Adirondack Forest Research Articles

Management trade-offs between forest carbon stocks, sequestration rates and structural complexity in the central Adirondacks

Managing forests for carbon sequestration is an emerging objective within forestry sectors, although considerable uncertainty remains about how best to influence forest C dynamics through silviculture. This study tests hypotheses regarding forest C management within the central Adirondacks and assesses management trade-offs between aboveground live tree C relative to forest structural and biological complexity. The effects of management on forest C stocks, sequestration rates and structural complexity were assessed using a multivariate metric of management intensity derived from historical harvest records, combined with forest inventory data collected from Huntington Wildlife Forest (Newcomb, NY) from 1970 to 2011. Management intensity was quantified using a principal component analysis on measures of management inputs (harvest duration, total harvest area, number of harvest entries) and outputs (harvested wood volume). The first principal axis was used as a unitless metric of management intensity, which explained 64.1% of the variation in management activity. As management intensity increased, above ground live tree C stocks significantly declined but C sequestration rates significantly increased. Management intensity was correlated with decreased structural complexity. Active management can increase forest C uptake through the distribution of resources to young tree cohorts within a stand, which is consistent with the hypothesis of the C stock-sequestration trade-off. However, structural complexity was significantly reduced in areas with the highest C sequestration rates. These trade-offs should be considered and balanced when implementing management that aims to improve the C storing potential of central Adirondack forests.

Business Support for Nature Protection in the Nineteenth Century

AbstractThis article explores the role of business in supporting and benefiting from nature protection during the second half of the nineteenth century. It begins with the support of business for protecting scenic wilderness in California and the creation of Yellowstone, as well as the role of the railroads in encouraging easterners to visit to the nation’s western national parks—all designed to create economic value by promoting tourism. It then examines the efforts of a wide range of business interests to protect the White Mountains of New Hampshire and the Adirondack forest in New York State. The later effort was led by business interests from New York City who worried that deforestation would impair freight traffic on the Erie Canal and Hudson River as well as endanger the city’s water supplies. This article compliments Hay’s research on business and conservation during the Progressive Era by demonstrating that business also played a critical role in supporting wilderness and forest protection.

Ecological Effects of Road De-Icing Salt on Adirondack Forests and Headwater Streams

We collected water samples from upstream and downstream sites over 3 years on 18 study streams in the Adirondacks, NY, and conducted analysis via ANOVA for the presence of road-salt runoff, as measured by chloride ion content. Streams crossed by state roads received more road-salt runoff than streams crossed by county roads, as shown by higher mean chloride loads across different sampling years (P ≤ 0.01). The chloride load in streams was not reliably higher downstream from a road as opposed to upstream from a road for either state or county roads but varied in different sampling years (P 0.05). We collected a total of 1259 nymphs of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera during water sampling. High levels of road-salt runoff were not associated with lower levels of Plecoptera or Trichoptera. Neither numbers of individuals nor numbers of genera of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, or Trichoptera collected per month showed any pattern when regressed on stream-chloride level. However, we detected no Ephemeroptera above a relatively high level of road-salt runoff (154 mg/L chloride ion). We employed the point-centered quarter method to assess forest composition on 10 transects above and below state roads. We conducted further analysis on trees in the lowest quartile of circumference in each transect as a representation of tree-species recruitment. Mean chloride-ion content of study streams, indicating adjacent forest exposure to road-salt runoff, was associated with greater recruitment of Abies balsamea (Balsam Fir), and lower Shannon–Weiner diversity. At the highest chloride levels, there was almost no recruitment of any species but Balsam Fir. Soil-cation analysis and linear regression, however, did not indicate concomitant depletion of plant nutrients, and therefore, we did not confirm the cause of the apparent relationship between higher road-salt runoff and higher Balsam Fir recruitment.

Metabolic Rifts, Temporal Imperatives, and Geographical Shifts: Logging in the Adirondack Forest in the 1800s

ABSTRACTDistinct land-use patterns can radically transform ecological conditions. In the following historical study, the authors employ Marx’s metabolic approach, nested within a political-economic perspective, to assess the ecological and temporal contradictions that emerged between the capitalist logging industry in New York State and the Adirondack forests in the 1800s. They present the environmental, socioeconomic, and technological changes that accompanied the consolidation and intensification of timber operations, expanding the harvesting of trees and the realm of ecological degradation. The authors highlight how the temporal demands of capital conflict with those of trees in the forest and how the social metabolism of capitalist logging violates the universal metabolism of nature, resulting in distinct ecological rifts and geographical shifts in production.

Identifying common patterns in diverse systems: effects of exurban development on birds of the Adirondack Park and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, USA.

