Nutrient concentration and acid–base status of leaf litter of tree species characteristic of the hardwood forest of southern Quebec

1994 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 192-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benoît Côté ◽  
James W. Fyles

Leaf litter of 15 tree species characteristic of the deciduous and mixed forest of southern Quebec were analyzed for pH, directly titrable acids and bases in water extracts, ash bases, excess bases, excess ash bases, and for levels of N, P, K, Ca, and Mg. We hypothesized that many tree species typical of the climax of sugar maple (Acersaccharum Marsh.) dominated forest have leaf litter with a higher base status than sugar maple and red maple (Acerrubrum L.) leaf litter, and that the base status of leaf litter would be lower on wet sites. Mean differences among species were highly significant (p < 0.0001) for all variables related to acidity or bases, but the effect of drainage was not. Red and sugar maple leaf litter was very acid and low in N concentration. American beech (Fagusgrandifolia Ehrh.) and red oak (Quercusrubra L.) leaf litter was not very acidic but was low in nutrient concentrations. White pine (Pinusstrobus L.) was lowest in all nutrients and ash bases but was low in titrable acidity. Directly titrable bases in leaf litter extracts were correlated positively with leaf litter N and Mg, and ash bases were positively correlated with leaf litter Ca and Mg. Many species typical of the sugar maple climax may have better soil ameliorating potential than sugar and red maple.

1990 ◽  
Vol 20 (9) ◽  
pp. 1479-1484 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. A. Bazzaz ◽  
J. S. Coleman ◽  
S. R. Morse

We examined how elevated CO2 affected the growth of seven co-occurring tree species: American beech (Fagusgrandifolia Ehrh.), paper birch (Betulapapyrifera Marsh.), black cherry (Prunusserotina Ehrh.), white pine (Pinusstrobus L.), red maple (Acerrubrum L.), sugar maple (Acersaccharum Marsh.), and eastern hemlock (Tsugacanadensis (L.) Carr). We also tested whether the degree of shade tolerance of species and the age of seedlings affected plant responses to enhanced CO2 levels. Seedlings that were at least 1 year old, for all species except beech, were removed while dormant from Harvard Forest, Petersham, Massachusetts. Seeds of red maple and paper birch were obtained from parent trees at Harvard Forest, and seeds of American beech were obtained from a population of beeches in Nova Scotia. Seedlings and transplants were grown in one of four plant growth chambers for 60 d (beech, paper birch, red maple, black cherry) or 100 d (white pine, hemlock, sugar maple) under CO2 levels of 400 or 700 μL•L−1. Plants were then harvested for biomass and growth determinations. The results showed that the biomass of beech, paper birch, black cherry, sugar maple, and hemlock significantly increased in elevated CO2, but the biomass of red maple and white pine only marginally increased in these conditions. Furthermore, there were large differences in the magnitude of growth enhancement by increased levels of CO2 between species, so it seems reasonable to predict that one consequence of rising levels of CO2 may be to increase the competitive ability of some species relative to others. Additionally, the three species exhibiting the largest increase in growth with increased CO2 concentrations were the shade-tolerant species (i.e., beech, sugar maple, and hemlock). Thus, elevated CO2 levels may enhance the growth of relatively shade-tolerant forest trees to a greater extent than growth of shade-intolerant trees, at least under the light and nutrient conditions of this experiment. We found no evidence to suggest that the age of tree seedlings greatly affected their response to elevated CO2 concentrations.


1995 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 115-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
David B. Kittredge ◽  
P. Mark S. Ashton

Abstract Browsing preferences by white-tailed deer were evaluated for 6 tree species in northeastern Connecticut. Deer density averaged 23/mile². Deer exhibited no species-specific preferences for seedlings greater than 19 in. For seedlings less than 19 in., hemlock and black birch were preferred. Red maple, sugar maple, and white pine seedlings were avoided. Red oak seedlings were neither preferred nor avoided. A much higher proportion of seedlings greater than 19.7 in. in height was browsed, regardless of species. Browsing preferences for species in the smaller seedling class, combined with a lack of preference for species in the larger class may result in future stands with less diverse tree species composition. Deer densities in excess of 23/mile² may be incompatible with regeneration of diverse forests in southern New England. North. J. Appl. For. 12(3):115-120.


