Multiple Scale Composition and Spatial Distribution Patterns of the North-Eastern Minnesota Presettlement Forest
Friedman SK, Reich PB, Frelich LE. 2001. Multiple Scale Composition and Spatial Distribution Patterns of the North-Eastern Minnesota Presettlement Forest. Journal of Ecology. 89(4):538-554
Bearing tree data were used to characterize the composition and spatial structure of the southern boreal presettlement forest in north-eastern Minnesota, United States of America. The data used were collected during the General Land Office Survey (GLO) between 1853 and 1917. Eight physiographic zones were characterized by differences in glacial histories, geologic surfaces, soil complexes and topographic properties, and supported different compositional mixes of the nine important species. Landscape spatial patterns of the species were measured at two scales, 1-10 km and 5-50 km. Forest tree spatial patterns reflect complex fine to landscape-scale relationships involving environmental factors, disturbance events and regeneration strategies. Management and long-term conservation of forest landscapes should consider multi-scale patterns in order to re-establish forest structural properties eliminated following the disruption of natural disturbance processes.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Friedman, Steven; Reich, Peter; Frelich, Lee
- Units
- VOYA
- Keywords
- bearing trees, hierarchical structure, Landscape Ecology, Plant Studies, Spatial autocorrelation, spatial scales, species coexistences