We examined the impacts of exurban development on bird communities in Essex County, New York and Madison County, Montana by comparing differences in abundance of songbirds between subdivisions and control sites in both regions. We hypothesized that impacts to bird communities would be greater in the relatively homogeneous, closed canopy Adirondack forest of northern New York State than they would be in the more naturally heterogeneous grasslands interspersed with trees and shrubs of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. We examined birds in five functional groups expected to be responsive to exurban development, and determined relative abundance within subdivisions and control sites across these two distinct regions. We found little support for our hypothesis. For birds in the area-sensitive, low nesting, and Neotropical migrant functional groups, relative abundance was lower in subdivisions in the Adirondacks and in Madison County, while relative abundance of edge specialists was greater in subdivisions in both regions. The direction and magnitude of change in the avian communities between subdivisions and controls was similar in both regions for all guilds except microhabitat specialists. These similarities across diverse ecosystems suggest that the ecological context of the encompassing region may be less important than other elements in shaping avian communities in exurban systems. This finding suggests that humans and their specific behaviors and activities in exurban areas may be underappreciated but potentially important drivers of change in these regions.

Controls on the Spatial Patterns of Carbon and Nitrogen in Adirondack Forest Soils along a Gradient of Nitrogen Deposition

We sampled 42 permanent vegetation plots in the Adirondack Mountains, NY to characterize the spatial patterns of, and controls on soil C and N contents. Average C (24 kg m−2) and N (1.1 kg m−2) contents of the combined organic and mineral horizons were high for northeastern U.S. forests. Contrary to our expectations, whole‐profile C and N amounts were not different among northern hardwood (NH), spruce‐fir (SF), and pine‐dominated (PW) plots. Most of the C and N were stored in organic horizons in the high‐elevation SF plots, and in the mineral horizons in NH and PW plots. Regression analyses of the pooled set of sites revealed that the factors that explained the most variability in soil C and N contents were different for organic and mineral horizons and differed between forest types. Overall, growing season degree‐days (GSDD) was the variable most closely correlated with C and N contents in both organic and mineral horizons, and varying combinations of N deposition, conifer importance, and soil texture were the principal secondary influences. Spruce‐fir plots received the most atmospheric N deposition, and multivariate regression tree (MRT) analysis indicated that N deposition rate was the environmental variable that explained the most variation in organic horizon C (sums of squares [SS] explained = 54%) and N (79% SS explained) amounts in these high‐elevation stands. However, even in the unlikely case of 100% retention of the atmospheric inputs of N deposited over the past 50 yr, this source only accounted for a small portion of soil N, and the differences in N among the plots along the deposition gradient. It is likely that differences in GSDD accounted for most of the differences in C and N amounts.

Seven Decades of Calcium Depletion in Organic Horizons of Adirondack Forest Soils

We used repeated sampling of the forest floor to determine if there was a net loss of Ca from organic horizons of Adirondack forest soils between 1930 and 2004. In 1984, we established 48 permanent plots in spruce–fir, northern hardwood, and pine stands located in areas sampled by Carl C. Heimburger in the early 1930s. Following Heimburger's protocols and analytical methods, we measured pH and dilute‐HCl‐extractable Ca in Oe and Oa horizons, and determined that there was a statistically significant decrease in Ca concentration during the 1932 to 1984 interval. In the 36 plots that we could locate in 2004, we again sampled organic horizons. During the >70‐yr interval, HCl‐extractable Ca concentrations in the Oe and Oa horizons decreased in each forest type (P < 0.05). We also measured NH4Cl‐extractable Ca and Al in the 1984 and 2004 samples and found a significant decrease in Ca concentration in the pooled Oe horizons. High‐elevation spruce–fir plots showed a Ca loss rate between 1984 and 2004 of 7.6 to 9.8 kg ha−1 yr−1 This compares well with a 4‐yr Ca cycling study conducted in an equivalent spruce–fir forest at Whiteface Mt. in the Adirondacks, which showed an annual forest floor Ca loss of 8.4 kg ha−1 yr−1 Based on uptake and anion flux data from the Whiteface Mt. study, we estimated that about 25 to 30% of the 1984 to 2004 forest floor Ca loss in the spruce–fir plots is attributable to leaching driven by atmospheric SO42− deposition.

