Interference to Hardwood Regeneration in Northeastern North America: Ecological Characteristics of American Beech, Striped Maple, and Hobblebush

Nyland, Ralph D.; Bashant, Amy L.; Bohn, Kimberly K.; Verostek, Jane

doi:10.1093/njaf/23.1.53

Cited by 49 publications

(15 citation statements)

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“…For many local species, however, decreasing snow cover would likely lead to decreased seed germination and thus smaller regenerating cohorts. Of course, regeneration dynamics are affected by a host of other factors such as shade tolerance (Kobe et al 1995), herbivory (Gill 1992) and competition (Nyland et al 2006), which may also be affected by climate change.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Snow cover manipulations alter survival of early life stages of cold‐temperate tree species

Drescher¹,

Thomas²

2012

Oikos

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Projections of future climate suggest increases in global temperatures that are especially pronounced in winter in coldtemperate regions. Thermal insulation provided by snow cover to litter, soil, and overwintering plants will likely be affected by changing winter temperatures and might influence future species composition and ranges. We investigated effects of changing snow cover on seed germination and sapling survival of several cold-temperate tree species using a snow manipulation approach. Post-winter seed germination increased or decreased with increasing snow cover, depending on species; decreased seed germination was found in species that characteristically disperse seed in summer or fall months prior to snowfall. Post-winter sapling survival increased with increasing snow cover for all species, though some species benefitted more from increased snow cover than others. Sapling mortality was associated with root exposure, suggesting the possibility that soil frost heaving could be an important mechanism for observed effects. Our results suggest that altered snow regimes may cause re-assembly of current species-habitat relationships and may drive changes in species' biogeographic range. However, local snow regimes also vary with associated vegetation cover and topography, suggesting that species distribution patterns may be strongly influenced by spatial heterogeneity in snow regimes and complicating future projections.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Snow cover manipulations alter survival of early life stages of cold‐temperate tree species

Drescher¹,

Thomas²

2012

Oikos

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“…With the expansion of the disease, the role of sugar maple masting in trophic dynamics may become more prevalent throughout the northern portions of the eastern deciduous forest, where oaks are generally uncommon (Canada's National Forest Inventory, ). Beechnuts provide a major food source for chipmunks and many other seed‐eating nest predators (Bergeron et al., ; Rosemier & Storer, ), and beech bark disease can potentially reduce beech mast volumes (Nyland et al., ; Wagner et al., ). In fact, it is difficult to compare nut production before and after beech bark disease because no quantitative data are available (McNulty & Masters, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We focused on sugar maple masting as the trigger for small rodent population fluctuations because the other masting species present in our system (yellow birch and American beech, Fagus grandifolia) are unlikely to induce changes in rodent populations in our study area, whereas white ash (Fraxinus americanus) is nearly absent. Because of their very small size (0.12-0.24 g, DeHayes, Waite, & Hannah, 1980), yellow birch seeds appear unlikely to be stored by chipmunks for overwinter consumption, whereas seed production in the American beech is severely limited by beech bark disease (Nyland, Bashant, Bohn, & Verostek, 2006;Wagner et al, 2010), which is prevalent in our study area.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Linking songbird nest predation to seedling density: Sugar maple masting as a resource pulse in a forest food web

