Abstract
Eighteen black spruce (Picea mariana) stands, representing postfire ages of 26 to 120 yr, were surveyed for understorey vegetation and site/microsite characteristics at two spatial scales. This enabled comparison of within- versus among-stand compositional variation.
Detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) ordination among the 18 stands revealed a complex age/moisture gradient. DCA ordination among 1 800 quadrats within the stands indicated a similar gradient with much compositional overlap. Quadrats were grouped, using two-way indicator species analysis (TWINSPAN), into 9 classes each representing a phase in understorey vegetation composition. These phases shifted in abundance from young to old stands with a high degree of concordance among replicates in the same age class. Understorey succession is strongly linked to the stages in tree growth, mortality and thinning coupled with the accumulation of site moisture.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- DCA:
-
Detrended Corrospondence Analysis
References
Baldwin, L. 1958. Plants of the Clay Belt of northern Ontario and Quebec. Nat. Mus. Canada Bull. 156.
Black, R. A. & Bliss, L.C. 1978. Recovery sequence of Picea mariana — Vaccinium uliginosum forests after burning near Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada. Can. J. Bot. 56: 2020–2030.
Boissoneau, A. N. 1966. Glacial history of northern Ontario. I. The Cochrane-Hearst area. Can. J. Earth Sci. 3: 537–578.
Carleton, T. J. 1979. Floristic variation and zonation of boreal forests south of James Bay: A cluster-seeking approach. Vegetatio 39: 147–160.
Carleton, T. J. & Maycock, P. F. 1978. Dynamics of the boreal forest south of James Bay. Can. J. Bot. 56: 1157–1173.
Carleton, T. J. & Maycock, P. F. 1980. Vegetation of the boreal forest south of James Bay: non-centred component analysis of the vascular flora. Ecology 61: 1199–1212.
Carleton, T. J. & Maycock, P. F. 1981. Understorey-canopy affinities in boreal forest vegetation. Can. J. Bot. 59: 1709–1716.
Carleton, T. J. & Wannamaker, B. A. 1987. Mortality and self-thinning in natural postfire black spruce. Ann. Bot. (in press).
Chapman, L. J. & Thomas, M. K. 1968. The climate of northern Ontario. Climatological Studies No. 6, Met. Br., Ont. Dept. Transport, Toronto, Canada.
Christensen, N. L. & Peet, R. 1984. Convergence during secondary forest succession. J. Ecol. 72: 25–36.
Clements, F. E. 1916. Plant succession. An analysis of the development of vegetation. Carnegie Inst., Washington, No. 242.
Crocker, R. L. & Major, J. 1955. Soil development in realtion to vegetation and surface age at Glacier Bay, Alaska. J. Ecol., 31: 434–455.
Foster, D. R. 1985. Vegetation development following fire in Picea mariana (black spruce)-Pleurozium forests of southeastern Labrador, Canada. J. Ecol. 73: 517–534.
Hill, M. O. 1979a. DECORANA. A FORTRAN program for detrended correspondence analysis and reciprocal averaging. Section of Ecology and Systematics, Cornell University.
Hill, M. O. 1979b. TWINSPAN, A FORTRAN program for two-way indicator species analysis. Section of Ecology and Systematics, Cornell University.
Hill, M. O. & Gauch, H.G. 1980. Detrended correspondence analysis: an improved ordination technique. Vegetatio 42: 47–58.
Jeglum, J. 1968. Lowland vegetation at Candle Lake, southern boreal forest, Saskatchewan, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Saskatchewan.
Jones, R. K., Wickware, G., Pierpoint, G., Arnup, R. W., Jeglum, J. K. & Bowles, J.W. 1983. Field guide to forest ecosystem classification for the Clay Belt, site region 3E. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Toronto, Ontario.
Larsen, J. A. 1980. The boreal ecosystem. Academic Press, New York.
Margalef, R. 1963. On certain unifying principles in ecology. Amer. Natur. 97: 357–374.
Moss, E. H. 1953. Forest communities in northwestern Alberta. Can. J. Bot. 31: 212–282.
Oechel, W. C. & Van Cleve, K. 1986. Role of bryophytes in nutrient cycling in the taiga. In: Van Cleve, K., Chapin III, F. S. Eanagan, P. W. Viereck, L. A. & Dyrness, C. T. (eds) Forest Ecosystems in the Alaskan taiga: A synthesis of structure and function. Springer-Verlag, New York.
Ritchie, J. C. 1956. The vegetation of northern Manitoba. I. Studies in the southern spruce forest zone. Can. J. Bot. 34: 528–561.
Rowe, J. S. 1956. Vegetation of the southern boreal forest in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Manitoba.
Rowe, J. S. & Scotter, G. W. 1973. Fire in the boreal forest. Quat. Res. 3: 444–464.
Shafi, M. I. & Yarranton, G. A. 1973a. Diversity, floristic richness, and species evenness during a secondary (postfire) succession. Ecology 54: 897–902.
Shafi, M. I. & Yarranton, G. A. 1973b. Vegetational heterogenei ty during a secondary (postfire) succession. Can. J. Bot. 51: 73–90.
Swan, J. M. A. & Dix, R. L. 1966. The phytosociological structure of upland forest at Candle Lake, Saskatchewan. J. Ecol. 54: 13–40.
Taylor, S. J. 1984. Affinity of understorey vegetation to canopy and soil parameters in upland black spruce. M.Sc. thesis, University of Toronto.
Van Cleve, K. & Viereck, L. A. 1981. Forest succession in relation to nutrient cycling in the boreal forest of Alaska. In: West, D. C. & Botkin, D. B. (eds), Forest succession: concepts and applications. pp. 185–211. Springer-Verlag, New York.
Van Groenewoud, H. 1965. Analysis and classification of white spruce communities in relation to certain habitat features. Can. J. Bot. 43: 1025–1036.
Viereck, L. A. 1983. The effects of fire in black spruce ecosystems of Alaska and northern Canada. In: Wein, R. W. & MacLean, D. A. (eds), The role of fire in northern circumpolar ecosystems. pp. 201–220. Wiley, New York.
Wannamaker, B. A. 1983. An investigation into self-thinning and growth of natural black spruce stands in the Clay Belt of northern Ontario. M.Sc.F. thesis, University of Toronto.
Yarie, J. 1983. Environmental and successional relationships of the forest communities of the Porcupine River drainage, interior Alaska. Can. J. For. Res. 13: 721–728.
Yarranton, M. & Yarranton, G. A. 1975. Mortality in a jack pine stand in northeastern Ontario, Canada. Can. J. Bot. 53: 310–314.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Taylor, S.J., Carleton, T.J. & Adams, R. Understorey vegetation change in a Picea mariana chronosequence. Vegetatio 73, 63–72 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00031853
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00031853