| dc.contributor.author | Moola, Faisal. | en_US |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2014-10-21T12:36:31Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2006 | |
| dc.date.issued | 2006 | en_US |
| dc.identifier.other | AAINR16716 | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10222/54807 | |
| dc.description | This study documents the effects of clearcutting on the dynamics, structure and composition of vascular plant communities in previously undisturbed late-successional coastal Acadian forests in southwestern Nova Scotia. I focused particular attention on those residual plants (i.e., late-successional associated flora) that may be dependent upon older forest habitats for maximal growth or that are less common within managed landscapes. The primary objectives were to: (i) describe the changes in species richness, diversity, and composition of herbaceous and woody vegetation after clearcutting; (ii) determine whether any forest species were restricted to or dependent upon the late-successional stages of stand development; (iii) assess the importance of environmental variables related to microhabitat (dead wood), canopy cover and stand age on herbaceous and tree composition during stand recovery; and (iv) to quantify the importance of vegetative reproduction to the recovery of Gaultheria procumbens (L.) after clearcutting. | en_US |
| dc.description | The results of this thesis show that clearcutting has a significant influence on the understory vegetation of coastal Acadian forests, but less so on canopy species. Although individual seral stages are poorly defined on a floristic basis, the initial and later stages of stand recovery are distinct. This is due to the fact that although most species associated with late-successional Acadian forests can survive within younger age-classes, many taxa attain their maximal abundance or presence in older forests. These findings are in agreement with earlier research that shows that resilience is typically dependent on the vegetative spread of pre-existing clones or the continued growth of surviving stems (i.e., advance stems). For example, in both Gaultheria procumbens (L.) and residual canopy trees such as Picea rubens Sarg., recovery was largely driven by the "release growth" of established clonal bud banks or understory sapling banks in response to canopy removal. In Gaultheria procumbens (L.), release growth was expressed as greater ramet initiation, rhizome branching and clonal spread in response to disturbance. | en_US |
| dc.description | Despite a general community-wide resiliency to clearcutting at least 8 residual plants were eliminated or found to have a marginal presence in recovering stands after logging. The most sensitive species to clearcutting were mycotrophs, taxa with limited seed dispersal and/or low rates of clonal expansion, and species reliant on specific seed bed conditions associated with older forests (e.g., decayed logs). These results suggest that the preservation of remnant late-successional Acadian stands may be necessary for the maintenance of some residual plants in highly disturbed and fragmented forest landscapes in eastern Canada. | en_US |
| dc.description | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Dalhousie University (Canada), 2006. | en_US |
| dc.language | eng | en_US |
| dc.publisher | Dalhousie University | en_US |
| dc.publisher | | en_US |
| dc.subject | Biology, Botany. | en_US |
| dc.subject | Biology, Ecology. | en_US |
| dc.subject | Agriculture, Forestry and Wildlife. | en_US |
| dc.subject | Environmental Sciences. | en_US |
| dc.title | Recovery and persistence of late-successional vascular plants in managed coastal Acadian forests. | en_US |
| dc.type | text | en_US |
| dc.contributor.degree | Ph.D. | en_US |
