First name:
Ellie
Last name:
Jose
Class Year:
2023
Advisor:
Marlyse Duguid and Mark Ashton
Essay Abstract:
Openings created by canopy tree falls is the main type of disturbance that catalyzes forest regeneration and succession in mixed hardwood forests of southern New England. Timber harvesting is one way openings can be created, driving the need to understand how forest regeneration responds to various silvicultural treatments. In this study, we completed a full vegetation census of an experimental linear gap (ELG) at the Yale Myers Forest, spanning 48 plots that were created in 1999. Using over two decades of vegetation data, we tracked patterns of plant diversity in the understory through time, documenting changes in community composition. Compared to 1999, we found a significant increase in species diversity two years following treatment with peak diversity and plot heterogeneity six-to-seven years following treatment. We also demonstrated plant composition regarding lethal versus release groundstory treatments was significantly different in the years immediately following the harvest, but are now virtually indistinguishable.