Modeling tree regeneration height growth after an experimental hurricane

2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (8) ◽  
pp. 2003-2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Ann Fajvan ◽  
Audrey Barker Plotkin ◽  
David R Foster
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rates ◽  
Height Growth ◽  
Growth Patterns ◽  
Tree Regeneration ◽  
Tree Seedlings ◽  
Red Maple ◽  
Yellow Birch ◽  
White Ash ◽  
Advance Regeneration ◽  
Species Specific

Annual height growth rates for six species of tree seedlings were modeled during the first 10 years of cohort initiation following an experimental hurricane in central Massachusetts. Selected canopy trees in a second-growth, transition oak – northern hardwoods forest were pulled over with a winch in a 50 m × 160 m area. Regeneration height growth did not follow the species-specific patterns anticipated if the disturbance had been stand replacing. Instead, the temporal increase in shade from crown expansion and sprouting of residual trees slowed cohort development and resulted in a variety of annual height growth patterns among species. Height development was followed separately for advance regeneration and new seedlings of red maple white ash, black cherry, black and yellow birch, paper birch, and red oak. All species had increasing height growth rates for 3 years followed by either decreasing or unchanged (flat) rates except red maple and ash advance regeneration, which had increasing rates throughout the measurement period. After 10 years, black and yellow birch, and red maple are the most numerous species and compose the majority of the tallest regeneration. Red oaks, which dominated the original stand, are few and unlikely to emerge to the canopy of the new cohort.

scholarly journals Height Development of Upper-Canopy Trees Within Even-Aged Adirondack Northern Hardwood Stands

2004 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 117-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph D. Nyland ◽  
David G. Ray ◽  
Ruth D. Yanai
Keyword(s):  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Height Growth ◽  
Fagus Grandifolia ◽  
Growth Patterns ◽  
Betula Alleghaniensis ◽  
Yellow Birch ◽  
Northern Hardwood ◽  
White Ash ◽  
Advance Regeneration ◽  
Canopy Trees

Abstract Knowledge of the relative rates of height growth among species is necessary for predicting developmental patterns in even-aged northern hardwood stands. To quantify these relationships, we used stem analysis to reconstruct early height growth patterns of dominant and codominant sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.), yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britton), white ash (Fraxinus americana L.), and America beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) trees. We used three stands (aged 19, 24, and 29 years) established by shelterwood method cutting preceded by an understory herbicide treatment. We analyzed 10 trees of each species per stand. Height growth was similar across stands, allowing us to develop a single equation for each species. Our data show that yellow birch had the most rapid height growth up to approximately age 10. Both sugar maple and white ash grew more rapidly than yellow birch beyond that point. Beech consistently grew the slowest. White ash had a linear rate of height growth over the 29-year period, while the other species declined in their growth rates. By age 29, the heights of main canopy trees ranged from 38 ft for beech to 51 ft for white ash. Both yellow birch and sugar maple averaged 46 ft tall at that time. By age 29, the base of the live crown had reached 17, 20, 21, and 26 ft for beech, sugar maple, yellow birch, and white ash, respectively. Live–crown ratios of upper-canopy trees did not differ appreciably among species and remained at approximately 40% for the ages evaluated. These results suggest that eliminating advance regeneration changes the outcome of competition to favor species other than beech. North. J. Appl. For. 21(3):117–122.

scholarly journals Radial growth of hardwoods following the 1998 ice storm in New Hampshire and Maine

2003 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 325-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin T Smith ◽  
Walter C Shortle
Keyword(s):  
Radial Growth ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Growth Index ◽  
Ice Storm ◽  
Red Maple ◽  
Yellow Birch ◽  
Annual Increment ◽  
White Ash ◽  
Class A ◽  
Mean Annual Increment

