Life Sciences Commons^™

Resistance Of Forest Community Types To Structural And Compositional Change Following Beech Bark Disease Infestation, Sarah Ann Hoskinson

Honors Theses

Pathogens change forest composition and structure by selectively eliminating susceptible individuals and species. Caused by a complex between an exotic scale insect and fungi, beech bark disease has infected mature American beech (Fagus grandifolia) trees through most of the species range. Before succumbing to the disease, infected trees generate root sprouts, transforming beech from a dominant canopy species into an abundant subcanopy species. Root sprouting can create dense beech thickets that interfere with the regeneration of other species. Exclusion of species from the understory has ecological and economic implications. This study compared forest community types for their resistance to compositional …