Harvesting influences functional identity and diversity over time in forests of the northeastern U.S.A.

Concern over global environmental change and associated uncertainty has given rise to greater emphasis on fostering resilience through forest management. We examined the impact of standard silvicultural systems (including clearcutting, shelterwood, and selection) compared with unharvested controls on tree functional identity and functional diversity in three forest types distributed across the northeastern United States. Sites included the Argonne, Bartlett, and Penobscot Experimental Forests located in Wisconsin, New Hampshire, and Maine, respectively. We quantified functional trait means for leaf mass per area, specific gravity, maximum height, height achieved at 20 years, seed mass, drought tolerance, shade tolerance,...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation; Tags: Birds, Disturbance, Forest management, Forests, Functional diversity, All tags... Functional identity, Landscapes, Northeast CASC, Plant traits, Productivity, Silviculture, Temperate forest, Wildlife and Plants, Fewer tags

Integrating historical observations alters projections of eastern North American spruce–fir habitat under climate change

Abstract (from Ecosphere): Spruce–fir (Picea–Abies) forests of the North American Acadian Forest Region are at risk of disappearing from the northeastern United States and Canada due to climate change. Species distribution models (SDMs) have been used to predict changes in this critical transitional ecosystem in the past, but none have addressed how seasonal patterns of temperature and precipitation interact to influence tree species abundance. Inferences have also been limited by contemporary inventory data that could not fully characterize species ranges because they either, (1) only sampled species occurrence after large-scale human disturbance and settlement, or (2) did not span critical geopolitical boundaries...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation