Abstract
PLOCHER, A. E. AND K. L. CARVELL (Div. For., West Virginia Univ., Morgantown, WV 26506-6125). Population dynamics of rosebay rhododendron thickets in the southern Appalachians. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 114:121-126.-Seven north-central West Virginia Rhododendron maximum thickets, ranging from 0.2 to 0.6 ha, were studied to determine: the occurrence of and ecological conditions for rhododendron reproduction and vegetative propagation, the relationship between past logging history and thicket formation and dynamics and the effect of dense rhododendron thickets on overstory reproduction and recruitment. Thickets were relatively even-aged and did not appear to be increasing in area. The overstories were younger than the rhododendrons and tree seedlings and saplings occurred within thickets. Thickets were found to date from the most recent logging operations. Moisture conditions varied from mesic to subxeric. Drier thickets with more open canopies, sparse herb coverage and an abundance of moss produced rosebay seedlings prolifically in adjacent areas. Thickets with wetter conditions, denser canopies and lush herbaceous growth produced very few rosebay seedlings; however, they exhibited profuse layering.
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