Title: Indicators of regenerative capacity for eastern hardwood forests

Author: McWilliams, William H.; Bowersox, Todd W.; Brose, Patrick H.; Devlin, Daniel A.; Finley, James C.; Horsley, Steve; Gottschalk, Kurt W.; Lister, Tonya W.; McCormick, Larry H.; Miller, Gary W.; Steiner, Kim C.; Stout, Susan L.; Westfall, James A.; White, Robert L.

Year: 2004

Publication: In: Proceedings, Society of American Foresters 2003 national convention; 2003 October 25-29; Buffalo, NY. Bethesda, MD: Society of American Foresters: 136-140.

Abstract: Hardwood forests of the eastern United States are characterized by a complex mix of species associations that make it difficult to construct useful indicators of long-term sustainability, in terms of future forest composition and stocking levels. The Pennsylvania Regeneration Study examines regeneration adequacy in the state. The study uses the Forest Service's Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) unit's systematic sample design and grid. Measurements of regeneration and related understory vegetation were added to the standard FIA sample protocols to obtain more detailed information on these forest components. The results indicate that only half of the samples in the study had adequate advance regeneration assuming high deer densities and a goal of re-establishing existing canopy dominants. Under moderate deer densities, results showed about 65 percent of the samples had adequate regeneration. These indicators could be a useful tool for evaluating prospective sustainability of the region's forest land.