week 10 - understory Flashcards
1
Q
importance of lower canopy info
A
- site quality
- forest structural patterns
- wildlife-habitat relationships
- biological diversity
- biomass of secondary forest products (berries, mushrooms)
- LOD = large organic debris
- contributes organic matter to soil
- habitat component for many spp
- plays some role in carbon storage
2
Q
site quality is…
is useful for…
can be assessed w/ …
A
- the productive capacity of forest land
- determining suitable species
- predicting growth potential
- evaluating ecosystem resiliency
- determining mgmt priorities
- land valuation
- lower canopy vegetation (diff types indicate diff soil/site quality; relationships of lower canopy to dom overstory trees have been long established)
- recall: site index is on dominant, undamaged species
3
Q
a stand is…
A
a group of trees that can be distinguished from other groups by species, composition, age (maybe), etc…
4
Q
patterns…
A
- Types, amounts, and distribution of vegetation patterns define water quantity and quality, wildlife habitat, timber resources
- Vegetation patterns impact forest processes such as stream flow, erosion, and succession
- Forest landscapes are created and maintained through a balance of disturbance and recovery processes.
5
Q
diversity at different scales (4)
A
- landscape level
- community-ecosystem level (eg: lower canopy)
- how has disturbance or mgmt influenced species diversity?
- what is Fx of species in community?
- where are areas of high richness, endemism, rarity, and how well protected?
- population species level
- genetic level
6
Q
community metrics; horizontal structure/diversity
A
- richness
- # present
- composition
- pi = amt of species / amt all spp
- Shannon Index (H’)
- Simpson’s Index (D)
- usualy expressed as 1/D
indices are valuable as standardized comparisons to other communities
7
Q
vertical structure/diversity
A
- cover board
- BSD = bird structure diversity
- FSD = foliage structure diversity
- TAB = total aboveground biomass
