1. Forest Ecology

2. What is forest ecology? Study of –Relationships between organisms and their environments –Interactions of organisms with one another –Patterns and causes of abundance and distribution of organisms in forests What forest ecology is not From Gurevitch et al. 2006

3. Organisms and Their Environment Climate – temperature, precipitation, etc. Climate – temperature, precipitation, etc. –Note the importance of how these variables are measured and expressed Soils Soils Light Light Interactions and combinations Interactions and combinations Niche – the range of conditions in which a species can survive; i.e., where a species’ traits allow it to successfully interact with its environment Niche – the range of conditions in which a species can survive; i.e., where a species’ traits allow it to successfully interact with its environment

4. Examples of Niche Sugar maple Sugar maple Jack pine Jack pine Larch Larch

5. Sugar Maple

6. Jack Pine

7. Larch

8. If there aren’t enough resources to meet the optimum amount for each individual, competition will occur, resulting in If there aren’t enough resources to meet the optimum amount for each individual, competition will occur, resulting in –Reduced growth rate for one or both or –Mortality to one of the competitors In many situations, the species will have developed ways to minimize competition, such as In many situations, the species will have developed ways to minimize competition, such as –Get their nutrients and water from different depths in the soils –Flower at different times relative to leaf development What happens when niches overlap?

9. Trillium Trilliums flower early, before the hardwood trees above them leaf out – thus giving them time to flower before it is too shaded

10. Forest Communities/Ecosystems All the species of plants and animals interacting with –One another and –Their environments Examples

11. Spruce-Fir

12. Northern Hardwoods

13. Forest Changes Disturbance and Succession –Forests are always changing due to Disturbances Plant growth and mortality –Examples of disturbances –“Recovery” after disturbances

14. Examples of Disturbance - Fire

15. Examples of Disturbance - Wind

16. Disturbance Example - Harvesting

17. Succession Changes in species composition, structure, and processes following a disturbance Those changes will be driven by the environment and biota Harvard Forest dioramas illustrate a typical sequence of land changes from clearing during settlement to land abandonment when agriculture in New England went down hill (for multiple reasons)

18. Harvard Forest Dioramas Harvard Forest dioramas illustrate a typical sequence of land changes from clearing during settlement to land abandonment when agriculture in New England went down hill (for multiple reasons)

19. Presettlement Forests

20. 1740 - Early Land Clearing

21. 1830 - Height of Cultivation

22. 1850 - Land Abandonment

23. 1910 - Harvest of Old-Field White Pine

24. 1915 - Hardwoods Follow Pine Harvest

25. 1930 - Hardwoods Reach Cordwood Size

26. Old-Field Succession