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Long-term evolution of composition and structure after repeated group selection over eight decades

Formally Refereed

Abstract

In northeastern North America, group selection is frequently used in northern hardwood forests to maintain uneven-aged stand structure and promote regeneration of tree species spanning a range of shade tolerances. For this study, long-term application of group selection at the Bartlett Experimental Forest, New Hampshire, USA, provided a unique opportunity to address cohort- and stand-level progression after 80 years of treatment. Cohort-level evolution reflected successional and developmental dynamics associated with even-aged forest systems, whereas aggregate stand-level conditions were consistent with expectations for uneven-aged systems. As cohorts aged, diameter distributions progressed towards descending monotonic forms and species composition transitioned from shade-intolerant species to shade-tolerant species. Standing deadwood and downed woody material in cohorts followed trajectories of aging even-aged stands through time. Although American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) was a primary species across cohorts and at the stand level, stand-level regeneration included a mixture of ecologically and commercially valuable species. These long-term results offer important insights into emergent cohort- and stand-level conditions and processes that may affect continued recruitment of desirable compositional and structural conditions in stands managed using group selection over numerous cutting cycles.

Keywords

group selection, uneven-age management, northern hardwood, silviculture

Citation

Rogers, Nicole S.; D'Amato, Anthony W.; Leak, William B. 2021. Long-term evolution of composition and structure after repeated group selection over eight decades. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 51(7): 1080-1091. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfr-2020-0339.
Citations
https://www.fs.usda.gov/research/treesearch/63196