VEGETATION SITE RELATIONSHIPS OF WITNESS TREES (1780-1856) IN THE PRESETTLEMENT FORESTS OF EASTERN WEST-VIRGINIA

Witness tree data from 1780-1856 for the Monongahela National Forest i n eastern West Virginia were analyzed with respect to physiographic un it (Ridge and Valley versus Allegheny Mountains) and landform, and com pared with present-day forest composition. Contingency table analysis and standardized residuals were used to quantify the preference or avo idance of common tree species with various landforms. Pre-European set tlement forests in the Ridge and Valley were dominated by mixed oak (Q uercus alba L., Quercus prinus L., Quercus velutina Lam. and Quercus r ubra L.), Pinus spp., Castanea dentata (Marsh.) Borkh., and Carya on r idge sites and e. alba, Acer saccharum Marsh., Pinus, Tilia americana L., and Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carr. on valley floors; The original for ests in the Allegheny Mountains were dominated by Fagus grandifolia Eh rh., T. canadensis, A. saccharum, Acer rubrum L., Betula spp., and Pin us, with predominantly Fagus-Tsuga-Pinus forests on mountain tops and Tsuga-Acer-Betula forests on valley floor;. Compared with the presettl ement era, present-day forests on both physiographic units lack overst ory C. dentata and have decreased Pinus and (or) g. alba. Species that have increased substantially following Euro-American settlement inclu de Q. prinus, Q. rubra, Quercus coccinea Muenchh., and A. rubrum in th e Ridge and Valley and Prunus serotina Ehrh., A. rubrum, and Betula sp p, in the Allegheny Mountains. These dramatic changes in forest compos ition were attributed to the chestnut blight (caused by Endothia paras itica (Murrill) P.J. Anderson & H.W. Anderson), widespread logging, in tensive wildfires, and more recently, fire exclusion.