Author: Harold S. Adams†,1 Adam W. Rollins2* , Steven L. Stephenson3
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Study plots (each 0.1 ha) were established and then sampled in 12 isolated red spruce communities in the Central Appalachians during the period of 1982 to 1985. These same plots were resampled >25 years later in June 2011 to assess the successional changes that had taken place. Collectively, the calculated importance value for red spruce (Picea rubens) decreased for the large tree (>10 cm DBH [diameter at breast height]) stratum (- 11.1) but increased for the small tree (>2.5 cm but >10 cm DBH) stratum (+15.5). The relative density of red spruce increased in the sapling strata (+49.4%), but decreased for seedlings (-19.9%). Species richness of shrubs decreased from 12 species (2.2/site) to seven (1.8/site). Percent ground cover of rock and course woody debris were essentially unchanged (+1.2% and -0.3%, respectively), while percent ground cover of bryophytes and herbaceous plants decreased (-14.8% and -9.4%, respectively). Although red spruce decreased in the large tree stratum, the species experienced notable increases in the small tree and sapling strata. In many instances, small trees and saplings of red spruce have become well established in canopy gaps, often forming dense thickets, indicating the potential for red spruce-dominated communities to persist at these sites. These data suggest that these communities do not yet show any evidence of a negative response to global climate change, which has implications for forest management at higher elevations in the Central Appalachians.
Coniferous forests, forest stand dynamics, Picea rubens, remnant populations, subalpine, successional change.
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