Species‐Specific Barriers to Tree Regeneration in High Elevation Habitats of West Virginia

Abstract

Herbaceous competition and herbivory have been identified as critical barriers to restoration of native tree species in degraded landscapes around the world; however, the combined effects of competition and herbivory are poorly understood. We experimentally manipulated levels of herbivory and herbaceous competition and analyzed the response of tree seedling performance over three growing seasons as a function of species and habitat in north-central West Virginia. Four native tree species were planted in old field and forest experimental plots: Castanea dentata (American chestnut), Quercus rubra (red oak), Acer saccharum (sugar maple), and Picea rubens (red spruce). Red spruce demonstrated the highest growth increment and greatest survival (64%) and most consistent results among treatments and habitats. Red spruce survival was not reduced in the presence of Odocoileus virginianus (whitetailed deer) browse and herbaceous competition; however, growth was improved by suppression of herbaceous competition. We suspect that this deciduous forest landscape would regenerate to a red spruce dominated forest if seed source was available. In contrast, the other three species tested had very low survival when exposed to deer and were more responsive to competing vegetation and habitat type. American chestnut had low survival and growth across all treatments, suggesting basic climate limitations. Vigorous natural regeneration of Prunus serotina (black cherry) occurred in forest plots where both competing herbs and deer were excluded. Our results demonstrated the importance of testing multiple potential recruitment barriers and species at once and the need for species and habitat-specific restoration treatments.

The Response of Naturally Regenerating Hardwood Seedlings to Post-Harvest Weed Control and Fertilization

“…The process of regeneration following overstory removal is dependent on numerous environmental and biological factors. Pressures from herbaceous competition, herbivory, and harvests can all influence the regeneration process (Buckley et al 1998;Griscom et al 2011).…”

“…However, the geology, topography, and climate also play a crucial role in site quality and potential regenerative success (Trimble 1964;Carmean 1971;Nyland 2002;Griscom et al 2011).…”

“…Historically, oaks have been a major part of the forests in the eastern portion of the United States (Griscom et al 2011). In West Virginia, many of the forested areas have poor representation of desired regeneration in the understory (Griscom et al 2011) due to a myriad of environmental and biological factors (Buckley et al 1998;Griscom et al 2011). Pressures from white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus Zimm.)…”

“…Pressures from white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus Zimm.) (Brenneman 1983;Tilghman 1989, Buckley et al 1998, competition from woody and herbaceous vegetation (Gurevitch et al 2000;Griscom et al 2011), and harvest-related disturbances (Meier et al 1995;Kraft et al 2004) can reduce the growth and survival of desired hardwood regeneration. Fertilization (Newton et al 2002;Berengeuer et al 2009), weed control (McGill and Brenneman 2002;Ristau 2017), deer exclusion (Marquis and Grisez 1978;Kraft et al 2004;Miller et al 2016), and release (Pham 1987;Newton et al 2002;Schuler and Robison 2006) treatments have all been implemented in naturally regenerating hardwood stands with the same goal in mindaccelerating growth and improving the survival of desirable hardwood seedlings.…”

The Role of Teleost Grazers in a Relatively Pristine Seagrass Ecosystem

“…and Beschta 2003, Burkepile and Hay 2008, Gruner et al 2008, Griscom et al 2011 there still is debate about the relative importance of top-down versus bottom up control (Burkepile and Hay 2006) and the context-dependence of their relative strengths.…”