DENDROECOLOGY AND SPECIES COEXISTENCE IN AN OLD-GROWTH QUERCUS-ACER-TILIA TALUS SLOPE FOREST IN THE CENTRAL APPALACHIANS, USA

Dendroecological techniques were used to examine the disturbance histo ry and patterns of species recruitment in an old-growth Quercus rubra L. (northern red oak)-Acer saccharum Marsh. (sugar maple)-Tilia americ ana L. (basswood) forest on a steep, talus slope in eastern West Virgi nia. The forest was uneven-aged as were the populations of red oak. Su gar maple dominated the sapling layer, which comprised little or no ba sswood and red oak. A compilation of major and moderate releases (indi cative of disturbance) in 25 cores revealed single or multiple release events in every decade from 1870-1990. The high elevation of the fore st coupled with a fertile sub-soil beneath the talus ameliorated the o utwardly harsh conditions of the site, allowing for the domination of typically mesophytic, nutrient demanding tree species. We observed sev eral fire scarred trees as well as extensive small-scale blow-down thr oughout the forest. Frequent disturbance events were probably crucial to the co-existence and continuous canopy recruitment of the relativel y light demanding red oak with highly shade tolerant sugar maple and b asswood. The strong successional replacement tendencies of red oak by northern hardwoods noted elsewhere in the eastern US may be less appar ent on high elevation, rocky sites in the central Appalachians. Thus, this is a unique case study of long-term red oak domination with later successional species in an old-growth forest. (C) 1998 Elsevier Scien ce B.V.