Ice storms and resulting injury to tree crowns occur frequently in North America. Reaction of land managers to injury caused by the regional ice storm of January 1998 had the potential to accelerate the harvesting of northern hardwoods due to concern about the future loss of wood production by injured trees. To assess the effect of this storm on radial stem growth, increment cores were collected from northern hardwood trees categorized by crown injury classes. For a total of 347 surviving canopy dominant and subdominant trees, a radial growth index was calculated (mean annual increment for 1998–2000 divided by the mean annual increment for 1995–1997). Sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.), yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britt.), white ash (Fraxinus americana L.), and red maple (Acer rubrum L.) categorized in injury class A (crown loss of less than one-half) had mean growth index values of approximately 1.0, indicating no loss of mean radial growth after 3 years. For injury class B (crown loss of one-half to three-quarters) and class C (crown loss greater than three-quarters), growth index values significantly decreased for sugar maple, yellow birch, and red maple. For white ash, growth index values of classes B and C were not significantly different from those of class A trees. Growth index values of A. saccharum and A. rubrum in injury class C were the lowest of those measured. These results indicated that the severity of growth loss due to crown injury depends on tree species and crown replacement as well as the extent of crown loss.

Responses of hardwood advance regeneration to seasonal prescribed fires in oak-dominated shelterwood stands

1998 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 331-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick H Brose ◽  
David H Van Lear
Keyword(s):  
Acer Rubrum ◽  
Height Growth ◽  
Fire Intensity ◽  
Permanent Plots ◽  
Prescribed Fires ◽  
Red Maple ◽  
Stem Form ◽  
Yellow Poplar ◽  
Density Reduction ◽  
Advance Regeneration

Effects of seasonal prescribed fires of varying intensities on density, mortality, stem form, height, and height growth of hardwood advance regeneration were investigated. Three mixed-hardwood stands on productive upland sites were cut using a shelterwood technique, each forming a block of spring burn, summer burn, winter burn, and control treatments. Advance regeneration was inventoried from permanent plots before and after burning. Fires top-killed nearly all hardwood regeneration, forcing the rootstocks to sprout. Fire treatments reduced densities of all hardwood species relative to not burning, with spring and summer fires causing greater density reduction than winter burning. Among species, oak (Quercus spp. L.) and hickory (Carya spp. Nutt.) were more resilient sprouters than yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera L.) and red maple (Acer rubrum L.), especially as fire intensity increased. All prescribed fires improved oak stem form and stimulated height growth of hickory and oak. Overall, prescribed fires improved oak advance regeneration with spring burning providing the most benefit. This approach of following a shelterwood harvest with prescribed fire may be a viable method of regenerating oak-dominated stands on productive upland sites.

scholarly journals Historical Tree Species Height Growth Pattern Associated With Climate Change in Western North America

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yassine Messaoud ◽  
Anya Reid ◽  
Nadezhda M. Tchebakova ◽  
Annika Hofgaard ◽  
Faouzi Messsaoud
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
North America ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Growth Response ◽  
Height Growth ◽  
Growth Patterns ◽  
Species Range ◽  
Western North America ◽  
Total Height ◽  
Species Specific

Abstract BackgroundThe climate variables effect on tree growth in boreal and temperate forests has received increased interest in the global context of climate change. However, most studies are geographically limited and involved few tree species. Here, sixteen tree species across western North America were used to investigate tree response to climate change at the species range scale. MethodsForest inventory data from 36,944 stands established between 1600 and 1968 throughout western Canada and USA were summarized. Height growth (total height at breast-height age of 50 years) of healthy dominant and co-dominant trees were related to annual and summer temperatures, annual and summer Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI, and tree establishment date (ED). Climate-induced height growth patterns were then tested to determine links to spatial environment (soil conditions and geographic locations), species range (coastal, interior, and both ranges) and species traits (shade tolerance and leaf form), using linear mixed model for the global height growth and general linear model to test the height growth patterns for each species. ResultsIncrease of temperatures and PDSI had a positive effect on height growth for most of the study species, whereas Alaska yellow-cedar (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis, (D. Don) Spach) height growth declined with ED. All explaining variables and the interactions explained 59% of the total height growth variance. Although tree height growth response was species-specific, increased height growth during the 20th century was more pronounced for coastal ranged species, high shade tolerant species, and broadleaf species. Furthermore, height growth increase occurred mostly on rich soil, at the northernmost species range, and, unexpectedly, at lower elevations. A decline in height growth for some species further north and especially higher in elevation possibly related to increased cloudiness and precipitation. However, drought conditions remain in interior areas despite moving northward and upward that decrease height growth. ConclusionThese results highlight the general trend (species characteristics and range) and the species-specific height patterns, indicating the spatio-temporal complexity of the growth response to recent global climate change.

