Response of ice-damaged northern hardwood stands in northern New York

Abstract

At three previously thinned, even-aged northern hardwood stands affected by the 1998 ice storm, we evaluated the responses of trees in plots given a rehabilitation treatment, and compared findings to adjacent untreated areas. In both the rehabilitated and untreated areas mortality seemed consistent with regional norms for northern hardwood stands. Trees that died after the storm had essentially complete crown loss due to ice loading, and 12% of living trees lost at least half of their crown. In both sets of plots, epicormic branching within the crown led to crown rebuilding, resulting in high levels of tree survival and good post-storm diameter growth on all plots. Release of selected upper-canopy trees by the rehabilitation cutting significantly increased diameter growth rates compared to those in untreated areas. While some epicormics developed below the base of the original crown in both treated and untreated plots, they largely emanated at > 5.2 m from the ground and did not degrade the butt log of most trees.