Land-use history (1720–1992), composition, and dynamics of oak–pine forests within the Piedmont and Coastal Plain of northern Virginia

Abstract

Woody vegetation was surveyed in 58 forest stands in northern Virginia to examine the effects of previous land-use history on past and present-day forest composition and dynamics. Stands were separated using detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) and overstory importance values into three forest groups: (i) white oak (Quercusalba L.)–tulip-poplar (Liriodendrontulipifera L.) (ii) white oak–scarlet oak (Quercuscoccinea Muenchh.) and (iii) Virginia pine (Pinusvirginiana Mill.) The first DCA axis represents a successional continuum from more recently disturbed areas containing young pine forests to less disturbed mature oak stands, and is negatively correlated with stand age and species diversity. White oak and red oak (Quercusrubra L.) dominated presettlement forests in the area. Following European settlement, forests experienced intense logging associated with the charcoal iron industry, large-scale clearing for agriculture, and subsequent land abandonment. By coupling radial growth analysis with age–diameter figures, we evaluated the responses of stands to disturbances associated with various land-use practices. This analysis indicated that many Virginia pine stands resulted from agricultural abandonment during the early 1900s, while a majority of oak stands experienced peak recruitment and radial growth following periodic logging disturbances in the 1800s. Canopy closure, forest protection, and reduced fire and logging disturbance this century led to increases in dogwood (Cornusflorida L.) and blackgum (Nyssasylvatica Marsh.) in area forests. The oldest stands exhibited a lack of tall oak regeneration; however, they also contained a scarcity of potential oak replacement species. Therefore, oak will seemingly share future dominance with several mixed-mesophytic species, although the exact successional status of these stands is unresolved.