What is a stand? Assessing the variability of composition and structure in floodplain forest ecosystems across spatial scales in the Upper Mississippi River

Marcella A. Windmuller-Campione; Laura F. Reuling; Molly Van Appledorn; Daniel M. Nielsen; Andrew R. Meier

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2022.120385

What is a stand? Assessing the variability of composition and structure in floodplain forest ecosystems across spatial scales in the Upper Mississippi River

Marcella A. Windmuller-Campione
, Laura F. Reuling
, Molly Van Appledorn
, Daniel M. Nielsen
, Andrew R. Meier

Forest Resources

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

The forest stand typically represents relatively homogenous forest conditions; the forest stand is generally the unit at which forest attributes are assessed, summarized, and subsequently managed. However, some ecosystems, such as the floodplain forests of the Upper Mississippi River (UMR), can exhibit high variability at fine spatial scales that can confound prescription development, implementation, and ultimate success of stand-level management actions. Here we assess how forest composition and structure vary within and across stand management units on the UMR and test at what spatial scale environmental variables relate to forest characteristics. We found that plot-level measures of composition, structure, and diversity were not well represented by site-level averages of these values. When basal area of all overstory species was combined, this variable was more closely related to “site” than to any of the environmental variables, but when analyzed by species, within-plot topographic variation (“microtopography”) was a significant positive predictor for both importance values of an individual species (swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor Willd.)) as well as importance value of a specific group of species (oaks (Quercus spp.), bitternut hickory (Carya cordiformis (Wangenh.) K. Koch), hackberry (Celtis occidentalis L.), and American basswood (Tilia americana L.)). This work highlights the challenges of using average stand conditions to summarize complex or heterogeneous systems and the need for flexibility and relaxed assumptions in defining management units in these forests.

Original language	English (US)
Article number	120385
Journal	Forest Ecology and Management
Volume	520
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2022.120385
State	Published - Sep 15 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We are thankful to Michael Tuma (University of Minnesota) for leading field data collection as well as Wren Brien, Ben Converse, Michaela Hammer, Issac Harberts, Sara Kelso, and Nathan Vik at the University of Minnesota for their work in the field and entering data. We would also like to thank the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for access to study sites. Data supporting this study are available at https://hdl.handle.net/11299/225385. Funding was provided by a Great Lakes – Northern Forest CESU agreement between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and University of Minnesota (W912HZ-18-2-0004), Minnesota Agriculture Experiment Station (MIN-42-108), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program. The authors declare no conflict of interest. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

Funding Information:
Funding was provided by a Great Lakes – Northern Forest CESU agreement between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and University of Minnesota ( W912HZ-18-2-0004 ), Minnesota Agriculture Experiment Station ( MIN-42-108 ), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program . The authors declare no conflict of interest. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022

Keywords

Acer sacchariunum
Floodplain forest
Microtopography
Quercus bicolor
Upper Mississippi River

Publisher link

10.1016/j.foreco.2022.120385

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What is a stand? Assessing the variability of composition and structure in floodplain forest ecosystems across spatial scales in the Upper Mississippi River. / Windmuller-Campione, Marcella A.; Reuling, Laura F.; Van Appledorn, Molly et al.
In: Forest Ecology and Management, Vol. 520, 120385, 15.09.2022.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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title = "What is a stand? Assessing the variability of composition and structure in floodplain forest ecosystems across spatial scales in the Upper Mississippi River",

abstract = "The forest stand typically represents relatively homogenous forest conditions; the forest stand is generally the unit at which forest attributes are assessed, summarized, and subsequently managed. However, some ecosystems, such as the floodplain forests of the Upper Mississippi River (UMR), can exhibit high variability at fine spatial scales that can confound prescription development, implementation, and ultimate success of stand-level management actions. Here we assess how forest composition and structure vary within and across stand management units on the UMR and test at what spatial scale environmental variables relate to forest characteristics. We found that plot-level measures of composition, structure, and diversity were not well represented by site-level averages of these values. When basal area of all overstory species was combined, this variable was more closely related to {\textquotedblleft}site{\textquotedblright} than to any of the environmental variables, but when analyzed by species, within-plot topographic variation ({\textquotedblleft}microtopography{\textquotedblright}) was a significant positive predictor for both importance values of an individual species (swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor Willd.)) as well as importance value of a specific group of species (oaks (Quercus spp.), bitternut hickory (Carya cordiformis (Wangenh.) K. Koch), hackberry (Celtis occidentalis L.), and American basswood (Tilia americana L.)). This work highlights the challenges of using average stand conditions to summarize complex or heterogeneous systems and the need for flexibility and relaxed assumptions in defining management units in these forests.",

keywords = "Acer sacchariunum, Floodplain forest, Microtopography, Quercus bicolor, Upper Mississippi River",

author = "Windmuller-Campione, \{Marcella A.\} and Reuling, \{Laura F.\} and \{Van Appledorn\}, Molly and Nielsen, \{Daniel M.\} and Meier, \{Andrew R.\}",