scholarly journals Quantifying the effect of local shelter on tree growth patterns within upper treeline ecotones in the Bighorn Mountans of Wyoming.

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Nathan Mackley
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Pattern ◽  
Tree Growth ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Growth Patterns ◽  
Tree Regeneration ◽  
Annual Growth ◽  
Limiting Factor ◽  
Spatial Pattern Analysis ◽  
Tree Establishment ◽  
Moisture Retention

On Bruce Mountain in the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming, the upper treeline ecotone has advanced upslope since 1970 and to the highest extent in at least the past 210 years. However, the mechanisms facilitating tree establishment and treeline advance during this time were distinctly different between north and south-facing slope aspects. Tree regeneration on the south-facing slope was predominantly confined to microsites in the sheltered lee of boulders where more shade, moisture retention, and protection from the wind exist. Trees on the north-facing slope colonized open alpine tundra and facilitated continued regeneration clustered in close proximity to these trees. Thus, while patterns of tree establishment and treeline advance are well understood, it remains unknown whether differences in tree growth exist between these two sites. This is relevant as other studies suggest that favorable climatic conditions for tree establishment do not correspond with periods of high annual growth rates for trees at upper treeline. The goal of this research was to determine whether distinct patterns of tree establishment influence annual growth rates of these trees. To address this, I calculated basal area increment (BAI) for all trees positioned above the upper forest border. Surprisingly, annual growth rates and corresponding BAI values were almost identical between sites since 1970. These results suggest that tree establishment may be more of a critical limiting factor to upper treeline advance than tree growth because consistent growth patterns were found irrespective of spatial pattern on opposite slope aspects. From spatial pattern analysis, tree establishment on the northern slope adheres to the known biological preferences for each of the treeline species; while the pattern of establishment on the southern slope is overridden by the availability of favorable sites (i.e. in the lee of boulders) providing needed shade and moisture retention. As the treeline is a temperature and moisture-limited ecotone, there are observed differences along the elevational gradient within the site and between species that grow open and have a higher drought tolerance compared to those that rely on shade and neighboring trees.

Functional ecology of advance regeneration in relation to light in boreal forests

1999 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 812-823 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Messier ◽  
René Doucet ◽  
Jean-Claude Ruel ◽  
Yves Claveau ◽  
Colin Kelly ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Light Availability ◽  
Growth Patterns ◽  
Functional Ecology ◽  
Tree Seedlings ◽  
Maximum Height ◽  
Surface Area Ratio ◽  
Growth And Survival ◽  
Advance Regeneration ◽  
Leaf Level

This paper reviews aspects of the functional ecology of naturally established tree seedlings in the boreal forests of North America with an emphasis on the relationship between light availability and the growth and survival of shade tolerant conifers up to pole size. Shade tolerant conifer species such as firs and spruces tend to have a lower specific leaf mass, photosynthetic rate at saturation, live crown ratio, STAR (shoot silhouette area to total needle surface area ratio), and root to shoot ratio than the shade intolerant pines. The inability of intolerant species such as the pines and aspen to survive in shade appears to be mainly the result of characteristics at the shoot, crown, and whole-tree levels and not at the leaf level. Although firs and spruces frequently coexist in shaded understories, they do not have identical growth patterns and crown architectures. We propose a simple framework based on the maximum height that different tree species can sustain in shade, which may help managers determine the timing of partial or complete harvests. Consideration of these functional aspects of regeneration is important to the understanding of boreal forest dynamics and can be useful to forest managers seeking to develop or assess novel silvicultural systems.