Fiola

Vernouillet

Villard

2017

Ecology and Evolution

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The ecological literature presents considerable evidence for top‐down forcing on the maintenance of species diversity. Yet, in temperate forests, bottom‐up forces often exert a strong influence on ecosystem functioning. Here, we report on the indirect influence of a pulsed resource, sugar maple (Acer saccharum) seed production, on nest survival in a migratory songbird. We hypothesized that seed production in year t would determine daily nest survival rate in year t + 1 through its effects on seed‐eating rodents. We used the density of sugar maple seedlings (with cotyledons) in year t + 1 as a proxy for seed production in year t and predicted that it would be inversely related to songbird nest survival the same year. We estimated the density of sugar maple seedlings, eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus) activity, and daily nest survival rate in the ovenbird (Seiurus aurocapilla) over four successive years in a northern hardwood forest of New Brunswick, Canada. Seedling density varied by two orders of magnitude between years, whereas an index of chipmunk activity changed by an order of magnitude. Both variables were positively correlated and negatively correlated to daily nest survival rate. A logistic‐exposure model including only seedling density received the greatest level of support (lowest AICc). Previous studies have reported the effect of sugar maple masting on seed‐eating rodent populations, but the strong link we report between seedling density and songbird nest survival is novel. A nocturnal seed‐eating nest predator, deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus), was not considered in our models, which may explain why chipmunk was not the best predictor of daily nest survival rate. The trophic linkages we observed are remarkably strong for a temperate forest ecosystem and might become more prevalent in northeastern North America, at least on calcium‐rich soils, with the loss of large‐diameter beech trees as a result of beech bark disease.

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“…Increased competition for light and space from increased density of small beech limits the abundance and diversity of plant species that are adapted to the understorey of mature forests, including scores of spring ephemerals that are indigenous to eastern North America (Schemske et al 1978). High densities of small beech, relatively unpalatable to vertebrate herbivores, reduce food resources for browsing mammals and amplify grazing pressure on more palatable species (Nyland et al 2006;Feng et al 2009). More rapid turnover of beech increases the supply rate of dying woody tissue to species such as ambrosia beetles, borers, wood wasps and decay fungi, which normally function as early successional saprophytes but can begin attacking healthy plant tissue, including other hardwood species, when they become locally abundant (Feng et al 2009).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Subcontinental impacts of an invasive tree disease on forest structure and dynamics

et al. 2011

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Summary1. Introduced pests and pathogens are a major source of disturbance to ecosystems world-wide. The famous examples have produced dramatic reductions in host abundance, including virtual extirpation, but most introductions have more subtle impacts that are hard to quantify but are potentially at least as important due to the pathogens' effects on host reproduction, competitive ability and stress tolerance. A general outcome could be reduced host abundance with concomitant increases in the abundance of competitors. 2. Beech bark disease (BBD) is a widespread, fatal affliction of American beech (Fagus grandifolia), currently present in c. 50% of beech's distribution in eastern North America. Despite high adult mortality, beech remains a dominant component of the forest community. 3. Employing spatially extensive data from the national Forest Inventory and Analysis program of the United States Forest Service, we show that forests have changed dramatically in the presence of BBD. Within the 2.3 million km 2 range of beech, size-specific mortality was 65% higher in the longest-infected regions, and large beech ( >90 cm diameter at breast height) have declined from c. 79 individuals km )2 to being virtually absent. Small stem beech density was dramatically higher ( >350%) such that infested forests contain a roughly equivalent cross-sectional (basal) area of beech as before BBD. 4. There was no evidence for compensation by sugar maple or other co-occurring tree species via increased recruitment or adult survivorship at the landscape scale. Overall, community composition remained roughly unchanged as a result of BBD. 5. Surprisingly, trajectory of stand dynamics (shifts in stem density and mean tree size reflecting normal stand maturation (self-thinning) or retrogression (more abundant, smaller trees over time)) did not differ between affected and unaffected regions. Variance in stand dynamics was greater in afflicted forests, however, indicating that predictability of forest structure has been diminished by BBD. 6. Synthesis. Forests of eastern North America have shifted to increased density and dramatically smaller stature -without notable change in tree species composition -following the invasion of a novel forest disease. Our results reinforce the conclusion that introduced diseases alter fundamental properties of ecosystems, but indicate that the spectrum of potential effects is broader than generally appreciated.

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Interference to Hardwood Regeneration in Northeastern North America: Ecological Characteristics of American Beech, Striped Maple, and Hobblebush

Cited by 49 publications

References 0 publications

Snow cover manipulations alter survival of early life stages of cold‐temperate tree species

Snow cover manipulations alter survival of early life stages of cold‐temperate tree species

Linking songbird nest predation to seedling density: Sugar maple masting as a resource pulse in a forest food web

Subcontinental impacts of an invasive tree disease on forest structure and dynamics

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