Long-Term Trends in Breeding Birds in an Old-Growth Adirondack Forest and the Surrounding Region

Breeding bird populations were sampled between 1954 and 1963, and 1990 and 2000 in an old-growth forest, the Natural Area of Huntington Wildlife Forest (HWF), in the Adirondack Mountains of New York. Trends were compared with data from regional North American Breeding Bird Surveys (BBS) and from a forest plot at Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, New Hampshire. Trends for 22 species in the HWF Natural Area were negative, eight were positive, and one was zero; 20 were significant. Fifteen of 17 long-distance migrants declined, whereas 7 of 14 short-distance migrants and permanent residents declined. Most (74%) HWF Natural Area species, despite differences in sampling periods and local habitat features, matched in sign of trend when compared to Adirondack BBS routes, 61% matched northeastern BBS routes, and 71% matched eastern United States BBS routes, while 66% matched Hubbard Brook species. The agreement in population trends suggests that forest interior birds, especially long-distance migrants, are affected more by regional than local factors. The analysis indicated that bird trends generated from BBS routes may not be as biased toward roads as previously suggested.

Postfire Succession in an Adirondack Forest

Landscape diversity has increased with the surprising postfire establishment of aspen at upper elevations (700–945 meters above sea level) in the High Peaks of Adirondack Park in upstate New York. Tree seedlings returned quickly to the charred slopes west of Noonmark Mountain after an accidental fire consumed the forest in 1999. Aspen stands have replaced the spruce‐fir‐birch forests in the burned area even though mountain paper birch is expected to colonize burned sites at these elevations. Environmental conditions, historical events, and unique circumstances help explain why quaking aspen and bigtooth aspen rather than paper birch blanket the burned mountainside. Climate change over the past century to warmer, wetter conditions may have fostered this marked shift in species composition. In the unburned firebreak that people cleared to contain the flames, pin cherry has regenerated from seeds stored in the soil for nearly a century. The history of pin cherry on the site suggests that large fires or severe windthrow may have been more common in the region than was previously documented.

Environmental issues in American history: a reference guide with primary documents

Controversy surrounding environmental issues is not a recent development in American history. Since the time of the early settlers, issues concerning the environment have plagued certain groups of Americans. In this exhaustively researched study, primary documents support different sides of various questions, such as the use of water as an energy source, deforestation, gold mining in California, and the emergence of wildlife conservation. High school and college students will not only find this book extremely comprehensive, but will also find its heated discussions exceptionally engaging. Some of the major topics covered include differences between the way Native Americans and early settlers treated the land, The Land Ordinance of 1785, Thomas Jefferson's views about the land, the commercial progress of New England river valleys, establishing the Adirondack Forest Preserve in 1885, Theodore Roosevelt's thoughts on forest conservation, the pros and cons of hydraulic gold mining, the near-extinction of the North American bison, andThe Lacey Act Magoc's book will prove an essential asset for all American history students.

Patterns of Dispersal and Establishment of Bryophytes Colonizing Natural and Experimental Treefall Mounds in Northern Hardwood Forests

Abstract Treefall gaps are a ubiquitous feature of forested ecosystems and provide regeneration opportunities for many forest mosses which are dependent on microsites created by disturbance. Bryophyte communities on treefall mounds present an excellent opportunity to explore the extent to which community composition is influenced by dispersal patterns and establishment success. The goals of this paper are to 1) determine the bryophyte community structure of treefall mounds in the Adirondack forests and 2) to evaluate the extent to which community structure of treefall mounds is a consequence of dispersal limitation and establishment success and 3) to assess the role of microsite in successful establishment by sown spores and vegetative fragments. Bryophyte communities were described from field census of treefall mounds differing in age class. Most mounds support only 1–2 species, of the possible 13 species that colonize treefall mounds in the study area, the Adirondack Mountains of New York State. Moss sp...

Physical influences of landscape on a large-extent ecological disturbance: the northeastern North American ice storm of 1998

The 1998 ice storm was a large-extent ecological disturbance that severely affected the eastern Adirondack forests of northern New York. Ice damage produced widespread breakage of limbs and trunks in susceptible trees. Although ice storms are common within northeastern North American forests, the magnitude and extent of the 1998 storm far exceeded damage caused by typical ice storms in the recent past. While plot and stand-scale ecological impacts of ice storms have received attention insofar as tree species vulnerability, stand age susceptibility, and microhabitat alterations, larger-extent damage patterns have not been previously evaluated. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) was employed to assess forest vigor and canopy density in atmospherically corrected Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) satellite imagery of the Adirondacks. Digital change analysis of the baseline forest condition (1990 NDVI data), and the condition encountered in a post-storm image (1998 NDVI data) was conducted. Forest damage was separated from natural variations in canopy reflectance by employing a generalized linear model that incorporated in situ measurements. A robust empirical variogram analysis revealed that locations of tree damage were significantly correlated for distances up to 300 meters. Intensely-damaged forest exhibited greater spatial dependence, but over a smaller distance. Canopy damage was not greater proximate to stream and forest boundaries, and did not follow our hypothesis of decreasing damage with distance from the boundary. Overall, we show that local topography (elevation and aspect), forest composition (deciduous or coniferous), and the meteorological characteristics of the disturbance event acted together to determine the spatial extent of ice storm damage.