Sugar Maple, Red Maple, and Yellow Birch Growth and Mortality in Even-Aged Adirondack Northern Hardwoods

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph D Nyland ◽  
Eddie Bevilacqua ◽  
David A Ruff ◽  
Diane H Kiernan
Keyword(s):  
Relative Density ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Large Diameter ◽  
Small Diameter ◽  
Growth Patterns ◽  
Northern Hardwoods ◽  
Red Maple ◽  
Yellow Birch ◽  
Initial Diameter ◽  
Crown Thinning

Abstract Tree diameter growth models for northern hardwoods commonly used large data sets representing a composite of stands with varying management histories, structural characteristics, and age distributions. Yet common predictor variables like diameter can show differences in growth patterns for stands with different age structures and management histories. To address that, we modeled growth and mortality for sugar maple, red maple, and yellow birch in thinned even-aged Adirondack northern hardwoods. Findings indicate that change in diameter depends on initial diameter for sugar maple, with the rate decreasing exponentially from the largest size class to the smallest. Initial diameter did not prove significant with red maple and yellow birch in these thinned stands, perhaps because of the limited sample of trees of small diameter. Stand relative density and time since treatment affected growth for all three species. Those variables also proved significant for predicting mortality of sugar maple. Analyses revealed fewer losses of sugar and red maples among the larger diameter classes, but no relationship with diameter for yellow birch. Plot relative density did not affect mortality with red maple, but time after thinning had a significant effect on survival of all species. Study Implications Crown thinning and other methods that release upper canopy trees within even-aged stands should result in favorable postthinning growth of sugar maple, red maple, and yellow birch. Yet, the small trees of sugar maple will grow slower than larger ones after release by thinning, and small sugar and red maple have greater probability of dying. Residual stand density will temper the growth of all three species and the survival of sugar maple and yellow birch. Findings suggest that management strategies favoring removal of the large-diameter sugar maple trees of upper canopy positions from an even-aged stand (e.g., diameter-limit cutting) will result in lower rates of diameter increment within the residual stand. That should negatively affect stand dynamics and volume production and result in greater mortality among the remaining sugar and red maple. By contrast, crown thinning will enhance residual tree growth and survival, as well as stand development.

scholarly journals Long-Term Growth of Crop Trees After Release in Northern Hardwoods

1997 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 147-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
William B. Leak ◽  
Dale S. Solomon
Keyword(s):  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Response To Treatment ◽  
Red Maple ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Yellow Birch ◽  
White Ash ◽  
Paper Birch ◽  
And Control

Abstract Diameter growth of crop trees of paper birch, sugar maple, yellow birch, white ash, beech, and red maple was remeasured for 31 yr following a heavy release, light release, species removal, and control applied to an evenaged 25 yr old northern hardwood stand in New Hampshire. Under all regimes, final dbh of sampled crop trees was positively related to initial dbh. White ash showed no significant or consistent increase in final dbh in response to treatment, expressed in terms of residual basal area per acre. Paper birch, beech, and red maple had final average diameters up to about 2 in. larger due to heavy release as compared with the control. Sugar maple showed a gain of up to 1 in. in final dbh over the 3l yr period, while yellow birch showed a similar, though nonsignificant, gain. The study shows the long-term effects of release treatments, and the importance of releasing larger trees and responsive species. North J. Appl. For. 14(3):147-151.

