scholarly journals Soil and Tree Nutrient Status of High Elevation Mixed Red Spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) and Broadleaf Deciduous Forests

Soil Systems ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip M. Crim ◽  
Louis M. McDonald ◽  
Jonathan R. Cumming
Keyword(s):  
Tree Species ◽  
The United States ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
N Deposition ◽  
Picea Rubens ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Betula Alleghaniensis ◽  
Industrial Emissions ◽  
Mixed Stands ◽  
Soil Fractions

Anthropogenic and industrial emissions have resulted in historically high levels of acidic deposition into central Appalachian forests. Despite the reduction in acidic inputs due to legislation curbing industrial emissions in the United States, continued N deposition may impact forest ecosystems. Soil and foliar samples were collected from four high elevation red spruce sites along a modeled gradient of historic N deposition. The three most abundant tree species at all sites, Acer rubrum L., Betula alleghaniensis Britt., and Picea rubens Sarg., were sampled. Bulk soil beneath the canopies of individual trees were collected from the top 15-cm and separated into organic and mineral fractions for analysis. Mehlich-III soil extracts of soil fractions and foliar digests from these trees were subjected to elemental analysis. Soil N concentrations supported the presence of a N deposition gradient: in organic horizon soil fractions, N concentrations were driven by precipitation volume and elevation; whereas in mineral soil fractions, N concentration was explained by modeled N deposition rate and elevation. In organic fractions, significant reductions in Ca, K, and P were evident as N deposition increased, whereas the Ca:Sr ratio increased. Foliar Ca, K, and Sr declined in foliage with increasing N deposition, with concomitant increases in foliar Ca:Sr ratios. Although the three species were sympatric in mixed stands at all four sites, the foliar–soil nutrient associations differed among them across the gradient, indicating differential uptake and cycling of nutrients/metals by these forest tree species.

scholarly journals Extracellular Soil Enzyme Activities in High-Elevation Mixed Red Spruce Forests in Central Appalachia, U.S.A.

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 468
Author(s):  
Philip M. Crim ◽  
Jonathan R. Cumming
Keyword(s):  
Tree Species ◽  
The United States ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
N Deposition ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Organic Fraction ◽  
Spruce Forests ◽  
Mineral Fraction ◽  
Central Appalachia ◽  
Organic Fractions

Anthropogenic emissions have impacted terrestrial forest ecosystem processes in North America since the industrial revolution. With the passage of the Clean Air Act in 1970 in the United States, atmospheric inputs of nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) into forests in the Appalachian Mountains have declined, which have, potentially, mitigated their effects on processes such as decomposition and nutrient cycling. Activities of microbial extracellular soil enzymes (ESEs) mediate many rate-limiting nutrient transformations in forest soils and play important roles in the decomposition of complex organic compounds. Soils in high-elevation red spruce forests are characterized by low pH and high carbon (C):N ratios and, having historically received extremely high levels of N deposition, may exhibit legacy impacts of deposition on nutrient availability and decomposition. We utilized four sites along a modeled gradient of N deposition in central Appalachia to assess contemporary ESEs in bulk soil under Acer rubrum L., Betula alleghaniensis Britt., and Picea rubens Sarg. in May, June, and July 2016. Increasing N deposition led to increases in organic fraction C and N and decreases in phosphorus (P). Sites receiving higher N also exhibited greater mineral fraction C, N, and P. ESEs were highest in organic fractions with acid phosphatases (AP) exhibiting the highest activity. There was little influence of N deposition on organic fraction ESEs, but strong evidence for a positive relationship between N deposition and activities of AP, β-glucosidases (BG), and chitinase (NAG) in mineral fractions. Species effects on ESEs were present with high AP in organic fractions under spruce and high mineral fraction fungal laccase (LAC) under birch. The sampling season demonstrated little effect on ESEs. ESEs were more strongly influenced by plot-level factors, such as tree species diversity and abundance of ectomycorrhizal (ECM) tree species, than temporal or soil factors or nutrient status related to modeled cumulative N deposition across these sites. Decreases in AP, BG, and NAG activities with greater abundance of broadleaf deciduous species and increases in activities with ECM host abundance indicate that microbial communities driven by these plant functional groups are responsible for the differences in ESEs observed in these high-elevation mixed red spruce stands.