2013 ◽  
Vol 43 (6) ◽  
pp. 517-527 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Baah-Acheamfour ◽  
Charles P.-A. Bourque ◽  
Fan-Rui Meng ◽  
D. Edwin Swift

Forestland classification is central to the sustainable management of forests. In this paper, we explore the possibility of classifying forestland from species–habitat–suitability indices and a hybrid classification of modeled data. Raster-based calculations of species–habitat–suitability were derived as a function of landscape-level descriptions of incident photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), soil water content (SWC), and growing degree-days (GDD) for southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. PAR and SWC were both generated with the LanDSET model and GDD from thermal data captured with the space-borne MODIS sensor. We compared the distribution of predicted forestland types with the natural range of target species as found in the provincial permanent sample plots (PSPs). Reasonable agreement (≥50% accuracy) existed between some forestland types (e.g., red maple – white birch – red oak and balsam fir – red maple) and PSP-based assessments of species presence–absence. Agreement was noticeably lower for other forestland types, such as sugar maple – beech – yellow birch (<50% accuracy). This discrepancy is attributed to forest-forming factors not directly addressed by the model, e.g., forest succession, stand interventions, and disturbance. Their addition in the model could change the dynamics of tree-species preference in southwest Nova Scotia and is worth examining. True model inaccuracies accounted for about 0.3%–15.0% of the total reported error.


1988 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. 1652-1655 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Bernier ◽  
M. Brazeau

In mid-June 1985, visual symptoms of boron deficiency were observed on the seedlings of several tree species in the understory of the deciduous forest of the Quebec Appalachians and the St. Lawrence Lowlands. Symptoms observed on sugar maple (Acersaccharum Marsh.) and red maple (Acerrubrum L.) are described and illustrated. Although symptoms were most abundant in stands on sandy soils, they were present throughout a vast area. Symptoms were most developed on fast-growing regeneration, while on overstory trees they were seen in only one of the nine sites visited. This temporary boron deficiency is thought to be related to the low temperatures that prevailed during the 2nd week of June 1985, together with the heavy rainfall in the first 2 weeks of that month.


1984 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 914-923 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Hix ◽  
Burton V. Barnes

The effects of clear-cutting on the vegetation and soil of an ecosystem dominated by eastern hemlock (Tsugacanadensis (L.) Carr.) were studied at four locations along the boundaries of the Sylvania Recreation Area (Ottawa National Forest) in western Upper Michigan, U.S.A. The position of commercially clear-cut areas along the boundaries of the relatively undisturbed 8500-ha tract provided the opportunity to examine the probable effects of clear-cutting after an average of 46 years afterward. Clear-cutting resulted in the virtual elimination of hemlock from the overstory; it was replaced by a mixed forest of red maple (Acerrubrum L.), yellow birch (Betulaalleghaniensis Britt.), sugar maple (Acersaccharum Marsh.), and balsam fir (Abiesbalsamea L.). The ecological species groups characteristic of the ground cover of the uncut plots were not substantially different from the groups now present on the clear-cut plots. The thickness, mass, and nutrient (K+, Mg2+, Ca2+) contents of the forest floor decreased significantly, and the acidity and nutrient contents of the upper mineral soil increased slightly. The replacement of hemlock by hardwoods has slowly decreased the acidity and apparently increased the rate of nutrient cycling. It appears that without major disturbance, such as fire, hemlock is not likely to regain dominance following clear-cutting owing to failure to regenerate naturally.


2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 157-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. Fast ◽  
Mark J. Ducey

Abstract Height-diameter equations are important in modeling forest structure and yield. Twenty-seven height-diameter equations were evaluated for eight tree species occurring in the northern hardwood forest of New Hampshire using permanent plot data from the Bartlett Experimental Forest. Selected models with associated coefficients are presented for American beech, eastern hemlock, paper birch, red maple, red spruce, sugar maple, white ash, yellow birch, and all 16 species combined.


1996 ◽  
Vol 26 (9) ◽  
pp. 1521-1530 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.D. Canham ◽  
A.R. Berkowitz ◽  
V.R. Kelly ◽  
G.M. Lovett ◽  
S.V. Ollinger ◽  
...  

