Understory plant establishment on old-growth stumps and the forest floor in western Washington

Kennedy, Peter G.; Quinn, Timothy

doi:10.1016/s0378-1127(00)00622-8

Cited by 26 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…This recommended CWD loading outlined by Brown et al (2003) is a combination of recommended loadings for ecological benefit such as soil productivity and small mammal habitat, while not creating excessive fire hazard and soil heating if a wildfire was to occur. Thus, at this period post-disturbance, woody biomass is providing a nutrient source to these recovering forests (Bull 1994, Kennedy andQuinn 2001) without presenting an excessive fire hazard (Brown et al 2003). At the same time, tree mortality rates were high on these sites and only 16.4% of stems had fallen at the time of the study on burned sites and 11.5% on gray sites.…”

Section: Tree Regeneration: Mixed Interactive Effects Of Fire and Barmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Additionally, wildfires increase the prevalence of both large and small diameter standing dead trees, especially in areas of high burn severity (Everett et al 1999, Passovoy andFule 2006). Dead woody material from mature trees can improve wildlife habitat for cavity nesting birds (Bull et al 1997, Hutto 2006, create canopy gaps for tree seedling establishment sites (Takahashi et al 2000, Kennedy andQuinn 2001) and are sources of organic material that enhance forest productivity (Graham et al 1994). The ecological benefits that arise from large tree mortality may be lost when forest ecosystems experience a high severity wildfire shortly after beetle mortality, degrading ecosystem functionality.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bark beetles and wildfires: How does forest recovery change with repeated disturbances in mixed conifer forests?

2015

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Abstract. Increased wildfire activity and recent bark beetle outbreaks in the western United States have increased the potential for interactions between disturbance types to influence forest characteristics. However, the effects of interactions between bark beetle outbreaks and subsequent wildfires on forest succession remain poorly understood. We collected data in dry mixed conifer forests across Idaho and western Montana to test whether vegetation responses differ between sites experiencing single and repeated disturbances. We compared tree seedling density and age, surface fuel loading, and stand structure characteristics in stands that experienced either high severity wildfire, large-scale tree mortality from bark beetles, or stands that experienced high bark beetle mortality followed by severe wildfire within 3-8 years of attack. Tree seedling density was 300-400% higher in gray bark beetle-affected stands than burned sites, but there was no evidence that a beetle and wildfire interaction affected seedling densities. The age distribution of Douglas-fir and grand fir seedlings in stands with repeated disturbances differed from those that only experienced wildfire, suggesting that seed availability varies between these stands. Though both bark beetle outbreaks and wildfires resulted in the death of numerous large trees and surface woody fuel loads 100-200% greater than control sites, the creation of large snags and higher fuel loads across the landscape may have ecological benefits. Compounding effects of bark beetle activity and wildfires were not observed in surface fuel loadings or stand densities. Overall, the effects of high severity wildfire drove post-disturbance fuel complexes and succession whereas the effects of Dendroctonus pseudotsugae and Dendroctonus brevicomis outbreaks before wildfires resulted in minimal post-wildfire differences. We conclude that although seedling age structure is responsive to bark beetle and fire interactions, in terms of fuel complexes and tree densities these disturbances are non-additive and compounding effects on forest trajectory of dry mixed conifer forests of the northern Rockies were not supported.

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Section: Tree Regeneration: Mixed Interactive Effects Of Fire and Barmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bark beetles and wildfires: How does forest recovery change with repeated disturbances in mixed conifer forests?

2015

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“…Therefore stumps may often be of great importance for epixylics and many other organisms in managed forests. Stumps play an important role in maintenance of plant (Kennedy and Quinn 2001) and lichen species richness (Caruso et al 2008), and they are an equally preferable substrate for epixylics as logs in managed forests (Andersson and Hytteborn 1991).…”

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

Immediate effects of logging, mounding and removal of logging residues and stumps on coarse woody debris in managed boreal Norway spruce stands

Rabinowitsch-Jokinen¹

2010

Silva Fenn.

