Severity of Overstory Mortality Influences Conifer Recruitment and Growth in Mountain Pine Beetle-Affected Forests
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Area
2.2. Study Design
2.3. Tree Data Collection
2.4. Canopy Density Data Collection and Processing
2.5. Soil Temperature and Moisture
2.6. Statistical Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Forest Overstory and Understory
3.2. Regeneration Density and Growth
3.3. Soil Moisture and Temperature
3.4. Forest Floor and Recruitment Distribution
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Substrate | Observed Substrate Cover (%) | |
---|---|---|
Mortality Level | ||
High | Moderate | |
Duff/litter * | 44 | 57 |
Vaccinium spp. | 25 | 23 |
Wood debris * | 16 | 9 |
Shrubs/conifer branches | 9 | 6 |
Lichen/moss | 3 | 3 |
Rock | 1 | 1 |
Forbs/gramminoids | 1 | <1 |
Mineral soil | <1 | <1 |
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Pelz, K.A.; Rhoades, C.C.; Hubbard, R.M.; Smith, F.W. Severity of Overstory Mortality Influences Conifer Recruitment and Growth in Mountain Pine Beetle-Affected Forests. Forests 2018, 9, 536. https://doi.org/10.3390/f9090536
Pelz KA, Rhoades CC, Hubbard RM, Smith FW. Severity of Overstory Mortality Influences Conifer Recruitment and Growth in Mountain Pine Beetle-Affected Forests. Forests. 2018; 9(9):536. https://doi.org/10.3390/f9090536
Chicago/Turabian StylePelz, Kristen A., Charles C. Rhoades, Robert M. Hubbard, and Frederick W. Smith. 2018. "Severity of Overstory Mortality Influences Conifer Recruitment and Growth in Mountain Pine Beetle-Affected Forests" Forests 9, no. 9: 536. https://doi.org/10.3390/f9090536