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Urban Impacts To Forest Productivity, Soil Quality, And Canopy Structure In Forest Park, Portland, Oregon, Andrew David Addessi

Dissertations and Theses

Land use practices and exposure to low impact disturbances associated with an urban environment can alter forest structure and function. Past and ongoing research in Forest Park, a large urban forest in Portland, Oregon, suggests that mature mixed Douglas-fir (Psuedotsuga meziesii)-hardwood stands in the more urban end of the park lack a shade-tolerant conifer understory composed of the late successional conifer tree species, such western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) and western red-cedar (Thuja plicata). 5-year plot remeasurement data that characterizes productivity and mortality patterns did not show a strong relationship to urban proximity. Plot productivity …