Documentation of red spruce growth decline

1985 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 1199-1201 ◽  
Author(s):  
James W. Hornbeck ◽  
Robert B. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
New England ◽  
Acid Deposition ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Spruce Budworm ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Annual Growth ◽  
Growth Decline

Data from a study of 3001 dominant or codominant red spruces (Picearubens Sarg.) across New England and the Adirondacks showed that their annual growth in basal area increased consistently from 1910–1920 to about 1960. It then fluctuated around a generally declining trend and by the early 1980's was 13 to 40% below its peak. Defoliation by the spruce budworm, climate change, maturation of the forest, and acid deposition are all possible explanations.

Expected decrease in diameter growth of even-aged red spruce

1987 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 266-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Anthony Federer ◽  
James W. Hornbeck
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
New England ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Diameter Growth ◽  
Radial Increment ◽  
Breast Height ◽  
Second Growth ◽  
Stand Basal Area

Weibull functions provide close least square fits to tables for stand basal area and density versus age in even-aged, second-growth red spruce as reported by W. H. Meyer (USDA Tech. Bull. No. 142. 1929). The annual mean radial and basal area increments of the trees can be calculated from the two Weibull functions. For a stand following Meyer's tables and reaching breast height in 1915, mean tree basal area increment increases steadily to a maximum in the early 1960's and then declines; mean radial increment is constant from 1925 to 1955 and then declines rapidly. This behavior matches very closely the results from 3001 red spruce increment cores in New England and New York, which suggests that forest aging is an important cause of decreasing red spruce diameter growth.

Causality in mortality patterns of spruce trees during a spruce budworm outbreak

1989 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 632-638 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akira Osawa
Keyword(s):  
Species Complex ◽  
Close Relationships ◽  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Spruce Budworm ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Hybrid Index ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Spruce Mortality

Patterns of tree mortality in the species complex of red spruce (Picearubens Sarg.), black spruce (Piceamariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) and their possible hybrids that developed during a spruce budworm (Choristoneurafumiferana (Clem.)) outbreak in Maine, U.S.A., were analyzed in relation to five hypotheses of their causal mechanisms. The observed patterns of spruce mortality were primarily a result of the phenotypic variation among the spruces. Close relationships among the mean hybrid index of spruce trees in a plot and such stand variables as balsam fir (Abiesbalsamea (L.) Mill.) basal area and drainage index are likely to have created coincidental correlations between tree mortality and those variables that do not necessarily reflect causality.

Growth decline of wind-exposed red spruce and balsam fir in the White Mountains

1986 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 232-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. C. Harrington
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Damage ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Growth Increment ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Anthropogenic Stress ◽  
White Mountains ◽  
Growth Decline ◽  
Tree Sway ◽  
High Elevations

Overstory red spruce (Picearubens Sarg.) and balsam fir (Abiesbalsamea (L.) Mill.) trees suddenly exposed to strong, turbulent winds along a ski trail cut in 1962 in New Hampshire showed growth (increment of basal area) reductions during 1974 through 1983 of 82 and 63%, respectively, compared with growth during 1954 through 1963. Growth of comparable trees on the upwind side of the ski trail did not decline during this period. Mechanical damage to crowns and roots during tree sway is proposed as the primary cause of the growth decline. Six downwind fir trees had smaller living crowns, fewer living fine roots, more abrasion wounds on woody roots, and more discoloration of root wood than did the six fir trees on the upwind side of the trail. Six downwind spruce trees had smaller living crowns and more root discoloration than did the six upwind spruce trees. Regression analyses were made using the 24 trees along the ski trail and 29 trees from two other poorly stocked and declining stands in the White Mountains. Of the site, stand, and tree parameters tested, only root and crown damage parameters significantly correlated with reductions in growth rate. For fir, percent root discoloration and percent roots abraded explained 82% of the variation in growth decline. For spruce, crown loss explained 70% of the variation. The symptomatology of these wind-stressed trees was consistent with that described for spruce–fir decline. Although acid deposition or some other anthropogenic stress has been proposed as the primary cause of spruce–fir decline, wind appears to be an overlooked but significant natural stress factor that could explain at least some of the growth decline and mortality of spruce and fir at high elevations in the northern Appalachian Mountains.

