The Role of Pin Cherry (Prunus pensylvanica L.) in the Maintenance of Stability in Northern Hardwood Ecosystems

Abstract

The design of the life cycle of pin cherry (Prunus pensylvanica L.), a successional species common on disturbed sites throughout much of the northern hardwood and boreal forest ecosystems, assures that its occurrence is integrated into the pattern of disturbance in the climax ecosystem. The combination of buried seed strategy and the mobility offered through avian consumption of fruits ensures reasonably large populations of buried, viable seeds in the soils of forests well after the disappearance of pin cherry from a particular site. Soil sampling data indicate that sufficient numbers of viable pin cherry seeds reside in the soils of second—growth forests in central New Hampshire to account for the dense stands frequently observed after cutting or burning. Further, germination of these buried seeds is apparently triggered by some factor(s) associated with formation of a large gap. By age 25 or 30, when pin cherry individuals are dying rapidly, sufficient numbers of seeds have been produced and disseminated in a dormant condition for the cycle to renew itself with the subsequent occurrence of major disturbance. In high density stands pin cherry grows rapidly, with early attainment of canopy closure (high leaf area index), and rapid attainment of high values of net annual production and nutrient accumulation.