Winter Water Relations of Red Spruce on Mount Monadnock, New Hampshire

Ecology ◽  
1981 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 1155-1161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dwight T. Kincaid ◽  
Elizabeth E. Lyons
Keyword(s):  
New Hampshire ◽  
Water Relations ◽  
Red Spruce

Relationships between soil chemistry, foliar chemistry, and condition of red spruce at Mount Moosilauke, New Hampshire

1990 ◽  
Vol 20 (8) ◽  
pp. 1219-1227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas G. Huntington ◽  
David R. Peart ◽  
James Hornig ◽  
Douglas F. Ryan ◽  
Stuart Russo-Savage
Keyword(s):  
New Hampshire ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Permanent Plots ◽  
Good Growth ◽  
Foliar Chemistry ◽  
Crown Condition ◽  
Vegetation Zone ◽  
P Deficiency ◽  
Element Concentrations ◽  
Foliar Concentration

We measured soil chemical properties and red spruce (Picearubens Sarg.) foliar chemistry and crown condition in the spruce-fir vegetation zone at Mount Moosilauke, New Hampshire. Our measurements were made in or adjacent to permanent plots stratified by elevation, aspect, and soil type. Soils were analyzed for exchangeable Ca, Mg, K, and Al and extractable P and Mn. Foliage was analyzed for Ca, Mg, K, Al, P, and Mn. Based upon the best available provisional standards for red spruce foliar element sufficiency, 1-year-old needles showed a moderate P deficiency (1000–1400 mg•kg−1), Mg levels in a transitional zone from deficiency to sufficiency (600–720 mg•kg−1), and Ca and K levels in a range sufficient for good growth. Foliar element concentrations were not correlated with crown condition. Extractable soil P (kg•ha−1 and cmol ion charge•kg−1) was positively correlated with crown condition. The only significant relationships found between soil exchangeable base cations and crown condition were positive correlations for Ca and Mg (kg•ha−1) in the Oi + Oe horizon. Several factors suggest that red spruce at high elevations at Mount Moosilauke was not stressed from base cation limitations: (i) foliar element concentrations were generally in sufficient ranges, (ii) crown condition was not related to foliar element concentration, (iii) relationships between exchangeable soil cations and foliar concentration or crown condition were generally not significant or were inconsistent between soil horizons.

Chlorophyll fluorescence response of red spruce and balsam fir to a watershed calcium fertilization experiment in New Hampshire

2007 ◽  
Vol 37 (8) ◽  
pp. 1518-1522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard L. Boyce
Keyword(s):  
Chlorophyll Fluorescence ◽  
New Hampshire ◽  
Abies Balsamea ◽  
Forest Tree ◽  
Physiological Effect ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest ◽  
Forest Species ◽  
Fluorescence Measurements

Decreases in soil exchangeable calcium (Ca) due to acid deposition have been linked with declines of forest species in the northeastern United States, particularly red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.). In 2005, chlorophyll fluorescence measurements were taken on red spruce and balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) trees growing on two watersheds at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (HBEF) in New Hampshire. One watershed had been fertilized with CaSiO3 in 1999 to replace the soil Ca losses of the past 50 years, and the other was a reference watershed. In March, there were no differences in any chlorophyll fluorescence parameter between sites or species. In August, however, dark-adapted ratios of variable fluorescence to maximum fluorescence (Fv/Fm) were significantly greater (p = 0.05) in the Ca-treated watershed for both spruce and fir, and spruce values were significantly greater than fir. No differences were found in the light-adapted fluorescence parameters. These results suggest that both spruce and fir respond to increases in Ca availability, even though fir does not exhibit the decline symptoms seen in spruce. It is unclear what physiological effect is responsible for the observed differences in Fv/Fm. The Fv/Fm values appear to respond to differences in Ca availability in forest tree species; thus, the ratio has the potential to be used in these two watersheds at HBEF to determine if other forest species are also responding to Ca additions.

KORSCHELTELLUS GRACILIS (GROTE): A PEST OF RED SPRUCE AND BALSAM FIR ROOTS (LEPIDOPTERA: HEPIALIDAE)

1991 ◽  
Vol 123 (2) ◽  
pp. 255-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
David L. Wagner ◽  
Donald R. Tobi ◽  
William E. Wallner ◽  
Bruce L. Parker
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
New England ◽  
New Hampshire ◽  
Woody Plant ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Plant Tissues ◽  
Larval Feeding ◽  
Mature Trees ◽  
Below Ground

AbstractKorscheltellus gracilis (Grote) is a pest of red spruce and balsam fir roots in the forests of the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. The larvae feed below ground on woody and non-woody plant tissues for 2 years before maturing. It was found at 18 localities across New England and Nova Scotia during the summers of 1987 and 1988. On Whiteface Mt., New York, and Mt. Moosilauke, New Hampshire, larvae were absent to uncommon at low (500 m) and high (1300 m) altitudes, but common to abundant in red spruce – balsam fir associations at 700, 900, and 1100 m. During September 1987, larval populations were estimated at 56 000 and 312 000 per hectare in soils at 900 m on Whiteface and Moosilauke, respectively. Dense populations occurred locally, e.g. 27 larvae were recovered from a single 0.25-m2 soil pit at 900 m on Moosilauke. By June 1988, larval numbers on Whiteface and Moosilauke had declined by 51% and 72%, respectively. Seedlings and mature trees of both spruce and fir were damaged by larval feeding on bark and cambium. Seedlings were girdled; mature trees had wounds paralleling the root axes.

