Two Centuries of Forest Compositional and Structural Changes in the Alabama Fall Line Hills
Two Centuries of Forest Compositional and Structural Changes in the Alabama Fall Line Hills
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阿拉巴马州秋线山两个世纪以来森林组成和结构的变化
DOI：
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发表时间：
2015
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
J. Hart
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
L. Cox;J. Hart
记录森林组成和结构随时间的变化以及对干扰的反应，加强了我们对创造当代森林生态系统的过程的理解。这些研究的结果还提供了森林特征变化的历史范围，这对于确定以地点为基础的森林管理目标至关重要。使用历史档案和当前的森林资源清查数据，从过去两个世纪，我们量化了森林的组成和结构的根本转变后，在亚拉巴马（前欧洲定居点（1820年和1842年），前工业伐木（1905年），美国林业局收购（1943年），和当代条件（现在））的森林的瀑布线山的森林。为了量化欧洲人定居之前的条件，我们分析了1820年和1842年的土地总局调查。我们使用Reed（1905）和哈珀（1943）记录了世纪早期到中期的情况。为了量化目前的森林状况，我们在整个研究区取样80 0.04公顷固定面积地块。在欧洲人定居之前，森林结构从密度相对较低的大树，几乎没有小树干转变为密度相对较高的小树干，工业化采伐后几乎没有大树。虽然物种的相对贡献在过去两个世纪中有所不同，但森林的组成仍然相对稳定。尽管土地利用发生了变化，沼泽松仍然是森林中最常见的物种。
Abstract Documenting changes in forest composition and structure through time and in response to disturbances strengthens our understanding of the processes that have created contemporary forest ecosystems. Results from these studies also provide the historical range of variation in forest characteristics, which is essential for establishing place-based targets for forest management. Using historical archives and current forest inventory data from the past two centuries, we quantified forest composition and structure following fundamental shifts in land use for a forest in the Fall Line Hills of Alabama (pre-European settlement (1820 and 1842), pre-industrial logging (1905), U.S. Forest Service acquisition (1943), and contemporary conditions (present)). To quantify conditions prior to European settlement, we analyzed General Land Office surveys of 1820 and 1842. We used Reed (1905) and Harper (1943) to document conditions during the early to mid-20th century. To quantify current forest conditions, we sampled 80 0.04 ha fixed area plots throughout the study area. Forest structure shifted from relatively large trees at low densities, with few small stems prior to European settlement to a relatively high density of small stems, with few large trees post-industrial logging. Although relative contributions of species varied over the past two centuries, forest composition remained relatively stable. Despite changes in land use, Pinus palustris remained the most common species in the forest.