scholarly journals Étude rétrospective de l'accroissement en diamètre du sapin baumier (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) et de l'épinette rouge (Picea rubens Sarg.) en peuplements mixtes après une coupe a diamètre limite

2005 ◽  
Vol 81 (6) ◽  
pp. 791-800 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathieu Fortin
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Model ◽  
Abies Balsamea ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Picea Rubens ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Diameter Growth ◽  
Significant Variable ◽  
Mixed Stands ◽  
Harvesting Time

Diameter growth at breast height of 341 balsam fir and red spruce stems has been reproduced over a time lapse of 50 years following a diameter limit cutting. The available information has been analyzed with a statistical model in which the effects of time, species (two levels), ecological type (three levels) and diameter at harvesting have been tested. Results indicate that balsam fir saplings have higher diameter growths than red spruce saplings, but only in the case of better ecological types. The differences between both species are smaller for stems having a merchantable diameter (dbh > 9.0 cm) at harvesting time. On poor ecological station, red spruce diameter growth is more important than for balsam fir and this, whatever the diameter at harvesting time. On the other hand, as indicated by this analysis, stem diameter at the time of silvicultural treatment constitutes a significant variable in the prediction of diameter growth for red spruce stems, while the effect of this variable is less identifiable for balsam fir. Even if significant, the growth differences between the two species are small. The competition created by the balsam fir regeneration on red spruce saplings is definitely not the cause of the depletion of red spruce in second growth stands.. Key words: red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.), balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.), diameter growth, partial cut, mixed stands, linear model, mixed model

Évolution de la structure diamétrale et de la composition des peuplements mixtes de sapin baumier et d'épinette rouge de la forêt primitive après une coupe à diamètre limite sur l'Aire d'observation de la rivière Ouareau

2003 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 691-704 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathieu Fortin ◽  
Jean Bégin ◽  
Louis Bélanger
Keyword(s):  
Large Diameter ◽  
Group Analysis ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Permanent Plots ◽  
Betula Alleghaniensis ◽  
Mixed Stands ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Old Growth Forest ◽  
Diameter Structure

Using data from 41 plots, the diameter structure and composition of old-growth mixed stands composed mainly of balsam fir (Abies basalmea (L.) Mill.) and red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) were characterized. The stand table was organized in five groups of diameter classes, and we characterized the basal area of four tree species in each group. Analysis showed that diameter structure tends toward a reverse J-shaped curve. Red spruce and yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britt.) were more abundant among large diameter trees while balsam fir was more abundant among saplings. A comparison with 18 permanent plots from a diameter-limit cutting showed that plots had come back to a structure similar to that of the old-growth forest 47 years after cutting. However, spruce ratios had decreased while those of balsam fir and paper birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.) had increased. Red spruce decrease is not due to a lack of regeneration but to overcutting. Single-tree selection method would be a suitable treatment if aimed at protecting red spruce trees up to a given diameter.

scholarly journals Variation in overstory nitrogen uptake in a small, high-elevation southern Appalachian spruce-fir watershed

2002 ◽  
Vol 32 (10) ◽  
pp. 1741-1752 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Barker ◽  
H Van Miegroet ◽  
N S Nicholas ◽  
I F Creed
Keyword(s):  
Stand Structure ◽  
N Uptake ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
N Deposition ◽  
Root Turnover ◽  
Betula Alleghaniensis ◽  
Atmospheric N Deposition ◽  
Great Smoky Mountains ◽  
Smoky Mountains ◽  
Balsam Woolly Adelgid

