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Effect of gap size on mid-rotation stand structure and species composition in a naturally regenerated mixed broadleaf forest

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Abstract

This paper is an assessment of the effect of gap size on stand structure and species composition 48 years following treatment in a mixed broadleaf upland forest. Established in 1960, the study tests three circular openings, 15.2 m (0.02 ha), 45.7 m (0.16 ha), and 76.2 m (0.46 ha). Forty-eight years following treatment (2008) basal area, top height, and quadratic mean diameter were significantly lower in 15.2 m openings. Maple (Acer spp.) species had the highest mean importance value across treatments (0.40). Trends suggest that species composition of dominant and codominant trees among opening sizes may have been influenced by shade tolerance adaptations of the species groups present. Whereas 15.2 m openings were dominated by shade tolerant maple species, 45.7 and 76.2 m openings produced a mixture of commercial species including shade intolerant species such as yellow-poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera L.), trees of intermediate shade tolerance like oak (Quercus spp.), and shade tolerant maple. Data further suggest the density of overstory oak was highest in the intermediate opening size (45.7 m), while yellow-poplar increased in the larger opening sizes. Evaluation of species shifts between 1981 and 2008 showed that relative basal area of maple increased across all treatments. Relative basal areas from 45.7 to 76.2 m openings suggest declines in yellow-poplar and other non-commercial species were balanced by increases in oak and maple.

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Acknowledgments

This long-term study was made possible through considerable efforts by a large number of people. The author would like to thank Ivan Sander, Martin Dale, and other members of the USDA Forest Service, Central States Forest Experiment Station (currently the Northern Research Station) involved in establishment of the study. The author is grateful to members of the University of Kentucky Department of Forestry who made this study possible including Deborah Hill, Robert Muller, Milt Noble, Junior Marshall, Will Marshall, Millie Hamilton, Daniel Bowker, and Jeffrey Stringer. The author would also like to thank Daniel Yaussy of the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station for his assistance with historical records and data associated with the study. Special thanks are given to Matt Strong for his diligent efforts in the field.

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  1. Department of Forestry, University of Kentucky, 210 T.P. Cooper Building, Lexington, KY, 40546-0073, USA

    John M. Lhotka

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Correspondence to John M. Lhotka.

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Lhotka, J.M. Effect of gap size on mid-rotation stand structure and species composition in a naturally regenerated mixed broadleaf forest. New Forests 44, 311–325 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11056-012-9319-7

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