Past land use, disturbance regime change, and vegetation response in a southern Illinois bottomland conservation area1

Abstract

Abstract Forested bottomland conservation areas in the midwestern and southern United States are subject to an increasingly diverse range of demands for recreational use and other ecosystem services, many dependent upon the maintenance of specific plant communities. Historical land use and other disturbances have shaped present vegetation composition, but these impacts are poorly understood. This study examined historical land use records, dendrochronological evidence, and pre- and post-tornado vegetation, with and without salvage logging, to assess forest composition changes over approximately 125 years at Mermet Lake Conservation Area in southern Illinois. This site has land use history, vegetation cover, and a management mandate common to many large river bottomland forests in the Midwest and southern USA. The vegetation of the area prior to Euro-American settlement was primarily a forest dominated by Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich. and Nyssa aquatica L. A period of drainage and conversion to agriculture...