The Finnish Society of Forest Science · The Finnish Forest Research Institute Age and Size Structure of Gap-Dynamic, Old-Growth Boreal Forest Stands in Newfoundland

• Main Authors: John W. Mccarthy, Gordon Weetman
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: old-growth forests; gap dynamics; age and size structure; rotated sigmoid; Newfoundland
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.115.8196; http://www.metla.fi/silvafennica/full/sf40/sf402209.pdf

The age and size structure of trees in old Abies-Picea-Betula forests on Newfoundland’s Great Northern Peninsula were examined. It was hypothesized that the size and age structure of both the tree and regeneration “strata ” of these stands display the complex structural heterogeneity characteristic of classic, self-regenerating, uneven-aged old-growth stands, and that the development and dynamics of such structures occur over long periods of time. With all tree species combined, dbh (diameter at breast height) and height distributions exhibited a strong reverse-J character, with well-defined, semi-logarithmic rotated sigmoid height and size frequencies. Seedling height and basal diameter frequency distributions were reverse-J in character. Live tree ages for all species, except white birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh), ranged from 25 to 269 years, and were characterized by all-age frequency distributions. Tree age and size were poorly correlated. On average, balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) required 62 years to reach breast height (1.3 m), with black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) and white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) requiring 40 and 48 years, respectively. Total age of dead standing trees ranged from 45 to 232 years. Reverse-J age frequencies characterized the seedling bank, with balsam fir seedlings present in nearly all age classes up to 110, 120