TITLE:
Understory Recovery in Coast Redwood Communities: A Case Study Comparing a Naturally Recovering and an Actively Managed Forest
AUTHORS:
Alyssa Hanover, Will Russell
KEYWORDS:
Restoration, Natural Recovery, Active Management, Old-Growth, Late-Seral
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Forestry,
Vol.8 No.4,
September
27,
2018
ABSTRACT: Restoration of late
seral features in second growth Sequoia
sempervirens (coast redwood) forests is increasingly important, as so
little of the original old-growth remains. Natural recovery is an effective
method restoring many late seral features, and does not require the additional
disturbance of active management. In order to better understand management
impacts on redwood understory abundance and composition, data were collected in
naturally recovering stands and in stands that were actively managed with the
explicit intent of promoting old-growth characteristics. Ten 10 m diameter
plots with three 2 m diameter nested sub-plots were randomly sampled in two
sites within each management type. Results indicate that tree canopy cover,
native species cover and richness, richness of coast redwood associated
species, and the cover of Trillium ovatum (western wake robin) were significantly higher in naturally recovering versus actively
managed stands. In addition, several coast redwood associated understory species
were exclusively recorded in the naturally recovering stands including: Asuram caudatum (wild ginger), Prosartes hookeri (hooker’s fairybells), Maianthemum racemosum (false solomon
seal), Scoliopus bigelovii (fetid
adder’s tongue), Viola sempervirens (redwood violet); while only one such species was recorded exclusively in the
actively managed stands: Trientalis
latifolia (pacific star flower). Natural recovery appeared to support
understory recovery more effectively than active forest management in this
case.