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Wood fuel production has increased remarkably, but its environmental effects within the forest ecosystem have not yet been studied much. We investigated the immediate effects of two series of forest management treatments, which produce timber and forest chips, on the volume and decay classes of coarse woody debris (CWD). One of the treatment series included logging and residue harvesting (LRH) and mounding (M), while the other series included LRH and mounding combined with stump harvesting (MSH). We hypothesized that, i) LRH reduces CWD, excluding stumps; ii) the more intense the soil preparation treatment is, M vs. MSH, the more CWD is destroyed; iii) both LRH and soil preparation treatments (M and MSH) reduce the occurence of snags, highly decayed CWD and deciduous CWD in particular. Ten sample plots in mature managed Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) dominated forests were located in Southern Finland. The total volume of CWD on the sample plots was measured three times: before and after LRH, and after M or MSH. LRH significantly decreased the volume of snags and the combined volume of snags and logs. MSH significantly decreased the total volume of CWD, while M had no significant effect on the volume of CWD. The middle and highly decayed CWD were destroyed most easily in the treatments.

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“…Finally, woody substrates and the forest-floor can support distinctly different plant communities (Kennedy andQuinn 2001, Lee andSturgess 2001) although these differences can diminish over time as logs decay and are gradually colonized by species from the forest floor (e.g., Lee and Sturgess 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Substrate effects on distribution, biomass allocation, and morphology of forest understory plants

Six

Halpern

2008

Botany

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This is to certify that I have examined this copy of a master's thesis by Laura J. Six and have found that it is complete and satisfactory in all respects, and that any and all revisions required by the final examining committee have been made. substrate affinities, I also tested whether rooting substrate affected allocation to aboveand below-ground structures, morphological traits, or overall performance (total biomass and plant nitrogen), consistent with differences in moisture availability between substrates.I tested whether understory species showed significant associations with CWD or the forest floor using 1200, 1 x 1 m quadrats in which I compared cover of CWD and forest floor (as measures of substrate availability) and the density of shoots of each species emerging from each substrate. To examine relationships between rooting substrate and plant performance, I excavated three common understory species: Tiarella trifoliata (preference for forest floor), Vaccinium parvifolium (preference for CWD), andMaianthemum dilatatum (no preference for either substrate). For each species, the below-ground structures (rhizomes and roots) and aerial shoots (stems and leaves) of 30 pairs of plants (one rooted in CWD, one in the forest floor) were measured, then dried to determine mass. Replicate samples of each substrate were collected every 3 wk (June through mid-September) to test for differences in volumetric moisture.Most species (83%) displayed a preference for substrate; of these, 75% preferred the forest floor. Species preferences for CWD or forest floor did not appear to be related to plant stature or any other morphological or life-history trait. Most species may be associated with the forest floor because it is a more predictable and stable substrate.Alternatively, preference for the forest floor may relate to competition with mosses: moss cover was more than twice as high on CWD as on the forest floor (87 vs. 38%). Patterns of biomass allocation in Maianthemum, Tiarella, and Vaccinium were consistent with differences in moisture availability between substrates: plants rooted in the forest floor (which was consistently drier over the growing season) allocated greater biomass to below-ground structures. However, effects of substrate on above-ground traits (e.g., leaf density, leaf area, and shoot height) were non-significant, and effects on below-ground traits were largely inconsistent with differences in moisture availability between substrates.Depth and lateral spread of rhizome systems may be determined by the physical structure of decaying logs rather than by resource availability. In addition, light may be so limiting in these forests that it masks the potential for species to respond to substraterelated differences in resource availability. Finally, it is possible that associations with substrates are driven not by differences in performance of established plants, but by differences in dispersal, germination, and/or early survival.

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Understory plant establishment on old-growth stumps and the forest floor in western Washington

Cited by 26 publications

References 16 publications

Bark beetles and wildfires: How does forest recovery change with repeated disturbances in mixed conifer forests?

Bark beetles and wildfires: How does forest recovery change with repeated disturbances in mixed conifer forests?

Immediate effects of logging, mounding and removal of logging residues and stumps on coarse woody debris in managed boreal Norway spruce stands

Substrate effects on distribution, biomass allocation, and morphology of forest understory plants

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