Abstract
Two sites in southwestern Virginia were sampled to determine the effects of dust accumulation on structure and composition of a forest community. The sites were similar in all respects except for dust accumulation. One site, the control, had essentially no dust accumulation, whereas the other had heavy accumulation from limestone processing plants. When compared with the control site, significant changes in structure and composition were found to have occurred in the seedling-shrub and sapling strata of the experimental site. Dominance in the tree stratum was also shown to be changing. Leading dominants in the control site were Quercus prinus, Q. rubra, and Acer rubrum, whereas those in the dusty site were Quercus alba, Q. rubra, and Liriodendron tulipifera. Species expected to assume ultimate dominance in the experimental site, if dust accumulation continues, are L. tulipifera, Acer saccharum, and, possibly, Quercus muehlenbergii. This is the first known attempt to assess the long-term effects of dust accumulation on structure and composition of forest communities.
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