Analysis of deciduous tree species dynamics after a severe ice storm using SORTIE model simulations

Authored by M Tremblay, C Messier, DJ Marceau

Date Published: 2005

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2005.01.038

Sponsors: National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)

Platforms: SORTIE

Model Documentation: Other Narrative Flow charts Mathematical description

Model Code URLs: Model code not found

Abstract

Ice storms are frequent natural disturbance events in hardwood forests of eastern Canada and the United States, but their effects on forest dynamics are not well understood. Our objectives were to characterize short- and long-term tree species dynamics after a severe ice storm, and to assess the influence of spatial distribution of trees on these dynamics. SORTIE, a spatially explicit individual tree-based forest model, was used to simulate the effects of a severe ice storm on 300 years old stands. Crown radius was reduced and tree mortality was increased for a 5-year period following the ice storm disturbance. To investigate the influence of the spatial distribution of trees, we repeated the same experiment in a uniformly distributed stand where we systematically assigned coordinates of all trees, saplings and seedlings before the ice storm was modeled. Our results showed that six types of dynamics can be adopted by a species following an ice storm and that spatial distribution of trees influenced the species responses. In summary, we found that a combination of factors, namely, species density and spatial distribution, shade tolerance, growth rate, extent of canopy openness and canopy loss resulting from the ice storm, determine how tree species respond to ice storm disturbance. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Tags

individual-based models Damage Field-measurements Discontinuous canopies Radiative-transfer Asymmetric crowns Western new-york Hardwood forest Eastern ontario Sugar maple