We conducted a greenhouse experiment to determine how differences among tree species in allocation of biomass to roots versus shoots affected their responses to different combinations of light, water, and soil nutrients. Across a full range of light levels, we were specifically interested in examining the sensitivity of tree seedlings to additional reductions in aboveground growth due to soil resource limitation, and the relative sensitivity of seedlings to water versus nutrient stress under different light regimes. The four tree species used in our experiment included two species that are the most common initial tree invaders of abandoned agricultural lands (old fields) in the Hudson Valley (red maple (Acerrubrum L.) and white pine (Pinusstrobus L.)) and two species that are less frequently found in old fields, but that are dominant forest species, and are noted for their tolerance of either light stress or water stress (sugar maple (Acersaccharum Marsh.) and red oak (Quercusrubra L.), respectively). At the lowest light levels (2% of full sun), there was no effect of variation in soil resource availability on shoot growth of any of the four species. At the 9% full sun light level, red maple seedlings showed clear evidence of simultaneous limitation by light, water, and nitrogen. At higher light levels (20–100% of full sun), all four species responded to variation in at least one of the two soil resources. The four species showed two contrasting patterns of allocation of biomass to roots. Red maple and white pine responded to an increase in soil resource availability by reducing relative allocation to roots and increasing aboveground growth. Sugar maple and red oak had much more conservative root allocation patterns: root allocation was high (58–75% of added biomass allocated to roots) and did not vary in response to soil resource availability. Allocation to roots was affected more strongly by variation in soil nitrogen availability than it was by soil moisture availability.


2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (7) ◽  
pp. 875-882 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.A. Arthur ◽  
K.C. Weathers ◽  
G.M. Lovett ◽  
M.P. Weand ◽  
W.C. Eddy

Beech bark disease (BBD) has demonstrable ecosystem consequences for eastern US forests stemming from American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) mortality, often leading to increased dominance by its competitor, sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.). We hypothesized that this BBD-induced shift in tree species composition leads to changes in soil acid–base chemistry, mediated through differences in leaf litter chemistry of the two species. Using a sequence of plots representing the progression of the disease in the Catskill Mountains, NY, USA, we examined the influence of tree species composition shift on soil chemistry. The BBD impact on tree species composition was confounded by variability in substrate (or nonexchangeable soil) calcium (Ca). While substrate Ca explained much of the variation in acid–base chemistry, increasing BBD was associated with increasing forest floor exchangeable Ca, sum of base cations, base saturation, cation-exchange capacity, and decreasing hydrogen. An apparent threshold effect of substrate Ca on sugar maple litter Ca concentration suggests that underlying soil Ca availability may contribute to the spatial extent and timeframe of BBD-induced shifts in species composition. The species compositional shift is a mechanism contributing to a vegetation effect on soil acid–base status and may partially counteract soil acidification in this acid deposition impacted region.


2003 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 789-803 ◽  
Author(s):  
B Lauriol ◽  
E Deschamps ◽  
L Carrier ◽  
W Grimm ◽  
R Morlan ◽  
...  

A rich sedimentary deposit reaches a depth of more than 4 m in a cave located on the Eardley Escarpment in the Gatineau Park. Analysis shows that the infilling started during the last Ice Age. Following the deglaciation and the Champlain Sea retreat, terrestrial sedimentation began. Radiocarbon dating of wood charcoal indicates that around 9200 ± 110 years BP trees and shrubs were starting to grow on the Eardley Escarpment. A fauna, with boreal affinity, including the Ungava collared lemming (Dicrostonyx hudsonius), was living in vegetation dominated by jack pine. After 8170 ± 60 years BP, the boreal forest was replaced by a mixed forest dominated by white pine, oak, and red maple. The faunal assemblage was enriched at that time by woodland vole (Microtus pinetorum) and Strobilops aenea, a terrestrial mollusk. These two species are presently living in the Carolinian Life Zone south of the Great Lakes. By around 5742 ± 120 years BP these two species had left the site, and the modern fauna was established with mammals, such as the black bear and the white-tailed deer. Holocene infilling of the cave was gravity driven and unassisted, except for an episode just before 8170 ± 60 years BP when a sand layer was deposited by water coming from the surface.


Plant Disease ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 93 (11) ◽  
pp. 1158-1162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark J. Schall ◽  
Donald D. Davis

Verticillium albo-atrum causes unprecedented wilt and mortality of the invasive tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima) within forests of south-central Pennsylvania. Stem inoculation of potted Ailanthus seedlings in the greenhouse and canopy Ailanthus trees in the field with V. albo-atrum resulted in 100% mortality. Stem inoculation of understory striped maple saplings in the field also resulted in 100% mortality. However, the high susceptibility of striped maple was not observed in naturally infected stands, where only 1% of striped maple saplings exhibited Verticillium wilt. Inoculation of chestnut oak, northern red oak, red maple, sugar maple, white ash, and yellow-poplar seedlings or canopy trees with V. albo-atrum did not induce wilt symptoms. Non-Ailanthus tree species growing adjacent to dead and dying Ailanthus trees in the field were asymptomatic. Pending further studies, V. albo-atrum should be considered as a potential biocontrol agent for invasive Ailanthus.


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