in temperate old‐growth forests of Europe and North America: Non‐equilibrial dynamics and species‐individualistic response to disturbance

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerry D. Woods ◽  
Thomas A. Nagel ◽  
Bogdan Brzeziecki ◽  
C. Mark Cowell ◽  
Dejan Firm ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Old Growth Forests

scholarly journals Spatial aspects of tree mortality strongly differ between young and old-growth forests

Ecology ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 96 (11) ◽  
pp. 2855-2861 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Larson ◽  
James A. Lutz ◽  
Daniel C. Donato ◽  
James A. Freund ◽  
Mark E. Swanson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Old Growth Forests

Spatially random mortality in old-growth red pine forests of northern Minnesota

2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 899-907 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuomas Aakala ◽  
Shawn Fraver ◽  
Brian J. Palik ◽  
Anthony W. D’Amato
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Pair Correlation ◽  
Growth Conditions ◽  
Initial Distribution ◽  
Red Pine ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Dead Trees ◽  
Old Growth Forests

Characterizing the spatial distribution of tree mortality is critical to understanding forest dynamics, but empirical studies on these patterns under old-growth conditions are rare. This rarity is due in part to low mortality rates in old-growth forests, the study of which necessitates long observation periods, and the confounding influence of tree in-growth during such time spans. Here, we studied mortality of red pine ( Pinus resinosa Ait.) in five old-growth stands in Minnesota, USA, demonstrating the use of preexisting information of cohort age structures to account for in-growth after the most recent cohort establishment. Analyses of spatial point patterns, using both Ripley’s K-function and the pair correlation function, showed that tree mortality was essentially a random process, without evidence of contagious mortality patterns that are often expected for old-growth forests. Our analyses further demonstrated in practice that the distribution of dead trees may differ from that of the tree mortality events, which are constrained to occur within the initial distribution, and how mortality patterns can shape the spatial distribution of mature living trees, often attributed to aggregated regeneration patterns. These findings emphasize the need to disentangle the influence of the initial distribution of trees from that of actual tree mortality events.

scholarly journals Forestry-Wildlife: Whither the Future

1976 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 147-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. L. Bunnell
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
North American ◽  
Social Dimension ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
The Future ◽  
Old Growth Forests

Conditions in areas with higher ratios of people to trees than North America suggest changes in North American perspectives of forestry-wildlife relations. These conditions, as they were presented at a recent IUFRO meeting, are summarized. Implications of these conditions for North America are that our forestry-wildlife problems will acquire an increasing social dimension, while solutions will become increasingly varied and complex. The old-growth forests still present in North America will permit a degree of flexibility in management now lacking in much of Europe.

Recent tree mortality and recruitment in mature and old-growth forests in western Washington

2015 ◽  
Vol 336 ◽  
pp. 109-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven A. Acker ◽  
John R. Boetsch ◽  
Mignonne Bivin ◽  
Lou Whiteaker ◽  
Carla Cole ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Old Growth Forests ◽  
Western Washington

Trees dying standing in the northeastern boreal old-growth forests of Quebec: spatial patterns, rates, and temporal variation

2007 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuomas Aakala ◽  
Timo Kuuluvainen ◽  
Louis De Grandpré ◽  
Sylvie Gauthier
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Variation ◽  
Spatial Patterns ◽  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Abies Balsamea ◽  
Structural Complexity ◽  
Habitat Diversity ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Dead Trees ◽  
Old Growth Forests ◽  
Standing Trees

Spatial patterns, rates, and temporal variation of standing-tree mortality were studied in unmanaged boreal old-growth forests of northeastern Quebec. The study was carried out by sampling living and dead trees within 15 transects (400 m long, 40 m wide). The transects lay in stands that were classified according to their species composition in three types: dominated by black spruce, Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP; mixed P. mariana and balsam fir, Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.; and dominated by A. balsamea. Spatial patterns were analysed using Ripley's K function. The year of death was cross-dated using 190 sample discs extracted from dead standing A. balsamea and P. mariana to assess the rates and temporal variation of mortality. The spatial patterns of standing dead trees in P. mariana stands were predominantly clustered. The spatial patterns of large dead trees (>19 cm diameter at breast height (1.3 m height; DBH)) in mixed and A. balsamea-dominated stands were mainly random, with few stands showing clustered patterns. Small dead trees (9–19 cm DBH) in these stands were generally more clustered than larger trees. Tree mortality varied from year to year, though some mortality was observed in all the studied stand types for almost every year. Standing trees that had recently died accounted for 62%, 48%, and 51% of overall mortality in P. mariana-dominated, mixed, and A. balsamea-dominated stands, respectively. The results of this study indicate that mortality of standing trees outside of episodic mortality events (such as insect outbreaks) is an important process in the creation of structural complexity and habitat diversity in these stands.

scholarly journals An evaluation of multi-species empirical tree mortality algorithms for dynamic vegetation modelling

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Thrippleton ◽  
Lisa Hülsmann ◽  
Maxime Cailleret ◽  
Harald Bugmann
Keyword(s):  
Forest Dynamics ◽  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Present Climate ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Explanatory Variables ◽  
Vegetation Modelling ◽  
Old Growth Forests ◽  
Vegetation Models ◽  
Multiple Species

AbstractTree mortality is key for projecting forest dynamics, but difficult to portray in dynamic vegetation models (DVMs). Empirical mortality algorithms (MAs) are often considered promising, but little is known about DVM robustness when employing MAs of various structures and origins for multiple species. We analysed empirical MAs for a suite of European tree species within a consistent DVM framework under present and future climates in two climatically different study areas in Switzerland and evaluated their performance using empirical data from old-growth forests across Europe. DVM projections under present climate showed substantial variations when using alternative empirical MAs for the same species. Under climate change, DVM projections showed partly contrasting mortality responses for the same species. These opposing patterns were associated with MA structures (i.e. explanatory variables) and occurred independent of species ecological characteristics. When comparing simulated forest structure with data from old-growth forests, we found frequent overestimations of basal area, which can lead to flawed projections of carbon sequestration and other ecosystem services. While using empirical MAs in DVMs may appear promising, our results emphasize the importance of selecting them cautiously. We therefore synthesize our insights into a guideline for the appropriate use of empirical MAs in DVM applications.

Northwest Forest Plan–the first 15 years (1994–2008): status and trends of late-successional and old-growth forests

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melinda Moeur ◽  
Janet L. Ohmann ◽  
Robert E. Kennedy ◽  
Warren B. Cohen ◽  
Matthew J. Gregory ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Old Growth ◽  
Status And Trends ◽  
Old Growth Forests ◽  
Northwest Forest Plan

Alternatives to clearcutting in the old-growth forests of southeast Alaska: study plan and establishment report.

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael H. McClellan ◽  
Douglas N. Swanston ◽  
Paul E. Hennon ◽  
Robert L. Deal ◽  
Toni L. de Santo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Old Growth ◽  
Southeast Alaska ◽  
Old Growth Forests ◽  
Study Plan
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