ISSN:
1573-5052
Schlagwort(e):
Old-growth forest
;
Picea rubens
;
Spruce decline
;
Subalpine forest
;
Virginia
Quelle:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Thema:
Biologie
Notizen:
Abstract Old-growth stands of red spruce (Picea rubens) were sampled at the only four localities in the mountains of southwestern Virginia and central West Virginia where examples of such are known to exist. Based upon mean ages (±SE) of cored trees, sampled stands ranged in age from 164±18 to 201±10 yr. Dendro-ecological (tree-ring) analysis showed a marked decline in growth of trees at three localities during the late 1800s, followed by recovery to previous levels of growth within two decades. This growth-trend decline generally coincides with a period of extensive mortality of red spruce reported to have occurred in central West Virginia. Basal area of trees ≥2.5 cm DBH ranged from 35.4 to 46.1 m2/ha. These figures are considerably lower than those recorded at earlier dates for similar old-growth stands in the Appalachians, which suggests that a general decline has occurred over the last half-century.
Materialart:
Digitale Medien
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00042254
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