Vegetation development in a hardwood-forest chronosequence in Nova Scotia

Abstract

Vegetation and aboveground biomass and nutrient capital (N, P, K, Ca, and Mg) were examined in a 22-stand, 75-year chronosequence within an angiosperm-dominated forest in Nova Scotia. Stands 20 years old and younger originated with clear-cutting, whereas older stands originated with wildfire. Early successional, ruderal species of vascular plants were prominent for ca. 5 years after clear-cutting, but they occurred as a part of a diverse, species-rich community dominated by more-tolerant species, many of which survived the disturbance of clear-cutting. The rate of accumulation of aboveground biomass averaged 2.2 t•ha−1•year−1 during the first 11 years after clear-cutting, 4.7 t•ha−1•year−1 between 11 and 30 years, and then decreased to 1.5 t•ha−1•year−1 between 30 and 75 years. Foliage biomass recovered to a quantity typical of mature stands within only 3–5 years of disturbance, as a result of the vigorous growth of both ground vegetation and stump sprouts of certain tree species. The patterns of accumulation of N, P, K, and Mg were similar to that of biomass, except that initially their relative rates of accumulation were faster because of the large proportion of nutrient-rich foliage in young stands. The accumulation of Ca was relatively slower, because of its large concentration in tree bark, a tissue whose proportion in the aboveground biomass reached a maximum much later than did foliage.