Red maple dynamics in Appalachian hardwood stands in West Virginia

1999 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian D Tift ◽  
Mary Ann Fajvan
Keyword(s):  
West Virginia ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Acer Rubrum ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Height Growth ◽  
Growth Strategies ◽  
Red Maple ◽  
Understory Species ◽  
Partial Harvesting ◽  
The Future

The growth strategies red maple (Acer rubrum L.) used to attain current overstory canopy positions were investigated in two West Virginia Appalachian hardwood stands. In both stands, red maple comprised a small percentage of overstory basal area but was the most abundant understory species. The stands originated after a stand-replacing disturbance around 1930. During stand initiation, red maple invaded the sites for 10-15 years longer than most other species; however, all of the codominant red maples sampled were similar in age to other codominant species. Twenty-seven percent of stem-analysed codominant maples were 1-4 years older than the disturbance and may have originated as advanced reproduction. One sampled codominant maple had been overtopped for 20 years. Other codominant maples had height growth rates similar to codominant oaks (Quercus sp.). Even at advanced ages, understory maples showed increased height growth rates in response to small canopy disturbances. Red maple's understory persistence suggests that partial harvesting may release these individuals and promote greater proportions of overstory maples in the future.

The age and height structure of red maple (Acerrubrum) populations in northern Michigan bigtooth aspen (Populusgrandidentata) forests

1992 ◽  
Vol 22 (10) ◽  
pp. 1449-1462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian J. Palik ◽  
Kurt S. Pregitzer
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
Resource Availability ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Growth Increment ◽  
Height Growth ◽  
Height Increment ◽  
Red Maple ◽  
Age Cohorts ◽  
A Minor

Red maple (Acerrubrum L.) is often the most abundant later successional tree species recruiting in the understories of aspen and oak dominated forests on dry–mesic sites in eastern North America. Limited evidence suggests that this species is capable of recruiting to dominant canopy positions on these sites. Given the potential for increasing overstory importance of red maple in these forests, detailed population-level examinations are warranted. In this study we examined the age and height structures of red maple populations in a bigtooth aspen (Populusgrandidentata Michx.) dominated landscape in northern lower Michigan, United States. Stem analysis was used to examine relationships between establishment times, heights, and height growth rates for overstory and understory red maple from 20 replicate plots in five stands located within a 18-km2 area. Red maple was a minor overstory component in the forests of the study area. The understories of all stands were overwhelmingly dominated by red maple. The populations were composed of two clearly defined age cohorts. The first cohort contained mostly sprout-origin individuals that established concurrently with bigtooth aspen within a 10-year period, beginning 70 years prior to the time of sampling. Mean age of the sprout-origin red maple cohort was not significantly different among stands, nor did it differ from the mean age of bigtooth aspen. Mean height of the red maple sprout-origin cohort was not significantly different among stands. Within each stand, height growth rates of these individuals were highly variable. The variability was not related to differences in stem age. Recent height growth increment of the sprout-origin stems was weakly related to position of an individual in the overstory, suggesting that most red maple were competitively suppressed by taller bigtooth aspen. Some sprout-origin red maple in all stands did approach the dominant bigtooth aspen in height growth rate. These were likely stems that were never competitively suppressed. The second red maple cohort contained seedling-origin individuals that began establishing 30–35 years after stand initiation, immediately after culmination of height increment in dominant overstory bigtooth aspen and red maple. This suggests that increasing resource availability, as a result of declining overstory vigor and canopy closure, may be a factor triggering understory reinitiation in these even-aged forests. In general, heights of seedling-origin red maple were more dependent on stem age compared with sprout-origin individuals. However, height growth rates for similar-aged individuals within the seedling cohort were still highly variable. The tallest individuals generally had the greatest rates of recent height increment, and thus were at a competitive advantage within the understory environment, but these were not always the oldest stems. There was, in fact, a trend of increasing initial height growth rate over time for the fastest growing seedling-origin individuals, again suggesting that resource availability in the understory was increasing over the course of stand development. Red maple's overwhelming understory dominance and ability to reach dominant canopy positions in the stands examined suggests a potential for increasing overstory importance on dry–mesic sites. Life history attributes, including shade tolerance, vigorous resprouting potential, and the ability to respond with increased growth upon release, may foster the development and maintenance of a red maple dominated cover type in the Great Lakes region.

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