Forest Succession Classification - Connecting Patterns in Seral Communities to Plant Biodiversity
August 6, 2016 UPDATE: We have decided to use a classification scheme outlined in page 13 of "Creating a Forestry for the 21st Century: The Science Of Ecosytem Management", from a review of "succession theory" to update my classification framework: https://books.google.com/books?id=XNiq_KJ-zpgC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
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In order to make sense of the LiDAR data in terms of forest community research, we propose to model the varied stages of forest succession, and do so for each forest community represented in the study area. Based on regional forest ecology classification work led by the late Dr. Sawyer at the HSU Department of Forestry, these communities (or associations) occur within a few regionalized forest types, and the focus of our study will be the Klamath Mixed Conifer Type (KMC). A report published by the California Department of Fish and Game for the California Wildlife Habitat Relationships System, describes KMC as follows:
"Structure. Klamath Mixed Conifer (KMC) habitat is typically composed of tall, dense to moderately open, needle-leaved evergreen forests with patchesof broad-leaved evergreen and deciduous low trees and shrubs (Küchler 1977). On favorable mesic sites with little disturbance, the habitat is dominated by tall evergreen conifers up to 60 m (200 ft) in height with a rich shrub layer and well-developed herbaceous layer (Sawyer and Thornburgh 1977). On more xeric sites, the habitat is generally open, but very diverse forest land (Sawyer and Thornburgh 1977) having a well developed shrub layer. Composition. The overstory layer is characterized by a mixture of conifers. Dominant conifers in the western portion of this habitat are white fir and Douglas-fir. In the east, dominant conifers are white fir, Douglas-fir, ponderosa pine, incense cedar and sugar pine. Other conifers in the overstory layer include Shasta red fir, Sierra lodgepole pine, mountain hemlock, western white pine, knobcone pine, Jeffrey pine and Brewer spruce. In a few isolated stands, other relic conifers include Pacific silver fir, subalpine fir, Port-Orford-cedar, Alaska-cedar, and Engelmann spruce. Occasional broad leaved trees include Sierra chinquapin, canyon live oak and California black oak. Pacific yew occurs as a small tree in the understory (D.A. Thornburgh, Dept. of Forestry, Humboldt State University, Arcata, Calif., pers. comm.; Parker and Matyas 1981)
At higher elevations, red fir and mountain hemlock are more prevalent with occasional whitebark pine and foxtail pine (D. A. Thornburgh, pers.comm.). At lower elevations or on more xeric sites, ponderosa pine becomes more prevalent and white fir and Douglasfir are reduced. Jeffrey pine is the principal overstory species found on ultramafic soils and serpentine outcrops (Küchler 1977, Sawyer and Thornburgh 1977). Dense forests have a very rich shrub layer which can include Sierra laurel, Sadler oak, dwarf rose or western thimbleberry. In open-to-moderately dense forests, shrub-size plants in the subcanopy include small individuals of overstory species, especially Shasta red fir and white fir, as well as bitter cherry, Sierra chinquapin, pinemat manzanita, squawcarpet, huckleberry oak, Oregon-grape, greenleaf manzanita, dwarf rose, snowberry, and juneberry (Küchler 1977, Parker and Matyas 1981). The herbaceous layer is well developed and includes twinflower, American trailplant, queencup beadlily, western rattlesnake plantain, sweet-scented bedstraw, chimaphila spp., Idaho fescue, and tufted pinegrass (Sawyer and Thornburgh 1974).
With respect to interfaces with other associations, the report states that "at lower elevations on its eastern border, Klamath Mixed Conifer interfaces with Sierran Mixed Conifer (SMC), Ponderosa Pine (PPN), Montane Hardwood-Conifer (MHC) and Mixed Chaparral (MCH). On drier or very rocky sites or on rock outcrops, Montane Chaparral (MCP) occurs at the same elevation as Klamath Mixed Conifer. This habitat interfaces with the Subalpine Conifer (SCN) habitat at its uppermost elevations." (Benson 2005).
A large part of the project will be to define the seral stages for each community in a spatially explicit sense that is defensible. Plant biodiversity transects are relatively easy to perform by comparison, as are uni and multivariate relationship models in R Studio.
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