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Temporal variation in the woody understory of an old‐growth Fagus‐Acer forest and implications for overstory recruitment
Author(s) -
Foré Stephanie A.,
Vankat John L.,
Schaefer Robert L.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of vegetation science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1654-1103
pISSN - 1100-9233
DOI - 10.2307/3237364
Subject(s) - understory , shrub , canopy , vegetation (pathology) , forest dynamics , biology , ecology , forestry , geography , medicine , pathology
. Changes in woody vegetation were examined over eight years, using a 1.05‐ha permanent plot in which the location of every shrub and tree > 1m height was mapped. There was little change in the overstory vegetation, as expected for an old‐growth forest. Much greater change occurred in the understory, primarily related to a 40 % increase in density. Differences occurred among species in the under‐story, as Acer saccharum and Prunus serotina increased and Fraxinus americana and Fagus grandifolia decreased. Canopy gap dynamics are implicated in differences among species in the establishment and growth of individuals in the understory and their recruitment into the overstory. It is concluded that because understory is temporally variable, overstory recruitment from the understory may take different courses at different times in the same forest.