Effects of winter injury on basal area and height growth of 30-year-old red spruce from 12 provenances growing in northern New Hampshire

1990 ◽  
Vol 20 (10) ◽  
pp. 1616-1622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald C. Wilkinson
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
New England ◽  
New Hampshire ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Introgressive Hybridization ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Height Growth ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Basal Area Increment ◽  
Repeated Injury

Basal-area increment and height growth of 30-year-old red spruce (Picearubens Sarg.) from 12 rangewide provenances growing in a plantation in northern New Hampshire were measured for a 3-year period (1986 through 1988) in which severe and (or) frequent winter damage to needles occurred. Growth of uninjured trees and injured trees were compared. Basal-area increments were successively smaller for groups of trees arranged in increasing order of average needle damage as a portion of the upper crown and number of years that the trees were injured. A similar pattern was observed for height growth, but the effect of winter damage was not as great on height growth as on basal-area increment. Growth losses following winter injury, especially height growth, were much greater for trees in provenances classed as pure red spruce than for trees in provenances where introgressive hybridization with black spruce (Piceamariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) has been demonstrated. For pure red spruce populations, repeated injury in 3 successive years or a sustained average of 30% or more needle damage resulted in losses in basal-area increment and height growth of up to 59 and 30%, respectively. Basal-area growth of the most severely injured trees in New England - New York provenances was 63% less than that of uninjured trees. These results support the contention of others that winter injury could be an initiating or perpetuating factor in red spruce decline.

Growth trends in 10 species of trees in New England, 1950–1980

1988 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 1337-1340 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. W. Hornbeck ◽  
R. B. Smith ◽  
C. A. Federer
Keyword(s):  
New England ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Forest Resources ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
The Other ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
White Pine ◽  
The 1960S

Tree-ring measurements on increment cores collected from more than 5000 trees during a periodic survey of forest resources in New England indicate trends in regional basal-area increment by species for the period 1950–1980. Two species, red spruce and balsam fir, have had generally decreasing growth rates since the 1960s. Normal aging of the low-elevation, even-aged spruce–fir forest is a probable cause. Eight other species, including sugar maple, had constant or increasing growth throughout the period. White pine had considerably higher growth rates than the other species.

Tree growth decline as a response to projected climate change in the 21st century in Mediterranean mountain forests of Chile

2020 ◽  
pp. 103406
Author(s):  
Vladimir Matskovsky ◽  
Alejandro Venegas-González ◽  
René Garreaud ◽  
Fidel A. Roig ◽  
Alvaro G. Gutiérrez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Tree Growth ◽  
Mountain Forests ◽  
Growth Decline

Development patterns in two hemlock–hardwood stands in southern New England

1986 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 885-891 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Kelty
Keyword(s):  
New England ◽  
Canopy Structure ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Height Growth ◽  
Northern Red Oak ◽  
Red Maple ◽  
Clear Cutting ◽  
Southern New England ◽  
Hardwood Species ◽  
Constant Rate

Two forest stands, composed primarily of northern red oak (Quercusrubra L.), red maple (Acerrubrum L.), and eastern hemlock (Tsugacanadensis (L.) Carr.), were studied by stand-reconstruction techniques to determine the pattern of development of canopy structure. One stand had originated following clear-cutting 87 years ago; the other, following catastrophic windthrow 44 years ago. Juvenile height growth of the hardwood species was much greater than that of hemlock and a stratified canopy developed by age 30 years, with hardwoods forming an overstory canopy above hemlock. Hemlocks maintained overstory positions only if they were 3 m or more in height immediately following canopy disturbance. In the older stand, hardwood height growth was about twice that of the tallest understory hemlocks during the first 30 years. The hardwood overstory slowed after that and grew at the same rate as the tallest understory hemlocks, which maintained a constant rate of height growth, and a constant to accelerating rate of basal area growth for much of the 87-year measurement period. The height growth of the tallest understory hemlocks was apparently limited in part by breakage of terminal shoots, caused by abrasion against branches of overstory hardwood crowns.

Assessment of Biomass and Carbon Stock of planted teak forest in Terai region of Kumaun Himalaya, India

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 397-402
Author(s):  
Tanuja Gahlot ◽  
◽  
Prachi Joshi ◽  
Y.S. Rawat ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Human Disturbance ◽  
Carbon Stock ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Stand Density ◽  
Positive Contribution ◽  
Teak Plantation ◽  
Forest Division

The ability of forests in atmospheric carbon sequestration is increasingly gaining attention. Present study deals with the estimation of biomass and carbon stock of the teak plantation in the terai central forest division in Kumaun, Uttarakhand State of India. Very few scientific studies were done regarding the teak plantation and the estimation of its biomass in Kumaun. Therefore this study was carried out in this region to assess the role played by teak plantation in climate change. The information regarding the changes in pattern of carbon storage is vital and important because it can be used by government and policymakers to predict the deposit pattern for changing climate. Three sites i.e., Kamola block (Site I), Kamola beat (Site II) and East Gadappu beat (Site III) were selected for the study. Large scale variations in biomass and carbon stock were noted among all three sites. Site III (East Gadappu) showed the maximum biomass and carbon stock (297.03 tha-1 and 143.18 tha-1) followed by site I (Kamola block) (241.9 tha -1and 117.27 t ha-1) and site II ( Kamola beat ) (175.76 t ha-1and 85.79 t ha-1). Although stand density and total basal area of the forest showed almost similar value on all three sites, still the differences in biomass and carbon stock at all sites indicated the positive contribution of biodiversity as shown in the results and negative implications of human disturbance to the forest.

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