Edge versus Age Effects in the Development of a Beech-Maple Forest

Abstract

Differences in the species composition of plots on the edge and the interior of a disturbed 2nd-growth stand and an undisturbed old-growth beech-maple stand in Ohio, USA, were studied. Differences attributed to position (edge vs. interior) were more pronounced than differences due to the age of the stand (interior of 2nd-growth vs. interior of old growth). The marginal plots of the old-growth stand are characterized by increased densities of saplings and trees of Carpinus carolina, Fraxinus americana, Ostrya virginiana, Quercus rubra and Tilia americana. Conversion of much of the midwestern portion of the USA to small fragmented woodlots or habitat islands suggests that small but continuous environmental differences associated with the forest edge may have a greater impact on stand composition than brief but large-scale disturbances associated with logging.