Forest Sciences Commons^™

Preliminary Assessment Of Climatic Sensitivity Of Riparian Old-Growth Eastern Hemlock, John B. Holden Iv, Sophan Chhin, Andrew Hirsch, Eric Yetter

Mountaineer Undergraduate Research Review

Eastern hemlock is a long-lived, slow growing climax species in North America currently undergoing a major decline in population due to a combination of effects derived from hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) as well as changing climate patterns. Data was collected in an old-growth, riparian hemlock forest within the West Virginia University Research Forest to understand the effect of monthly climate factors (mean temperature, mean precipitation, and climate moisture index (CMI)) on hemlock radial growth. Results indicated that March mean temperature and May CMI of the current growth year are positively associated with hemlock growth whereas prior year summer conditions of …

Tree Species Richness Enhances Stand Productivity While Stand Structure Can Have Opposite Effects, Based On Forest Inventory Data From Germany And The United States Of America, Laura Zeller, Jingjing Liang, Hans Pretzsch

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Background: In recent studies, mixed forests were found to be more productive than monocultures with everything else remaining the same.

Methods: To find out if this productivity is caused by tree species richness, by a more heterogeneous stand structure or both, we analyzed the effects of forest structure and tree species richness on stand productivity, based on inventory data of temperate forests in the United States of America and Germany.

Results: Having accounted for effects such as tree size and stand density, we found that: (I) tree species richness increased stand productivity in both countries while the effect of tree …

Altered Spring Phenology Of North American Freshwater Turtles And The Importance Of Representative Populations, Fredric J. Janzen, Luke A. Hoekstra, Ronald J. Brooks, David M. Carroll, J Whitfield Gibbons, Judith L. Greene, John B. Iverson, Jacqueline D. Litzgus, Edwin D. Michael, Steven G. Parren, Willem M. Roosenburg, Gabriel F. Strain, John K. Tucker, Gordon R. Ultsch

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Globally, populations of diverse taxa have altered phenology in response to climate change. However, most research has focused on a single population of a given taxon, which may be unrepresentative for comparative analyses, and few long-term studies of phenology in ectothermic amniotes have been published. We test for climate- altered phenology using long-term studies (10–36 years) of nesting behavior in 14 populations representing six genera of freshwater turtles (Chelydra, Chrysemys, Kinosternon, Malaclemys, Sternotherus, and Trachemys). Nesting season initiation oc- curs earlier in more recent years, with 11 of the populations advancing phenology. The onset of nesting for nearly all populations …