Forest Succession: Concepts and Application

ISBN-13: 9781461259527 / Angielski / Miękka / 2011 / 517 str.

D. C. West; H. H. Shugart;D. F. Botkin

Opis

Succession-nothing in plant, community, or ecosystem ecology has been so elaborated by terminology, so much reviewed, and yet so much the center of controversy. In a general sense, every ecologist uses the concept in teaching and research, but no two ecologists seem to have a unified concept of the details of succession. The word was used by Thoreau to describe, from a naturalist's point of view, the general changes observed during the transition of an old field to a forest. As data accumulated, a lengthy taxonomy of succession developed around early twentieth century ecologists such as Cooper, Clements, and Gleason. Now, nearer the end of the century, and after much discussion concerning the nature of vegetation communities, where do ecologists stand with respect to knowledge of ecological succession? The intent of this book is not to rehash classic philosophies of succession that have emerged through the past several decades of study, but to provide a forum for ecologists to present their current research and present-day interpretation of data. To this end, we brought together a group of scientists currently studying terrestrial plant succession, who represent research experience in a broad spectrum of different ecosystem types. The results of that meeting led to this book, which presents to the reader a unique summary of contemporary research on forest succession.

Spis treści

1 Introduction.- 2 Concepts, Theory, and Models of Forest Succession.- Synthesis and Summarization.- 3 Succession and Ecological Theory.- Ecosystem Succession.- Ecosystem Evolution.- Reduction and Emergence.- Discussion and Questions.- 4 Some Causes of Variety in Patterns of Secondary Succession.- Spatial Pattern of Recruitment and Succession.- Succession as a Tree-by-Tree Replacement Process.- When Is Secondary Succession Convergent?.- Succession as the Differential Expression of Life Histories.- 5 Causality and Succession.- Background to the Model.- Verification.- Results of the Verification: Individual Tree Growth.- Implications for Analysis of Causality in Succession.- 6 The Role of Disturbance in the Gap Dynamics of a Montane Rain Forest: An Application of a Tropical Forest Succession Model.- Description of the FORICO Model.- Gap Dynamics and the Role of Disturbance.- Models and the Study of Forest Disturbance.- 7 Patterns and Dynamics of Forests: An Application of Simulation Models.- Model Description.- Model Testing.- Patterns of Compositional Dynamics Simulated by the Four Models.- Structural Similarities in Ecosystem Dynamics.- Compositional Dissimilarities in Ecosystem Dynamics.- Species Roles in Ecosystem Dynamics.- Conclusions.- 8 Long-Term Forest Dynamics.- Methods of Study.- Implications of Results.- Conclusions.- 9 Plant Succession and Soil Development in Coastal Sand Dunes of Subtropical Eastern Australia.- The Sand-Dune Systems of the Subtropical Coast.- Present and Past Climates.- Relationships between Soils, Nutrients, and Vegetation.- Long-Term Forest Succession.- 10 Quaternary History and the Stability of Forest Communities.- Pollen as a Record of Geographical Distribution of Trees.- Forest Communities at the Time of the Last Glacial Maximum.- Northward Migrations of Boreal Trees.- Migrations of Species from the Temperate Deciduous Forest.- Discussion.- 11 Simulating the Role of Climate Change and Species Immigration in Forest Succession.- Parameters for the Model.- Comparison of Model Results and the Pollen Record.- Vegetation Migration and Development.- Conclusions.- 12 Patterns of Succession in Different Forest Ecosystems.- Boreal Forest.- Coniferous Forest.- Tropical Forest.- Discussion.- Conclusions.- 13 Forest Succession in Relation to Nutrient Cycling in the Boreal Forest of Alaska.- Summary of Succession.- Floodplain Succession.- Upland White Spruce Succession.- Upland Black Spruce Succession.- Nutrient Cycling and Succession.- Conclusions.- 14 Aspects of Succession in the Coniferous Forests of the Pacific Northwest.- Regional Setting.- General Features of the Forests.- Scale in the Pacific Northwest.- Revised Concepts about Succession in Pseudotsuga Forests.- Role of Woody Debris in Forest Succession.- Long-Lived Seral Species in Succession Modeling.- Conclusions.- 15 Secondary Forest Succession on the North Carolina Piedmont.- Past Studies on the North Carolina Piedmont.- Population Biology of Pines.- Patterns of Hardwood Establishment.- Vegetation-Environment Relations.- Conclusions.- 16 Successional Studies of a Rain Forest in Mexico.- Regeneration in a Tropical Forest.- Cicatrization of the Rain Forest.- The Role of Pioneer Species in Regeneration.- Regeneration within the Rain Forest.- Conclusions.- 17 Process Studies in Succession.- Nutrient Cycling in Succession.- Disturbance Regimes.- Disturbance and Process Studies.- 18 Successional Processes: Comparisons among Biomes with Special Reference to Probable Roles of and Influences on Animals.- Justification of the Matrix Approach.- Comparison of Successional Processes in Various Biomes: Plants.- Animals and Succession: General.- Summary.- 19 Canopy-Understory Interaction and the Internal Dynamics of Mature Hardwood and Hemlock-Hardwood Forests.- Introduction: Stability and Perceptual Scale.- Canopy-Understory Interaction and the Microsite Mosaic.- Beech-Maple Reciprocal Replacement.- Interactions among Several Species: The Hemlock-Northern Hardwood Forests.- Summary and Conclusion.- 20 Changes in Biomass and Production During Secondary Forest Succession.- Theories and Published Data.- Case Studies.- Conclusions.- 21 Above-Ground Biomass Accumulation and Net Primary Production During the First 70 Years of Succession in Populus grandidentata Stands on Poor Sites in Northern Lower Michigan.- Origin of the Aspen Forest.- Site Description and Stand Sampling.- Biomass Accumulation and Net Production.- Discussion.- 22 Below-Ground Processes in Forest Succession.- Below-Ground Ecosystem Components and Processes.- Vegetative Succession in Pacific Northwest Forests.- Root and Mycorrhizal Dynamics in Forest Succession.- Dynamics of Below-Ground Nutrients and Soil Organic Matter Interactions of Below-Ground Ecosystem Components.- An Integrated Example.- 23 Fire and Succession in the Conifer Forests of Northern North America.- Fire Regimes and Fire Cycles in Northern Conifer Forests.- Organic Matter Accumulation, Permafrost, and Paludiflcation.- Fire Characteristics and Ecological Effects.- Plant Strategies for Coping with Fire.- Vegetation Change Following Fire.- Is Lightning-Caused Fire Random or Time-Dependent?.- Fire Patterning of Vegetation Mosaics.- Implications for Succession Theory.- 24 Vegetation Change in Chaparral and Desert Communities in San Diego County, California.- The Regional Setting.- Vegetation Change in Cupressus forbesii Dominated Chaparral in San Diego County.- Vegetation Change in Larrea-Ambrosia Desert.- Discussion.- 25 Is Succession a Viable Concept in African Savanna Ecosystems?.- Determinants of Savannas.- Dynamics of Savannas.- Conclusions.- References.