Document: ALB-3-69-37

Blowdown dynamics in oak-hickory forests of the Missouri Ozarks.

MEIER, A.J.* ¹ and A.J.REBERTUS ²

Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, KY 42101 USA ¹
Northern Michigan University, Marquette, MI 49855 USA ²

Abstract:
We sampled 105 km of transect to determine whether oak decline has led to extensive secondary blowdown of patches > 500 m² in maturing, 50- to 90-year-old oak-hickory forests in the Missouri Ozarks. Gaps >500 m² disturbed 1.4% of the landscape per decade; for gaps 0.05- 2.5 ha, the rate was only 0.5% per decade. Twenty-eight of the 38 mesoscale gaps were clearly wind-related, whereas 10 had mainly dead-standing trees and limited secondary windfall. Disproportionately more gaps occurred on north and east aspects, which may be related to differences in tree density and structure. Scarlet oak (Quercus coccinea Muenchh.) was the dominant treefall but new regeneration in blowdowns was dominated by white oak (Quercus alba L.), hickories (Carya spp. L.), and flowering dogwood (Cornus florida L.). Although gap disturbance regime characteristics in some old-growth mesic forests may approach a quasi-equilibrium condition, second-growth forests of the Ozarks appear to be in disequilibrium.

Keywords: gaps, Ozarks, oak, dieback, blowdowns, succession, scale, disturbance regime

This abstract is being presented at: 11:45 AM in session:
Oral Session #42: Disturbance Ecology: Effects of Storms.