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- Title
American Chestnut (Castanea dentata) in the Pre-settlement Vegetation of Mammoth Cave National Park, Central Kentucky, USA.
- Authors
McEwan, Ryan W.; Rhoades, Chuck; Beiting, Steven
- Abstract
The loss of American chestnut (Castanea dentata) due to the fungal pathogen Cryphonectria parasitica had a considerable effect on the ecology of eastern forests. Because of its historical importance, researchers have worked to develop a blight-resistant variety of American chestnut for establishment into its former range. Chestnut breeders now predict that such varieties will be available within a decade. Information on forest communities in which chestnut was abundant prior to the blight should provide historical legitimacy to restoration efforts and increase the likelihood of success. We analyzed "witness" trees from settlement-era land deeds in order to guide site selection for chestnut restoration at Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky. Chestnut was the ninth most important species in our sample and was positively associated with white oak (Quercus alba) and black oak (Quercus velutina) and negatively associated with post oak (Quercus stellata) and blackjack oak (Quercus manlandica). Non-metric multidimensional scaling indicated that chestnut was associated with chestnut oak (Quercus pninus), black gum (Nyssa sylvatica), and white oak in the overstory of pie-blight forests, and with serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea) and sourwood (Oxydendrumn arboreum) in sub-canopy layers. We suggest targeting restoration sites which contain these species and avoiding sites where post oak or blackjack oak are currently dominant. Witness tree analysis allows for the identification of vegetation associations that historically had a chestnut component, increasing the potential for restoration success. Even so, silvicultural considerations and the introductions of pests and pathogens other than the blight fungus may inhibit chestnut restoration.
- Subjects
KENTUCKY; AMERICAN chestnut; PATHOGENIC microorganisms; ECOLOGY; FORESTS &; forestry; OAK
- Publication
Natural Areas Journal, 2005, Vol 25, Issue 3, p275
- ISSN
0885-8608
- Publication type
Article