ROW: Edge Effects in Fragmented Piedmont Forests

随着欧洲人的定居，卡罗琳皮埃蒙特阔叶林的砍伐减少或消除了许多动植物物种的种群，本世纪上半叶，农田的废弃和次生演替为松木和阔叶林提供了一些物种的部分恢复。在本世纪下半叶，城市化再次破坏了山前森林，对森林内部物种构成了新的威胁。卡罗莱纳山前森林的次生破碎化为研究种群和群落的响应提供了及时的机会，并为理论和实际应用开发了预测模型。这项规划研究的目的是发展预测某些森林分类群的人口状况和群落组成可能变化的能力，作为反映森林破碎化的环境格局措施的功能。感兴趣的地理区域是卡罗来纳州皮埃蒙特，特别是达勒姆县和奥兰治县以及邻近县的邻近地区，其中包含最大的皮埃蒙特森林保护区以及最迅速的城市化地区。研究的分类群可能包括森林鸟类和维管植物群落。用于描述森林破碎化的措施可包括几种森林类型的总面积和核心区；森林碎片斑块大小分布；森林类型与其他土地用途之间的边缘面积；斑块之间的距离；连接森林斑块的河岸及其他廊道的长度、宽度和生境特征；斑块的年龄，从失去主要干扰开始测量。这项规划活动将提供必要的资料，以便对森林破碎和景观生态学进行更全面的研究。

Clearing of Caroline Piedmont hardwood forests following European settlement reduced or eliminated populations of many plant and animal species farmland abandonment and secondary succession to pine and then hardwood forests in the first half of this century afforded some species a partial recovery. In the second half of this century, urbanization is again fragmenting Piedmont forests with renewed threat to forest interior species. The secondary fragmentation of Carolina Piedmont forests offers a timely opportunity to study population and community responses and develop predictive models for both theoretical and practical use. The purpose of this planning research is to develop the ability to predict likely changes in population status and community composition for selected forest taxa as functions of measures of environmental pattern reflecting forest fragmentation. The geographic region of interest is the Carolina Piedmont, particularly Durham and Orange Counties and adjacent sections of neighboring counties, which contain the largest protected sections of Piedmont forest as well as the most rapidly urbanizing areas. Taxa selected for study will likely include forest birds and vascular plant communities. Measures used to describe forest fragmentation may include total and core areas in several forest types; distribution of forest fragment patch sizes; amount of edge between forest types and other land uses; distances among patches; lengths, widths and habitat characteristics of riparian and other corridors connecting forest patches; and ages of patches, measured since lost major disturbance. This planning activity will provide the information necessary for development of a more complete study of forest fragmentation and landscape ecology.