Winter injury to subalpine red spruce: influence of prior vigor and effects on subsequent growth

1992 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 888-892 ◽  
Author(s):  
David R. Peart ◽  
Nathan J. Poage ◽  
Matthew B. Jones
Keyword(s):  
New Hampshire ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Subsequent Growth ◽  
Crown Condition ◽  
Severity Of Injury ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Injury Event ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Weak Tendency

We assessed the relationship between prior vigor and severity of winter injury to trees and saplings of red spruce (Picearubens Sarg.) at Mount Moosilauke, New Hampshire. Severity of injury was quantified as percent foliar damage on current-year needles after severe injury in the winter of 1988–1989. There was no relationship between severity of injury and prior crown condition. There was only a weak tendency for trees with high live crown ratios to be less damaged than trees with proportionally smaller crowns. Severity of winter injury was not correlated with prior growth rates in the 1-, 2-, or 5-year periods preceding injury, for either trees (radial growth) or saplings (extension growth). However, crown condition of trees and saplings deteriorated significantly following injury. For both trees and saplings, prior growth and subsequent growth were positively correlated for the 1- and 2-year periods before and after the winter injury event. Effects of winter injury on growth in 1989 and 1990 were analyzed using growth ratios (subsequent growth relative to prior growth) to avoid ambiguity resulting from individual differences in growth rates. Severity of winter injury had no effect on growth ratios in the 1- or 2-year periods following winter injury. Although no effects on growth were detected following a single winter injury event, it remains plausible that successive, severe episodes of winter injury could reduce growth and increase mortality risk in red spruce.

Root movement and root damage of red spruce and balsam fir on subalpine sites in the White Mountains, New Hampshire

1988 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 991-1001 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. M. Rizzo ◽  
T. C. Harrington
Keyword(s):  
Growth Rate ◽  
New Hampshire ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Root Damage ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
White Mountains ◽  
Wind Exposure ◽  
Crown Dieback ◽  
Root Movement

Crown dieback and mortality of red spruce and balsam fir in the subalpine zone of the northern Appalachian Mountains have been attributed to wind-induced crown and root damage. Vertical root movements, damage to roots and crowns, and growth rate were measured on wind-exposed spruce and fir trees near canopy gaps at Kancamagus Pass (875 m elevation) and Wildcat Mountain (1160 m) in the White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire. Root movements were significantly correlated with windspeed, crown exposure, and depth of soil to rock. Woody roots that had made movements in excess of 10 mm had fewer small (1–3 mm diameter) roots, more abrasion wounds, and a greater amount of nonconducting (dry or discolored) xylem than roots that had made smaller movements. Hydraulic conductivity was significantly reduced in roots with greater than 40% xylem cross-sectional area that was nonconducting. Spruce and fir trees at gap margins grew slower and had more root and crown damage than trees sheltered within the canopy. Decreases in growth rate of spruce and fir trees at both sites during the past 20 years were significantly correlated with wind exposure and some of the root and crown damage variables.

Potential hazard rating system for fir stands infested with budworm using cambial electrical resistance

1980 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 541-544 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weston Davis ◽  
Walter Shortle ◽  
Alex Shigo
Keyword(s):  
New Hampshire ◽  
Electrical Resistance ◽  
Spruce Budworm ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Rating System ◽  
Diameter Growth ◽  
Potential Hazard ◽  
Index Value ◽  
Hazard Rating

Cambial electrical resistance (CER) of more than 10 000 trees, predominantly balsam fir (Abiesbalsamea) and red spruce (Picearubens) was measured in 90 stands in northern Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, U.S.A. CER index values (mean CER, kiloohms per stand) ranged from 9 to 13 for fir in nonoutbreak situations, and 9 to 18 in outbreak situations with moderate to heavy budworm infestation, whereas values for red spruce remained essentially constant at 7 to 13 in both situations. Balsam fir trees in stands with an index value of 9 grew almost three times faster (diameter growth) than in stands with an index value of 13. An increase of index values from 13 to 18 in outbreak situations indicated no further reduction in growth, but may indicate impending mortality of trees with lower vitality. Such index values may be useful in developing a hazard rating system for fir stands infected with spruce budworm.

Winter injury to red spruce at Mount Moosilauke, New Hampshire

1991 ◽  
Vol 21 (9) ◽  
pp. 1380-1389 ◽  
Author(s):  
David R. Peart ◽  
Matthew B. Jones ◽  
Peter A. Palmiotto
Keyword(s):  
New Hampshire ◽  
Freezing Tolerance ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Bud Break ◽  
The Sun ◽  
Foliar Injury ◽  
Weak Tendency

We report the severity and detailed spatial patterns of winter injury to red spruce (Picearubens Sarg.) in the winter of 1988–1989 and assess support for the desiccation and freezing hypotheses. Foliar injury was quantified at three elevations (840, 990, and 1140 m) and on east- and west-facing slopes in the spruce-fir zone at Mount Moosilauke, New Hampshire. Overall, 29% of current-year foliage on red spruce trees was killed by winter injury. Injury increased with elevation. There was a weak tendency for winter injury to be higher on the sun-exposed south sides of crowns, but substantial injury also occurred on shaded foliage. Injury increased markedly with height in crown at high elevation, but decreased with height at low elevation. The results appear inconsistent with desiccation as the main cause of winter injury. Elevational trends in foliar injury are consistent with the freezing hypothesis, but the strong trends in foliar injury by height within trees cannot be fully explained without further data on spatial variation in microclimate and freezing tolerance. Failure to break bud was assessed on the same spatial scales as foliar injury. Bud break was least in trees and crown sections with severe foliar injury. No evidence for winter injury was found on balsam fir (Abiesbalsamea (L.) Mill.). The results support the hypothesis that winter injury may contribute to the current decline of red spruce in the northern Appalachians.

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