Compound forest disturbances may alter forest successional and developmental pathways differently than a single disturbance alone; however, this is not a certainty. We investigated effects of post-wind disturbance salvage logging, a common compound disturbance sequence, in an upland Quercus stand on the Alabama Cumberland Plateau 12 years after the events. We re-established 60 sample plots in undisturbed, wind-disturbed, and compound-disturbed (wind-disturbed and salvage logged) neighborhoods of a single stand that was first inventoried two years post-disturbance. Sapling density was greatest and seedling density was lowest on compound-disturbed plots. Over the 12 growing seasons since the wind disturbance and salvage logging events, the woody plant assemblages became more diverse and heterogeneous within disturbance categories. On wind-disturbed and compound-disturbed plots, we suspect this was related to reorganization of the woody plant assemblage and arrival of new propagules. On undisturbed plots, we speculated this pattern resulted from gap-scale disturbance processes as the Quercus alba stand approached the complex stage of development. In 2012, the wind-disturbed and compound-disturbed woody plant assemblages were distinct in ordination space, but by 2022 the wind-disturbed and compound-disturbed plots were no longer statistically distinct in ordination space. However, the sapling layer of compound-disturbed neighborhoods was heavily dominated by Acer rubrum and we hypothesized that the wind disturbance event accelerated succession of Quercus-to-Acer and that the salvage operation accelerated the composition shift.
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Latest Articles in Current Issue
- Lucas P. Hales
- Jacob Murray, J. Davis Goode, and Justin L. Hart
- 2023-12-31T00:00
- Brenda Herring
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- 2023-12-31T00:00
A range wide status survey of the perforate reindeer lichen (Cladonia perforata) was performed by revisiting known extant and historical sites and searching for new populations. Size of each population was determined and the extent of invasive plant species in the vicinity of Cladonia perforata was also documented. The data was used to update the global and state NatureServe conservation status rank of this species and provide the current information to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), Department of Defense (DOD), state agencies, and land managers. Twenty-five existing element occurrence records were updated, and seven new element occurrences were documented. Based on several rank factors such as area of occupancy, number of both viable and protected populations, and threats, the rank of Cladonia perforata was recalculated to G2G3/S2S3 from the previous rank of G1/S1 (NatureServe 2022). This change in rank indicates a reduction in conservation status from Critically Imperiled to Imperiled/Vulnerable.
- Jeremy D. Rentsch
- Cody B. Collier and Michael P. Jordan
- 2023-12-31T00:00
Kalmia latifolia, the mountain laurel, contains dangerous diterpene grayanotoxins, which make all parts of the plant toxic. Human consumption of honey made from Kalmia and Rhododendron nectar, so-called ‘mad honey,’ can result in serious poisoning. Despite this, homeopathic Kalmia latifolia tincture is available for purchase online. Here, we test a concentrated Kalmia latifolia tincture produced in the laboratory against a commercially available homeopathic Kalmia latifolia tincture. To evaluate outcomes, we treat Daphnia magna with these tinctures and evaluate changes to mortality, heart rate, and the differential expression of several genes related to detoxification and stress response. We find that the concentrated Kalmia latifolia tincture contains cytotoxic compounds beyond the ethanol solvent alone. This is evidenced by lower heart rates in daphnids 24 hours after treatment, and by the upregulation of Hsp90, a stress response gene, when compared to other treatment types. However, ethanol alone was found to cause higher mortality at both 24 and 48 hours than either Kalmia based tincture. We believe, despite poor solubility, some level of the hydrophobic grayanotoxins dissolve in the ethanol solvent used to create the distillation and are present in the final concentrated tincture making the final tincture likely far less potent than one performed using a strong organic solvent. Ethanol is a poor solvent for grayanotoxins and the final level of cytotoxins in the concentrated tincture is likely quite low. We find relatively little evidence for acute cytotoxicity in daphnids exposed to a concentrated Kalmia latifolia tincture.
- Robert W. Howell
- David R. Carter and W. Michael Aust
- 2023-12-31T00:00
Twenty-four growing seasons after installation, five regeneration cuts and one understory control treatment were remeasured to assess long-term effects on stand composition and development in the Appalachian forest region of southwest Virginia. The six experimental treatments included understory control, group selection, high-retention shelterwood, low-retention shelterwood, leave-tree, and clearcut, plus a non-harvested control. Two-hectares of each treatment were replicated on three oak (Quercus) dominated sites in the ridge and valley physiographic province of southwestern Virginia in 1994 and 1995. Overall, results indicated the high-retention shelterwood treatment favored oak species and partially suppressed yellow poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera). Among the overstory removal treatments, the clearcut treatments accrued the greatest aboveground biomass, partially due to the greater yellow poplar component. The clearcut also contained a relatively high importance values for oak species, but the prevalence of faster growing species within the clearcut suggests that intermediate treatments, such as crop tree release, could be necessary to retain the oak component. Overall, the high-retention shelterwood represents a balance to passively control post-harvest composition to favor an oak component while accruing biomass without intermediate oak release treatments.
