Increased levels of harvest may favour sugar maple regeneration over American beech in northern hardwoods

St-Jean, Émilie; Meunier, S.; Nolet, Phillipe; Messier, Christian; Achim, Alexis

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2021.119607

Cited by 12 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…Bose et al (2020) also found higher recruitment of saplings after a partial harvest, regardless of shade tolerance. In addition, increasing harvesting intensity was found to increase regeneration of Acer saccharum and Fagus grandifolia , which are both shade‐tolerant species (St‐Jean et al, 2021). We would suggest that competition and light availability are important limiting factors for seedlings in these secondary forests, across species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We would suggest that competition and light availability are important limiting factors for seedlings in these secondary forests, across species. However, other factors that we were not able to consider might also be important for seedling dynamics, such as the composition of the advanced seedling regeneration layer before harvesting (St‐Jean et al, 2021), in addition to increased competition from shrubs and deer browsing after harvesting (Kern et al, 2012). Given that we found the strongest positive effect for shade‐intolerant species, shade tolerance is still an important species‐specific trait to consider for predicting the response of a species to disturbances.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Harvest and dispersal syndromes influence the probability of tree seedling establishment in the eastern United States

Sparbanie

Snell

2022

Global Ecol Biogeogr

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Aim:The goal of this work was to investigate the influence of disturbance, in particular tree harvesting, on seedling establishment rates both within and beyond the range extent of individual species. In addition, we considered how disturbances differentially affect seedling establishment depending on the dispersal syndromes and shade tolerance of species.Location: This project covers the eastern forests of the USA.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Harvest and dispersal syndromes influence the probability of tree seedling establishment in the eastern United States

Sparbanie

Snell

2022

Global Ecol Biogeogr

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“…As a result of this dense understory beech layer, changes in the light regime can lead to sugar maple regeneration failures (Collin et al, 2017). The proliferation of beech in the understory appears favoured by canopy openings as a result of selective cutting (Nolet et al, 2008; St‐Jean et al, 2021) and can be further amplified given deer's low browsing preference for beech (Nyland et al, 2006). Additionally, beech leaves have a high content of lignin (10% more than sugar maple) (Melillo et al, 1982) and a thick layer of litter often accumulates in stands with a dense understory beech layer.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increased tree water use with the development of a dense understory layer in a North American hardwood forest

Rasoanaivo,

Mekontchou,

Rochon

et al. 2024

Ecohydrology

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The formation of a single species, recalcitrant understory vegetation layer can limit tree regeneration and, in the long term, modify the composition of forests. Few studies have investigated how recalcitrant vegetation influences competition for water resources although the formation of a dense understory is likely to modify the forest water balance. In eastern North American hardwood forests, the development of a dense understory layer of American beech (Fagus grandifolia) has been observed in stands dominated by sugar maple (Acer saccharum), a phenomenon that shares many characteristics associated with recalcitrant vegetation. Given that water availability is generally negatively correlated with stand density, we hypothesized that the formation of a dense understory beech layer increased competition for water resources, thus leading to reduced water use by sugar maple trees in beech‐dominated stands. Using thermal dissipation sensors, we measured sap flux density (Fd) of two sugar maple trees at three beech‐dominated sites and three control sites. During the growing season, Fd of sugar maple trees was significantly larger at beech‐dominated sites compared to control sites, indicating a greater rate of water use by sugar maples in stands with a dense understory beech layer. We provide two hypotheses to explain our results at the tree scale: (i) reduced cover by forest floor vegetation could limit transpiration by this layer, thus allowing increased water availability to supply transpiration by overstory trees, or (ii) increased tree transpiration rate could be a mechanism to satisfy nutrient requirements in beech‐dominated stands often associated with lower soil fertility.

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Environmental Change Drivers Reduce Sapling Layer Diversity in Sugar Maple-Beech Forests of Eastern North America

Zarfos,

Lawrence,

Beier

et al. 2024

Ecosystems

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Increased levels of harvest may favour sugar maple regeneration over American beech in northern hardwoods

Cited by 12 publications

References 53 publications

Harvest and dispersal syndromes influence the probability of tree seedling establishment in the eastern United States

Harvest and dispersal syndromes influence the probability of tree seedling establishment in the eastern United States

Increased tree water use with the development of a dense understory layer in a North American hardwood forest

Environmental Change Drivers Reduce Sapling Layer Diversity in Sugar Maple-Beech Forests of Eastern North America

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