High-elevation red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) – Fraser fir (Abies fraseri (Pursh) Poir.) forests of the southern Appalachians exhibit considerable spatial heterogeneity in structure, and possibly in N uptake, because of a combination of natural disturbances and heavy fir mortality caused by infestations of the exotic balsam woolly adelgid (Adelges piceae Ratz). The objectives of this study are to determine spatial variability in tree N uptake in a small high-elevation catchment in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, compare outcomes among calculation methods, and assess the influence of stand and landscape properties on N uptake. Tree N uptake is estimated for fifty 20 × 20 m plots in the Noland Divide Watershed (NDW). Components considered in the calculations are stem growth, foliage increment, and mortality of spruce, fir, and yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britt.) from 1993 and 1998 stand inventories; throughfall N flux measured in summers 1998 and 1999; litterfall N return for 1 year in a subset of 12 plots; tissue N analyses; and atmospheric N deposition and root turnover estimates from the literature. Overstory N uptake varies spatially within NDW, with a CV of 9–41% depending on the calculation method. Variability among methods is even higher, with an almost 15-fold difference between the smallest and largest average overstory uptake estimate (5 vs. 74 kg·ha–1·year–1). Only 5 and 3 kg·ha–1·year–1 of N is sequestered in wood and foliar increment, respectively, while 36 kg·ha–1 of N returns annually as aboveground litterfall. Uptake and its components are correlated with measures of stand structure but not with elevation or aspect.

Interspecific variation in susceptibility to windthrow as a function of tree size and storm severity for northern temperate tree species

2001 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles D Canham ◽  
Michael J Papaik ◽  
Erika F Latty
Keyword(s):  
Tree Species ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Interspecific Variation ◽  
Tree Size ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Lower Probability ◽  
Betula Alleghaniensis ◽  
Yellow Birch ◽  
Old Growth

Studies of wind disturbance regimes have been hampered by the lack of methods to quantify variation in both storm severity and the responses of tree species to winds of varying intensity. In this paper, we report the development of a new, empirical method of simultaneously estimating both local storm severity and the parameters of functions that define species-specific variation in susceptibility to windthrow as a function of storm severity and tree size. We test the method using data collected following a storm that struck the western Adirondack Mountains of New York in 1995. For intermediate-sized stems (e.g., 40 cm DBH), black cherry (Prunus serotina Ehrh.) and red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) showed the highest rates of windthrow across virtually all levels of storm severity, while yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britt.) and sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) had the lowest rates of windthrow. For much of the range of storm severity, the probability of windthrow for the most susceptible species was at least twice as high as for the least susceptible species. Three of the species, yellow birch, red spruce, and beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.), had significantly lower probability of windthrow at a given storm severity in old-growth stands than in second-growth stands. Our results suggest that the distinctive abundance of these three species in old-growth forests of the Adirondacks is due, at least in part, to their ability to survive the intermediate-scale disturbance events that appear to dominate the natural disturbance regime in this region.

Substrate type and the distribution of sugar maple at its elevational limit in the White Mountains, New Hampshire

1998 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 494-498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason D Demers ◽  
Thomas D Lee ◽  
James P Barrett
Keyword(s):  
New Hampshire ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Abies Balsamea ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Betula Alleghaniensis ◽  
Range Limit ◽  
Substrate Type ◽  
Yellow Birch

The relationships between tree species distribution and substrate characteristics were examined at the upper elevational limit of sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) in the White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire. Four tree species were studied: sugar maple, balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.), red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.), and yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britton). At 51 individual trees (>=2.5 cm diameter at breast height) of each species, "substrate type" was described based on the parent material, soil horizons, depth and texture of the B and C horizons, nature of surface boulders, and the depth to and type of impermeable layer. Substrate type was significantly (p < 0.001) associated with tree species. Sugar maple was relatively more frequent on deep fine and compact tills, less frequent on washed or shallow till, and absent on shallow, organic, or grus (weathered granite) substrates. Red spruce, balsam fir, and yellow birch were less sensitive to substrate type. Red spruce and yellow birch were most frequent on organic material or grus over rock. Balsam fir most frequently occurred on washed till. As the frequency of substrates favorable to sugar maple declined with elevation, it is possible that the upper elevational range limit of this species is influenced by substrate availability.

scholarly journals Comparative growth trends of five northern hardwood and montane tree species reveal divergent trajectories and response to climate

