A Guide To Forest Communities And Habitat Types Of Central And Southern Wisconsin

Author : Keri J. Teal
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 122 pages
Book Rating : 4.:/5 (87 download)

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Download or read book Composition, Structure, and Dynamics of Six Forest Community Types in North Central Wisconsin written by Keri J. Teal and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 122 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Prior to 1927, when strict fire control laws were passed, northern Wisconsin forests had been severely cut and burned, producing a number of successional forest community types. Beginning in 2001, successional patterns were examined in forest communities on sand and loamy sand soils. Stands were sampled using nested plots: 0.4 ha for trees, 0.002 ha for seedlings, and 0.004 for saplings. Tree diameter was converted to basal area and importance values (relative basal area) developed for each species. Sapling and seedling counts were converted to a per hectare basis and an importance value (relative density) developed for each species. Forest communities were organized by classification and ordination in PC-ORD analysis. Comparisons were made between the overstory composed of shade-intolerant species and the understory of more shade-tolerant species. These comparisons were made using index of similarity and stratum analyses. The six forest community types that were indentified on the sand and loamy sand soils were Hills oak ( Quercus ellipsoidalis ), jack pine (Pinus banksiana ), red pine (Pinus resinosa ), quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides ), white birch (Betula papyrifera ) and white pine (Pinus strobus ). The first three communities, Hills oak, jack pine and red pine, were found on the soils containing more than 90% sand and have similar understory conditions dominated by Quercus spp. , A. rubrum and P. strobus , with little to no regeneration of the overstory species P. resinosa and P. banksiana . Quercus ellipsoidalis , P. banksiana and P. resinosa are disturbance species that need fire to regenerate or a disturbance that removes the overstory canopy. Quaking aspen, white birch and white pine communities are found on the loamy sand textures. The white pine community is jointly dominated by Quercus and Acer species. Understory conditions among these three community types indicates a shift in composition to a community dominated by Quercus spp. , P. strobus , A. rubrum and A. saccharum , with little regeneration of P. tremuloides and B. papyrifera . Abies balsamea also persists in large numbers throughout the understory of the communities. It appears that the white pine community will most likely be the endpoint community given that no major disturbance occurs. Analyses indicate a new cohort of future forest communities composed of Pinus strobus , Quercus spp , and Acer spp. suggesting convergent succession is taking place, therefore, causing an ultimate loss of biodiversity within these six community types.