Forests
Forests at UNDERC are Northern mesic hardwood forest that is mostly second-growth consisting chiefly of aspen-birch, pine, or swamp-conifer with some red or sugar maple-hemlock.
Natural Disturbance: Wind
- Downbursts and tornadoes
- Locally high winds cause downbursts among the trees in an area creating a gap in the canopy
- Range in size from several miles to several yards in diameter
- Fires frequently follow such wind destruction further modifying the environment
Successional Differences
- Quite obvious in areas of disturbance
- Aspen and birch are pioneer species that often colonize after windthrows or fires
- A stand of aspen serves as a shelter crop for more shade tolerant species (such as white pine, red or sugar maple, and hemlock) that can grow under a full canopy such as white pine, red or sugar maple and hemlock
- The path of succession is affected by many factors including the frequency of disturbance and seed availability so a complete and predictable series is rarely, if ever, attained
- Trees commonly encountered at UNDERC include the following
- Early successional
- Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides)
- Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus)
- Red Pine (Pinus resinosa)
- Paper Birch (Betula papyrifera)
- Late successional
- Red Maple (Acer rubrum)
- Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)
- Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis)
- Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum)
- Balsam Fir (Abies balsamea)
- White Spruce (Picea glauca)
