Legacy of Pre-Disturbance Spatial Pattern Determines Early Structural Diversity following Severe Disturbance in Montane Spruce Forests.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Severe canopy-removing disturbances are native to many temperate forests and radically alter stand structure, but biotic legacies (surviving elements or patterns) can lend continuity to ecosystem function after such events. Poorly understood is the degree to which the structural complexity of an old-growth forest carries over to the next stand. We asked how pre-disturbance spatial pattern acts as a legacy to influence post-disturbance stand structure, and how this legacy influences the structural diversity within the early-seral stand.

Methods

Two stem-mapped one-hectare forest plots in the Czech Republic experienced a severe bark beetle outbreak, thus providing before-and-after data on spatial patterns in live and dead trees, crown projections, down logs, and her

SUBMITTER: Bace R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4589365 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature