Publication Details

Year Published

2013

Publication

Forest Ecology and Management. 291: 110-118.

Abstract

The structure and developmental dynamics of old-growth forests often serve as important baselines for restoration prescriptions aimed at promoting more complex structural conditions in managed forest landscapes. Nonetheless, long-term information on natural patterns of development is rare for many commercially important and ecologically widespread forest types. Moreover, the effectiveness of approaches recommended for restoring old-growth structural conditions to managed forests, such as the application of extended rotation forestry, has been little studied. This study uses several long-term datasets from old growth, extended rotation, and unmanaged second growth Pinus resinosa (red pine) forests in northern Minnesota, USA, to quantify the range of variation in structural conditions for this forest type and to evaluate the effectiveness of extended rotation forestry at promoting the development of late-successional structural conditions. Long-term tree population data from permanent plots for one of the old-growth stands and the extended rotation stands (87 and 61 years, respectively) also allowed for an examination of the long-term structural dynamics of these systems.

Keywords

Citation

Silver, Emily J.; D'Amato, Anthony W.; Fraver, Shawn; Palik, Brian J.; Bradford, John B. 2013. Structure and development of old-growth, unmanaged second-growth, and extended rotation Pinus resinosa forests in Minnesota, USA. Forest Ecology and Management. 291: 110-118.