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Shifts in sapling regeneration over 25 years in forest ecosystems of Appalachian Ohio

Ballweg, Savannah Lynn
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5765-2075
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1595523394257846

Abstract Details

2020, Master of Science, Ohio State University, Environment and Natural Resources.
Many Quercus-Carya forests in the eastern United States are experiencing compositional shifts due to the failure of the overstory species to regenerate, while mesophytic species, i.e., Acer rubrum, Acer saccharum, and Fagus grandifolia, increasingly dominate their regeneration layers. The Wayne National Forest (WNF) of southeastern Ohio is largely Quercus-Carya forest ecosystem types, although the sapling regeneration is often dominated by the aforementioned mesophytic species. Through the 2018 resampling of 98 permanent plots established on the Marietta Unit of the WNF in 1993, this research investigates changes in sapling species composition and abundance. Statistically significant changes were observed in seven of the species in the total sapling layer: Acer rubrum, Acer saccharum, Aesculus flava, Carya glabra, Cornus florida, Fagus grandifolia, and Hamamelis virginiana. Within the subcategory of small saplings (stems 0.1-5.0 cm DBH), the ten species that had statistically significant changes were Acer rubrum, Acer saccharum, Carpinus caroliniana, Carya glabra, Cornus florida, Fagus grandifolia, Hamamelis virginiana, Nyssa sylvatica, Prunus serotina, and Ulmus rubra. In the subcategory of large saplings (stems 5.0-10.0 cm DBH), there were two species that had statistically significant changes: Cornus florida and Fagus grandifolia. Overall, the mesophytic species Acer rubrum, Acer saccharum, and Fagus grandifolia continue to dominate the sapling layers of the sampled forests. Fagus grandifolia had significant differences in total saplings, as well as both small and large sapling subcategories. In all three classes, Fagus grandifolia increased in stems per hectare and relative density. In the total sapling and small sapling categories, Fagus grandifolia became the most abundant species. Acer rubrum and Acer saccharum had statistically significant changes in total and small sapling categories, where the stems per hectare and relative densities of both species decreased. Acer saccharum and Acer rubrum respectively remained the first and second most abundant in the large sapling subcategory. Comparatively, none of our sparse Quercus species had significant differences in abundance between sampling periods, and Carya glabra had significant changes in total and in small sapling size-classes, with decreasing stems per hectare and relative densities. Our research sought to quantitatively evaluate shifts in sapling composition and abundance between two sampling periods, and found continued prominence of mesophytic species, including the increasing abundance of Fagus grandifolia.
David Hix, PhD (Advisor)
53 p.
Ecology; Forestry; Natural Resource Management
forest; sapling; appalachian ohio; appalachian ecosystem; forestry; regeneration; fagus; acer; quercus; carya

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Ballweg, S. L. (2020). Shifts in sapling regeneration over 25 years in forest ecosystems of Appalachian Ohio [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1595523394257846

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Ballweg, Savannah. Shifts in sapling regeneration over 25 years in forest ecosystems of Appalachian Ohio. 2020. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1595523394257846.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Ballweg, Savannah. "Shifts in sapling regeneration over 25 years in forest ecosystems of Appalachian Ohio." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1595523394257846

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1595523394257846
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