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- Title
Changes in understory light regime in a beech–maple forest after a severe ice storm.
- Authors
Arii, Ken; Lechowicz, Martin J.
- Abstract
We assessed canopy openness (%) in an old-growth beech–maple forest immediately before and in the 3 years following a severe ice storm. We estimated canopy openness using hemispherical photographs taken at a height of 0.6 m above the soil surface in 101 permanent plots. Mean canopy openness increased from a prestorm value of 7.7% to 16.6% in the summer immediately following the storm. However, the mean canopy openness returned to prestorm levels within 3 years. The changes in canopy openness immediately after the storm were significantly influenced by canopy openness prior to the storm and also by species composition; plots with lower canopy openness prior to the storm and plots that consisted of more shade-tolerant species had greater canopy damage. While canopy gaps are often considered to promote the establishment of shade-intolerant species in the deciduous forests of eastern North America, gaps created by ice storms at our study site may not persist long enough to promote the establishment of these species.
- Subjects
NORTH America; PLANT canopies; SOILS; PHOTOGRAPHS; TREES; FORESTS &; forestry
- Publication
Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 2007, Vol 37, Issue 9, p1770
- ISSN
0045-5067
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1139/X07-024