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 743-754 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra M. Kosiba ◽  
Paul G. Schaberg ◽  
Shelly A. Rayback ◽  
Gary J. Hawley
Keyword(s):  
Tree Species ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Abies Balsamea ◽  
Acer Rubrum ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Heat Index ◽  
Betula Alleghaniensis ◽  
Red Maple ◽  
Yellow Birch

In the northeastern United States, tree declines associated with acid deposition induced calcium depletion have been documented, notably for red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) and sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.). There is conflicting evidence concerning whether co-occurring tree species capitalized on these declines or suffered similar growth reductions and on how growth has fluctuated relative to environmental variables. We examined five species along three elevational transects on Mt. Mansfield, Vermont: sugar maple, red spruce, red maple (Acer rubrum L.), yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britton), and balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.). We found baseline differences in growth. Red maple and yellow birch had the highest growth, sugar maple and red spruce had intermediate growth, and balsam fir had the lowest growth. While some year-to-year declines were associated with specific stress events, protracted patterns such as recent increases in red spruce and red maple growth were correlated with increased temperature and cooling degree days (heat index). For most species and elevations, there was a positive association between temperature and growth but a negative association with growth in the following year. Based on our comparisons, for some species, growth at Mt. Mansfield aligns with regional trends and suggests that patterns assessed here may be indicative of the broader region.

Phenotypic Variation in Climate-Associated Traits of Red Spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) along Elevation Gradients in the Southern Appalachian Mountains

Castanea ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 128
Author(s):  
John R. Butnor ◽  
Brittany M. Verrico ◽  
Kurt H. Johnsen ◽  
Christopher A. Maier ◽  
Victor Vankus ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phenotypic Variation ◽  
Appalachian Mountains ◽  
Picea Rubens ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Elevation Gradients ◽  
Southern Appalachian Mountains ◽  
Southern Appalachian

Contribution to the automation of the calculations involving the forest inventory with the aid of an office computer

1970 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Goossens
Keyword(s):  
Tree Species ◽  
Forest Inventory ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Annual Increment ◽  
Mixed Stands ◽  
Mean Values ◽  
Standing Trees ◽  
General Program ◽  
Magnetic Card ◽  
The Right

Contribution to the automation of the calculations involving  the forest inventory with the aid of an office computer - In this contribution an attempt was made to perform the  calculations involving the forest inventory by means of an office computer  Olivetti P203.     The general program (flowchart 1), identical for all tree species except  for the values of the different parameters, occupies the tracks A and B of a  magnetic card used with this computer. For each tree species one magnetic  card is required, while some supplementary cards are used for the  subroutines. The first subroutine (flowchart 1) enables us to preserve  temporarily the subtotals between two tree species (mixed stands) and so  called special or stand cards (SC). After the last tree species the totals  per ha are calculated and printed on the former, the average trees occuring  on the line below. Appendix 1 gives an example of a similar form resulting  from calculations involving a sampling in a mixed stand consisting of Oak  (code 11), Red oak (code 12), Japanese larch (code 24) and Beech (code 13).  On this form we find from the left to the right: the diameter class (m), the  number of trees per ha, the basal area (m2/ha), the current annual increment  of the basal area (m2/year/ha), current annual volume increment (m3/year/ha),  the volume (m3/ha) and the money value of the standing trees (Bfr/ha). On the  line before the last, the totals of the quantities mentioned above and of all  the tree species together are to be found. The last line gives a survey of  the average values dg, g, ig, ig, v and w.     Besides this form each stand or plot has a so-called 'stand card SC' on  wich the totals cited above as well as the area of the stand or the plot and  its code are stored. Similar 'stand card' may replace in many cases  completely the classical index cards; moreover they have the advantage that  the data can be entered directly into the computer so that further  calculations, classifications or tabling can be carried out by means of an  appropriate program or subroutine. The subroutine 2 (flowchart 2) illustrates  the use of similar cards for a series of stands or eventually a complete  forest, the real values of the different quantities above are calculated and  tabled (taking into account the area). At the same time the general totals  and the general mean values per ha, as well as the average trees are  calculated and printed. Appendix 2 represents a form resulting from such  calculations by means of subroutine 2.

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