note = "Funding Information: We are thankful to Michael Tuma (University of Minnesota) for leading field data collection as well as Wren Brien, Ben Converse, Michaela Hammer, Issac Harberts, Sara Kelso, and Nathan Vik at the University of Minnesota for their work in the field and entering data. We would also like to thank the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for access to study sites. Data supporting this study are available at https://hdl.handle.net/11299/225385. Funding was provided by a Great Lakes {\textendash} Northern Forest CESU agreement between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and University of Minnesota (W912HZ-18-2-0004), Minnesota Agriculture Experiment Station (MIN-42-108), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers{\textquoteright} Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program. The authors declare no conflict of interest. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Funding Information: Funding was provided by a Great Lakes {\textendash} Northern Forest CESU agreement between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and University of Minnesota ( W912HZ-18-2-0004 ), Minnesota Agriculture Experiment Station ( MIN-42-108 ), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers{\textquoteright} Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program . The authors declare no conflict of interest. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022",

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doi = "10.1016/j.foreco.2022.120385",

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AU - Windmuller-Campione, Marcella A.

AU - Reuling, Laura F.

AU - Van Appledorn, Molly

AU - Nielsen, Daniel M.

AU - Meier, Andrew R.

N1 - Funding Information: We are thankful to Michael Tuma (University of Minnesota) for leading field data collection as well as Wren Brien, Ben Converse, Michaela Hammer, Issac Harberts, Sara Kelso, and Nathan Vik at the University of Minnesota for their work in the field and entering data. We would also like to thank the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for access to study sites. Data supporting this study are available at https://hdl.handle.net/11299/225385. Funding was provided by a Great Lakes – Northern Forest CESU agreement between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and University of Minnesota (W912HZ-18-2-0004), Minnesota Agriculture Experiment Station (MIN-42-108), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program. The authors declare no conflict of interest. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Funding Information: Funding was provided by a Great Lakes – Northern Forest CESU agreement between the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and University of Minnesota ( W912HZ-18-2-0004 ), Minnesota Agriculture Experiment Station ( MIN-42-108 ), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program . The authors declare no conflict of interest. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Publisher Copyright: © 2022

PY - 2022/9/15

Y1 - 2022/9/15

N2 - The forest stand typically represents relatively homogenous forest conditions; the forest stand is generally the unit at which forest attributes are assessed, summarized, and subsequently managed. However, some ecosystems, such as the floodplain forests of the Upper Mississippi River (UMR), can exhibit high variability at fine spatial scales that can confound prescription development, implementation, and ultimate success of stand-level management actions. Here we assess how forest composition and structure vary within and across stand management units on the UMR and test at what spatial scale environmental variables relate to forest characteristics. We found that plot-level measures of composition, structure, and diversity were not well represented by site-level averages of these values. When basal area of all overstory species was combined, this variable was more closely related to “site” than to any of the environmental variables, but when analyzed by species, within-plot topographic variation (“microtopography”) was a significant positive predictor for both importance values of an individual species (swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor Willd.)) as well as importance value of a specific group of species (oaks (Quercus spp.), bitternut hickory (Carya cordiformis (Wangenh.) K. Koch), hackberry (Celtis occidentalis L.), and American basswood (Tilia americana L.)). This work highlights the challenges of using average stand conditions to summarize complex or heterogeneous systems and the need for flexibility and relaxed assumptions in defining management units in these forests.

AB - The forest stand typically represents relatively homogenous forest conditions; the forest stand is generally the unit at which forest attributes are assessed, summarized, and subsequently managed. However, some ecosystems, such as the floodplain forests of the Upper Mississippi River (UMR), can exhibit high variability at fine spatial scales that can confound prescription development, implementation, and ultimate success of stand-level management actions. Here we assess how forest composition and structure vary within and across stand management units on the UMR and test at what spatial scale environmental variables relate to forest characteristics. We found that plot-level measures of composition, structure, and diversity were not well represented by site-level averages of these values. When basal area of all overstory species was combined, this variable was more closely related to “site” than to any of the environmental variables, but when analyzed by species, within-plot topographic variation (“microtopography”) was a significant positive predictor for both importance values of an individual species (swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor Willd.)) as well as importance value of a specific group of species (oaks (Quercus spp.), bitternut hickory (Carya cordiformis (Wangenh.) K. Koch), hackberry (Celtis occidentalis L.), and American basswood (Tilia americana L.)). This work highlights the challenges of using average stand conditions to summarize complex or heterogeneous systems and the need for flexibility and relaxed assumptions in defining management units in these forests.

KW - Acer sacchariunum

KW - Floodplain forest

KW - Microtopography

KW - Quercus bicolor

KW - Upper Mississippi River

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85133325886

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85133325886#tab=citedBy

U2 - 10.1016/j.foreco.2022.120385

DO - 10.1016/j.foreco.2022.120385

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85133325886

SN - 0378-1127

VL - 520

JO - Forest Ecology and Management

JF - Forest Ecology and Management

M1 - 120385

ER -

What is a stand? Assessing the variability of composition and structure in floodplain forest ecosystems across spatial scales in the Upper Mississippi River

Abstract

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Keywords

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