Limited salvage logging effects on forest regeneration after moderate-severity windthrow
Authors: | C.J. Peterson |
Year: | 2008 |
Type: | Scientific Journal |
Station: | Southern Research Station |
Source: | Ecological Applications 18 (2): 407-420 |
Abstract
Recent conceptual advances address forest response to multiple disturbances within a brief time period, providing an ideal framework for examining the consequences of natural disturbances followed by anthropogenic management activities. The combination of two or more disturbances in a short period may produce ‘‘ecological surprises,’’ and models predict a threshold of cumulative disturbance severity above which forest composition will be drastically altered and regeneration may be impaired. Salvage logging (the harvesting of timber after natural disturbances; also called ‘‘salvaging’’ or ‘‘sanitary logging’’) is common, but there have been no tests of the manner in which salvaging after natural wind disturbance affects woody plant regeneration.