Influence of Mature Overstory Trees on Adjacent 12-Year Regeneration and the Woody Understory: Aggregated Retention versus Intact Forest

Curzon, Miranda T.; Baker, Susan C.; Kern, Christel C.; Palik, Brian J.; D’Amato, Anthony W.

doi:10.3390/f8020031

Cited by 10 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 52 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In British Columbia, Canada, the growth of both planted and naturally regenerated seedlings tended to decrease with increasing overstory retention and the associated decrease in light availability [38]. Other studies also showed that light availability is a primary determinant of the growth of planted trees under retained overstory [37,39,40].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Productivity and Cost of Retention Harvesting Operation in Conifer Plantations

Tsushima

Watanabe

Akashi

2023

Forests

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Retention forestry is a harvesting system that intentionally retains important forest structures at harvest time. We examined the effect of dispersed retention on the productivity and cost of harvesting operations in a large-scale field experiment in conifer plantations in Hokkaido, Japan. For dispersed retention, we retained broad-leaved trees in three levels (10, 50, or 100 trees/ha). We used daily operator reports and investigated time consumption (h/m3) of felling and pre-hauling operations and the total cost to roadside. Compared with clearcutting, mean felling time was 7% and 17% longer, and mean pre-hauling time was 20% and 19% longer in 50 and 100 retained trees/ha, respectively. The other operations were not affected by tree retention because they were conducted at pre-existed strip roads or landings where no trees were retained. Increased time consumption caused an increased cost of felling and pre-hauling. Compared with clearcutting, the combined cost of felling and pre-hauling was 14% and 18% higher in 50 and 100 retained trees/ha, respectively. However, the total cost to roadside increased only by 3% compared with clearcutting because these two operations in total occupied 19% of the overall cost, and the cost of the other operations was not affected by tree retention. This suggests that the impact of tree retention on the total cost was small and that the harvesting system used in the present study can reduce cost increment due to tree retention unless trees are not retained on strip roads.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Productivity and Cost of Retention Harvesting Operation in Conifer Plantations

Tsushima

Watanabe

Akashi

2023

Forests

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Conditions near or beneath the legacy-tree crowns likely approximated conditions near or beyond gap edges [57], which are known to have less available light and to slow sapling growth [77]. In a study on the effects of intact forest aggregates on regeneration growth in adjacent harvested stands, Curzon et al [78] found that patches of retained forest negatively affected the growth of regeneration layers up to 5 m beyond their edges. If we imagine that legacy-tree crowns and gap-edge trees affect regeneration up to 5 m away-note that legacy-tree crown radius averaged 4.1 ± 1.1 m in 2018-then 14 m radius openings (~600 m 2 ) would be the minimum size necessary to avoid delays in regeneration growth.…”

Section: Legacy-tree Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Composition and Height of Saplings Capturing Silvicultural Gaps at Two Long-Term Experiments in Managed Northern Hardwood Forests

Knapp

Webster

Kern

2019

Forests

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Managing forests for mixtures of canopy species promotes future resilience and mitigates risks of catastrophic resource loss. This study describes the compositions, heights, and locations within openings of gap-capturing saplings in two long-term group-selection experiments in managed northern hardwoods. We expected opening size to affect the composition of gap-capturing saplings and that composition would match advance regeneration where relatively large stems remained following harvest. We also expected sapling height to respond positively to opening size, but plateau in gap areas above 200 m2, and legacy-tree retention to negatively affect sapling height. In two group-selection experiments, we found that the composition of gap-capturing saplings was not affected by opening size at 15 and 23 years post-harvest, respectively, and that composition matched advance regeneration only when larger stems (>2.5 cm breast height, dbh) were removed during harvest. Gap-capturing sapling composition did not match the surrounding canopy in either study site. Sapling height was positively correlated with gap area, but, as we expected, plateaued in larger openings. In openings without legacy-retention, gap area did not significantly predict sapling height in openings larger than 100–200 m2, whereas this threshold was between 300–400 m2 in openings with single legacy-tree retention. Sapling height was negatively associated with distance into openings when legacy-trees were present. Group selection appears to recruit modestly higher proportions of shade-midtolerant and intolerant species to the canopy compared to adjacent unmanaged second-growth or managed, uneven-aged northern hardwoods.

show abstract

“…Understory flora provides a nursery, facilitates the colonization of target plants, improves the survival and growth of tree seedlings, changes the understory microhabitat, and affects forest hydrology 8 – 10 . Study on understory flora could help improve understanding community dynamics, plant responses to disturbance, and forest regeneration and helps guide conservation and management 11 – 17 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of vegetation restoration and environmental factors on understory vascular plants in a typical karst ecosystem in southern China

Zhiyang¹,

Shilong²,

Qinfei³

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Understory vegetation is an important component in most forest ecosystems. It is very important for soil and water conservation in karst region, study on understory will provide valuable information for understanding the interaction mechanism between understory flora and karst environment. Thirtytwo plots were sampled in three vegetation types along with a restoration gradient (shrubland, forest-shrub transition, and mixed-species broadleaf forest) in typical karst mountains in Southwest Guangxi, China. Overstory trees, understory vascular plants, soil nutrients, and topographic factors were recorded in each 400-m 2 plot. Multivariate statistics were used, including the multi-response permutation procedure (MRPP), indicator species analysis, and canonical correlation analysis (CCA). MRPP showed understory species composition significantly differed among the three vegetation types, with the greatest difference between the shrubland and the mixed forest. Twenty-one understory species were identified as significant indicator species, with 13 species being identified as indicators of the shrubland, two of forest-shrub transition, and six of the mixed forest. Lightdemanding herbaceous seed plants were common in shrubland, while shade-tolerant calcicole assembled under the mixed forest. Forward selection of CCA ordination revealed that understory plant distribution was most strongly influenced by elevation, followed by soil pH, the concentration of total potassium and exchangeable calcium, slope aspect, slope degree, and the concentration of available potassium. The result reveals that vegetation types affect understory species composition by modifying understory environments. Elevation affects the spatial distribution of vegetation and soil factors, and then the understory plants. Meanwhile, soil Ca content also plays a key role in the understory species distribution. Understory diversity increased with increasing canopy structure complexity from shrubland to mixed-species forest. Thus, it is necessary to take measures to promote natural vegetation restoration and to protect the mixed forests in degraded karst areas. Understory flora represents the important component of biodiversity and plays a key role in maintaining structure and ecosystem functions in forests 1-3. Although understory vegetation contributes relatively little to the total forest vegetation biomass, it contributes a great proportion of floristic diversity 2,4. In some areas of the Hyrcanian zone, herbaceous plants constitute over 90% of the total plants with diverse life forms 5. Understory flora also influences soil enzyme activity and soil fertility and improves material cycling and energy flow in forest ecosystems 6,7. Understory flora provides a nursery, facilitates the colonization of target plants, improves the survival and growth of tree seedlings, changes the understory microhabitat, and affects forest hydrology 8-10. Study on understory flora could help improve understanding community dynamics, plant responses to disturbance, and forest rege...

show abstract

Influence of Mature Overstory Trees on Adjacent 12-Year Regeneration and the Woody Understory: Aggregated Retention versus Intact Forest

Cited by 10 publications

References 52 publications

Productivity and Cost of Retention Harvesting Operation in Conifer Plantations

Productivity and Cost of Retention Harvesting Operation in Conifer Plantations

The Composition and Height of Saplings Capturing Silvicultural Gaps at Two Long-Term Experiments in Managed Northern Hardwood Forests

Effects of vegetation restoration and environmental factors on understory vascular plants in a typical karst ecosystem in southern China

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About