HR: 14:05h
AN: B32C-02 INVITED     [PDF]
TI: Effects of Harvesting Intensity and Herbivory by White-tailed Deer on Vegetation and Nutrient Uptake in a Northern Hardwood Forest
AU: * Yorks, T E
EM: yorks@cup.edu
AF: Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, California University of Pennsylvania, 250 University Avenue, California, PA 15419 United States
AU: Leopold, D J
EM: dendro@syr.edu
AF: Department of Environmental and Forest Biology, State University of New York-College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY 13210 United States
AU: Raynal, D J
EM: djraynal@esf.edu
AF: Department of Environmental and Forest Biology, State University of New York-College of Environmental Science and Forestry, 1 Forestry Drive, Syracuse, NY 13210 United States
AU: Murdoch, P S
EM: pmurdoch@usgs.gov
AF: United States Geological Survey, Watersheds Research Section, 425 Jordan Road, Troy, NY 12180 United States
AU: Burns, D A
EM: daburns@usgs.gov
AF: United States Geological Survey, Watersheds Research Section, 425 Jordan Road, Troy, NY 12180 United States
AB: We quantified the response of vegetation and nutrient uptake in a northern hardwood forest in southeastern New York for three to four years after three intensities of harvesting: clearcutting, heavy timber stand improvement (TSI), light TSI (97, 29, and 10% basal area reductions, respectively). We also quantified effects of white-tailed deer ({\it Odocoileus virginianus}) herbivory on nutrient retention by vegetation. Total biomass and nutrient accumulation in vegetation was higher after TSI than clearcutting in the first two years but was highest in the fenced clearcut in subsequent years, indicating that TSI or partial harvesting is a viable management tool for harvesting timber while consistently maintaining high rates of nutrient retention. After clearcutting, biomass and nutrient retention were initially dominated by woody stems $<$1.4 m tall and herbaceous vegetation, but saplings 0.1-5.0 cm DBH became the most important contributors to biomass and nutrient accumulation within four years. However, after both intensities of TSI, trees $>$5.0 cm DBH continued to account for most biomass and nutrient accumulation whereas understory vegetation accumulated little biomass or nutrients. Heavy TSI resulted in increased regeneration of only two tree species ({\it Acer pensylvanicum}, {\it Fagus grandifolia}), but clearcutting allowed these two species, mature forest species ({\it A. saccharum}, {\it Betula alleghaniensis}), and the early successional {\it Prunus pensylvanica} to regenerate. Several early successional shrub and herbaceous species were also important to nutrient retention after clearcutting, including {\it Polygonum cilinode}, {\it Rubus} spp., and {\it Sambucus racemosa}. Herbivory by white-tailed deer dramatically reduced biomass and nutrient accumulation by woody stems $<$5 cm DBH after clearcutting (5.5 vs. 0.7 Mg biomass/ha and 30.4 vs. 6.3 kg N/ha on fenced and unfenced clearcut sites, respectively, after four years), indicating the important influence this herbivore can have on nutrient retention in recently disturbed forests.
DE: 0330 Geochemical cycles
DE: 0400 Biogeosciences
DE: 1851 Plant ecology
SC: Biogeosciences [B]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting