Catastrophic windthrow in the Southern Appalachians: characteristics of pits and mounds and initial vegetation responses

We characterized pit and mound (PM) topography resulting from catastrophic wind in the Coweeta Basin, and located 48 PMs across a variety of forest types. Our measurements included pit length, width, and depth; and mound height, thickness, and width. Species of fallen trees were identified, and DBH (diameter at breast height, 1.37m) was measured for biomass determination. We identified five distinct microsites at each PM: mound face, mound top, pit bottom, pit-wall, and intact forest floor. On each microsite, we measured photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), soil temperature, and soil moisture, and took soil samples from four microsites (intact forest floor, pit wall, pit bottom, mound top) to determine carbon and nitrogen concentrations. Treefall direction was marginally non-random. Three PM dimensions were significantly related to fallen tree biomass: mound width; mound height; and pit width. Other relationships failed because (1)

[1]  A. J. Belsky.  Revegetation of Artificial Disturbances in Grasslands of the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania: I. Colonization of Grazed and Ungrazed Plots , 1986 .

[2]  L. S. Barden,et al.  Forest development in canopy gaps of a diverse hardwood forest of the southern Appalachian Mountains , 1981 .

[3]  C. Uhl,et al.  Vegetation Dynamics in Amazonian Treefall Gaps , 1988 .

[4]  J. Thompson.  Treefalls and Colonization Patterns of Temperate Forest Herbs , 1980 .

[5]  W. Cooper,et al.  The Climax Forest of Isle Royale, Lake Superior, and Its Development. I , 1913, Botanical Gazette.

[6]  P. White,et al.  The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and Patch Dynamics , 1986 .

[7]  Lj Webb,et al.  Cyclones as an ecological factor in tropical lowland rain-forest, north queensland , 1958 .

[8]  S. Pickett,et al.  Microsite variation and soil dynamics within newly created treefall pits and mounds. , 1990 .

[9]  H. Wright.  Landscape Development, Forest Fires, and Wilderness Management , 1974, Science.

[10]  Richard P. Vlosky,et al.  U. S. Department of Agriculture , 1891, Nature.

[11]  D. Leopold,et al.  Watershed liming and pit and mound topography effects on seed banks in the Adirondacks, New York, USA , 1995 .

[12]  F. Putz.  Treefall Pits and Mounds, Buried Seeds, and the Importance of Soil Disturbance to Pioneer Trees on Barro Colorado Island, Panama , 1983 .

[13]  S. W. Beatty.  Influence of Microtopography and Canopy Species on Spatial Patterns of Forest Understory Plants , 1984 .

[14]  R. Schaetzl.  COMPLETE SOIL PROFILE INVERSION BY TREE UPROOTING , 1986 .

[15]  H. Fowells.  Silvics of forest trees of the United States. , 1965 .

[16]  Annette Aiello,et al.  Uprooting and snapping of trees: structural determinants and ecological consequences , 1983 .

[17]  E. L. Stone,et al.  The variety of soil microsites created by tree falls , 1986 .

[18]  H. M. Raup,et al.  Deciduous Forests of Eastern north America , 1952 .

[19]  F. Stearns.  Ninety Years Change in a Northern Hardwood Forest in Wisconsin , 1949 .

[20]  C. Linton,et al.  CANOPY GAP CHARACTERISTICS AND DROUGHT INFLUENCES IN OAK FORESTS OF THE COWEETA BASIN ’ , 2002 .

[21]  F. A. Bazzaz,et al.  Characteristics of Populations in Relation to Disturbance in Natural and Man-Modified Ecosystems , 1983 .

[22]  S. Pickett,et al.  Microsite and elevational influences on early forest regeneration after catastrophic windthrow , 1990 .

[23]  A. Clark,et al.  Weight, volume, and physical properties of major hardwood species in the Southern Appalachian mountains , 1985 .

[24]  A. J. Belsky.  REVEGETATION OF ARTIFICIAL DISTURBANCES IN GRASSLANDS OF THE SERENGETI NATIONAL PARK, TANZANIA II. FIVE YEARS OF SUCCESSIONAL CHANGE , 1986 .

[25]  H. Mooney,et al.  Disturbance and Ecosystems: Components of Response. , 1984 .

[26]  W. McNab,et al.  Forest disturbance in hurricane-related downbursts in the Appalachian mountains of North Carolina , 1998 .

[27]  F. Putz,et al.  Buried seeds, newly dispersed seeds, and the dynamics of a lowland forest in Malaysia , 1987 .

[28]  W. Sousa.  The Role of Disturbance in Natural Communities , 1984 .

[29]  M. G. Cline,et al.  EFFECTS OF MECHANICAL SOIL BARRIERS AND SOIL WETNESS ON ROOTING OF TREES AND SOIL-MIXING BY BLOW-DOWN IN CENTRAL NEW YORK , 1959 .

[30]  F. Putz,et al.  Natural Disturbance and Gap‐Phase Regeneration in a Wind‐Exposed Tropical Cloud Forest , 1988 .

[31]  P. White,et al.  The Ecology of Natural Disturbance and Patch Dynamics , 1986 .

[32]  Charles B. Halpern,et al.  Plant succession in areas of scorched and blown-down forest after the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington , 1990 .

[33]  Wayne T. Swank,et al.  Forest Hydrology and Ecology at Coweeta , 1988, Ecological Studies.

[34]  Steward T. A. Pickett,et al.  Forest Reorganization: A Case Study in an Old‐Growth Forest Catastrophic Blowdown , 1995 .

[35]  S. Riha.  Properties and Management of Forest Soils , 1988 .

[36]  H. Lutz.  Movement of rocks by uprooting of forest trees , 1960 .