Disturbance regimes of hemlock-dominated old-growth forests in northern New York, U.S.A.

Old-growth forests often have complex, uneven age structures reflecting both the long time elapsed since a major disturbance and the periodic formation of small canopy gaps. I established 12 plots of 0.1 ha in four areas of old growth to describe the stand-scale disturbance regime of forests dominated by eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carrière) in northern Adirondack Park, N.Y., U.S.A. I analyzed radial-increment patterns of cores from all canopy trees (398 trees in total) on each plot to determine the date of accession to canopy for each tree. Major growth releases indicated disturbance events that resulted in either gap origin (16% of events) or release from suppression (82% of events). The average decadal rate of disturbance for all plots and decades of the 130-year period from 1850 to 1979 is 4.8–5.4% of current exposed crown area. The average canopy-tree residence time is 184–211 years. The stand-scale disturbance regimes in these Adirondack forests are similar to those of hemlock–hardwood forests in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and New York. These hemlock-dominated old-growth stands appear to be in quasi-equilibrium when viewed together over 13 decades.

Major-Element Cycling in a High-Elevation Adirondack Forest: Patterns and Changes, 1986-1996

Major-Element Cycling in a High-Elevation Adirondack Forest: Patterns and Changes, 1986-1996

Living with the Adirondack forest: local perspectives on land use conflicts

Living with the Adirondack forest: local perspectives on land use conflicts

Response of understory vegetation of Adirondack forests to nitrogen additions

The influence of N pulses in the form of experimental additions of HNO3at two times ambient and (NH4)2SO4at two and four times ambient on the herbaceous and woody understory plants in three Adirondack Mountain hardwood forests was evaluated. Addition of (NH4)2SO4decreased cover of dominant herbs and woody seedlings at Woods Lake, a site in the western Adirondacks. Tissue N concentrations of combined herbs and ferns at Woods Lake increased with addition of roman NH sub 4 sup + at both levels (9% at two times ambient; 13% at four times ambient) and increased with all three N treatments at Huntington Forest, a central Adirondack site (14% with roman NO sub 3 sup - and roman NH sub 4 sup + at two times ambient; 22% with roman NH sub 4 sup + at four times ambient). Seedlings of American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) increased foliar N concentration 7-8% with addition of roman NH sub 4 sup + treatments at Huntington Forest, but did not respond to N addition at Woods Lake and Pancake Hall Creek, a western Adirondack site. In general, greatest plant nutrient response to N addition occurred at Huntington Forest, where atmospheric inputs of N are lower than at Woods Lake and Pancake Hall Creek.

Book Reviews

The Motel in America. By John A. Jakle, Keith A. Sculle, and Jefferson S. Rogers. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996. Preface, acknowledgments, notes, bibliography, and index, xiv+340 pp. $32.95 cloth.Wine and the Vine: An Historical Geography of Viticulture and the Wine Trade. By Tim Unwin. New York: Routledge, 1996. Placenames, figures, tables, preface, acknowledgments, appendix, bibliography, and index, xxv+363 pp. $22.95 paper.Sacred Places, Sacred Spaces: The Geography of Pilgrimages. Edited by Robert H. Stoddard and Alan Morinis. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University, 1997. Prologue, introduction, notes, and references. xi+322 pp. $25.00 paper.Showing Off: The Geltung Hypothesis. By Philip L. Wagner. Austin: The University of Texas Press, 1996. Preface, bibliography, and index. ix+158 pp. $12.95 paper.Living with the Adirondack Forest: Local Perspectives on Land Use Conflicts. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1998. List of photographs, Adirondack species mentioned in the text, organizations and terms, preface, epilogue, appendix, bibliography, and index, xix+314 pp. $18.95 paper.

Response of understory vegetation of Adirondack forests to nitrogen additions

Response of understory vegetation of Adirondack forests to nitrogen additions

A Rich Man's Paradise: Constitutional Preservation of New York State's Adirondack Forest, a Centenary Consideration

A Rich Man's Paradise: Constitutional Preservation of New York State's Adirondack Forest, a Centenary Consideration

Host Specificity of Epiphytic Lichens and Bryophytes: A Comparison of the Adirondack Mountains (New York) and the Southern Blue Ridge Mountains (North Carolina)

Host Specificity of Epiphytic Lichens and Bryophytes: A Comparison of the Adirondack Mountains (New York) and the Southern Blue Ridge Mountains (North Carolina)