Ecosystem Disturbance and Forest Development in Acadia National Park

Foley, Mary

A description of disturbance in forests FIELD WORK: 1982-1983 Quantifies the impact of air pollution, drought and fire on tree growth rates in forest ecosystems by studying red spruce, white pine and red oak at 10 sites on Mount Desert Island and Isle au Haut. Develops a model of forest growth that could be used to project the effects of future disturbance. Air quality: There was negligible growth response of red spruce, white pine or red oak to air pollution. Subtle changes may be occurring but available tools were unable to measure it. Presents monthly ozone concentrations in Bar Harbor January 1983-July 1986, and notes number of hours ozone concentrations exceeded .08ppm. Notes average pH of Acadia precipitation was 4.2, with values as low as 3.57 occurring several times a year. FIRE - FLORA - VASCULAR: Describes the procedure for analyzing the affect of disturbance on tree growth using tree ring and intervention analyses. Trees studied showed very little growth response to drought or fire. Only one site had significant growth response to the 1947 Mount Desert Island fire, and only one showed significant response to the drought in 1960. Both were white pine sites. Notes that areas not burned by 1947 Mount Desert Island fire are primarily 100-140 year old red spruce. FLORA - VASCULAR: Gives biweight mean series, transformed series, ARIMA model summaries, and standardized series for the three species studied /STUDY LOCATIONS:/ /MOUNT DESERT ISLAND/Parkman Mountain/Pemetic Mountain/Eagle Lake/ISLE AU HAUT/ GIS-CATEGORY 2 ; Fire, Air Quality, Flora: Maps study plots at Parkman Mountain, Pemetic Mt., west side of Eagle Lake; and four locations on Isle au Haut