Repeated observations of forest recovery using permanent plots allow scientists to map pathways of primary succession at the community level. This study continued the documentation of changes in forest composition on the Devastated Area in Lassen Volcanic National Park (LVNP) by re-sampling 34 randomly selected, permanent, 100-m2 plots first established and measured in 1988 (Kroh et al., 2000) in the Devastated Area. GPS coordinates and canopy closure of each plot were recorded. All living trees ≥ 0.10m tall were identified to species, and measured for height and diameter at breast height (DBH) in July of 2008. Pinus contorta, Abies magnifica and Pinus monticola were the dominant species on the Devastated Area. From 1988 to 2008, the mean height of trees per plot increased 73%, total mean basal area per plot increased 147%, and the mean density per plot increased by 19.9%. Despite large increases in basal area and height, full canopy closure has not occurred for most of the forest (median = 67%), indicating primary succession is still driven by abiotic factors. Comparison of the 2008 data to a similar age P. contorta stand on richer soils suggested that an additional 56 years may be required to reach a similar canopy closure of 91% and the onset of self-thinning due to biotic interactions.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TCU/oai:etd.tcu.edu:etd-03162010-122438 |
| Date | 16 March 2010 |
| Creators | Upjohn, Rebecca Laura |
| Contributors | Glenn C Kroh |
| Publisher | Texas Christian University |
| Source Sets | Texas Christian University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf, application/msword |
| Source | http://etd.tcu.edu/etdfiles/available/etd-03162010-122438/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to TCU or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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