LAND-USE HISTORY (1720-1992), COMPOSITION, AND DYNAMICS OF OAK PINE FORESTS WITHIN THE PIEDMONT AND COASTAL-PLAIN OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA

Woody vegetation was surveyed in 58 forest stands in northern Virginia to examine the effects of previous land-use history on past and prese nt-day forest composition and dynamics. Stands were separated using de trended correspondence analysis (DCA) and overstory importance values into three forest, groups: (i) white oak (Quercus alba L.) - tulip-pop lar (Liriodendron tulipifera L.) (ii) white oak - scarlet oak (Quercus coccinea Muenchh.) and (iii) Virginia pine (Pinus virginiana Mill.) T he first DCA axis represents a successional continuum from more recent ly disturbed areas containing young pine forests to less disturbed mat ure oak stands, and is negatively correlated with stand age and specie s diversity. White oak and red oak (Quercus rubra L.) dominated preset tlement forests in the area. Following European settlement, forests ex perienced intense logging associated with the charcoal iron industry, large-scale clearing for agriculture, and subsequent land abandonment. By coupling radial growth analysis with age-diameter figures, we eval uated the responses of stands to disturbances associated with various land-use practices. This analysis indicated that many Virginia pine st ands resulted from agricultural abandonment during the early 1900s, wh ile a majority of oak stands experienced peak recruitment and radial g rowth following periodic logging disturbances in the 1800s. Canopy clo sure, forest protection, and reduced fire and logging disturbance this century led to increases in dogwood (Cornus florida L.) and blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica Marsh.) in area forests. The oldest stands exhibited a lack of tall oak regeneration; however, they also contained a scarci ty of potential oak replacement species. Therefore, oak will seemingly share future dominance with several mixed-mesophytic species, althoug h the exact successional status of these stands is unresolved.