[MCN] How does a tornado compare with salvage logging?

[Lance Olsen]

Forest Ecology and Management. November 2017
Catastrophic wind and salvage harvesting effects on woodland plants <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378112717306059>
Original Research Article
Pages 112-125
Jonathan S. Kleinman, Scott A. Ford, Justin L. Hart

Highlights

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Biophysical responses to wind disturbance and salvage harvesting were assessed.

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Ground flora assemblages were distinct across disturbance categories.

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Unharvested wind-disturbed plots exhibited the greatest plant diversity.

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Reduced plant diversity was attributed to salvage harvesting.

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Leaving patches unharvested within salvaged stands is recommended.



Keywords
Wind disturbance Salvage Compound disturbance Pinus palustris longleaf pine Diversity Woody debris

Abstract
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378112717306059 <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378112717306059>

Compound disturbances may result in novel forest successional and developmental patterns. This study investigated effects of post-wind disturbance salvage harvesting, a unique compound disturbance of which the ecological consequences are unresolved, in fire-restored longleaf pine woodlands of the Alabama Fall Line Hills, a characteristically biodiverse and rare ecosystem. Plot-level data were collected May–June 2016 in areas undisturbed, wind-disturbed, and compound-disturbed (salvage harvested within seven months of an April 2011 EF3 tornado). Disturbance-mediated differences in (1) physical site conditions, (2) woody plant composition and structure, and (3) ground flora (herbaceous and woody plants ≤ 1 m in height) were assessed. Multivariate analyses revealed distinct differences in ground flora across disturbance categories. Biophysical drivers most correlated with differences in species assemblages included volume of coarse woody debris <http://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/coarse-woody-debris>, sapling density, percent canopy <http://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/canopy-biology> cover, and basal area. Unharvested wind-disturbed plots had the greatest diversity of saplings and ground flora, and had indicator species with unique habitat requirements (specialists). Indicator species of compound-disturbed plots were mostly generalists that also had a relatively high frequency and abundance in the other disturbance categories. Reduced plant diversity on compound-disturbed plots was attributed to salvage harvest-mediated reductions in habitat heterogeneity and resource availability. Thus, leaving patches unharvested within salvaged stands is recommended to promote stand-scale plant diversity.

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