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Harvard Forest REU Symposium Abstract 2005
- Title: Forest Recovery of Harvested Stands Remains Stable Despite the Presence of Invasive Species and Aspects of Land Use History
- Author: Ryan C Barba (Assumption College)
- Abstract:
After a heavy cutting event, a lower overstory density will yield more available sunlight to the forest floor and will immediately spark an overall forest recovery to the harvest. I sought to determine whether forest recovery after a heavy cutting event follows any specific trends in terms of seedling, sapling, and tree densities, and determine what these trends were if they do exist. Additionally, I sought to determine whether the presence of invasive species or aspects of land use history had any effect on these trends of forest recovery. Data was collected throughout Massachusetts, via ten sample points, at individual polygons that we knew were or were not cut within the past twenty years based on a compiled database (Kittredge et al 2003, McDonald et al in prep). Through my research and analysis of data, I was able to identify clear trends in seedling, sapling, and tree densities despite great data deviation. After an initial spike of seedlings of around 22,000 seedlings per hectare (which makes sense directly after a heavy cut), the number of seedlings present approached that of an unplowed site: about 12,000 seedlings per hectare. Sapling levels also approached that of an unplowed site: about 1,000 per hectare. Additionally, it was clear that neither invasive species nor land use history has any significant effect on the approach of these densities to their original values, and thus no significant effect on a forest’s ability to recover from a heavy cut.
- Research Category:
