American beech and sugar maple sapling relative abundance and growth are not modified by light availability following partial and total canopy disturbances

作者：Bannon Kim^*; Delagrange Sylvain; Belanger Nicolas; Messier Christian

来源：Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 2015, 45(6): 632-638.

DOI：10.1139/cjfr-2014-0240

• Fagus grandifolia
• Acer saccharum
• soil nutrient availability
• light availability
• saplings
• clearcut
• partial cut

Studies have reported divergent results on the effect of soil fertility and canopy opening on understory density and growth of sugar maple (AS; Acer saccharum Marsh.) and American beech (FG; Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.). The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a gradient of canopy opening and soil fertility on the density and growth of AS and FG saplings in southwestern Quebec, Canada. We investigated 56 stands containing both AS and FG that were subjected to different disturbance history types (DHTs) (UF, unmanaged forest; PC, partial cut; and CC, clearcut) on various soil types. AS and FG absolute and relative sapling density varied greatly among the 56 stands; however, no significant effects of DHT, soil nutrient availability, or their interaction were found. Both species responded positively in terms of radial growth to canopy openings, with FG growth being slightly better than AS growth in PC stands compared with other canopy treatments. Contrary to our hypothesis, AS did not show significantly higher growth than FG following clear-cutting. These results do not support the idea that AS abundance and growth could be promoted by increasing the intensity of the canopy opening during harvest, at least on the generally acidic and base-poor soils that were investigated.

• 出版日期2015-6