Date of Award
8-1985
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Biological Sciences
First Advisor
Dr. Richard Brewer
Second Advisor
Dr. Richard Pippen
Third Advisor
Dr. David Cowan
Access Setting
Masters Thesis-Open Access
Abstract
Brewer Woods, a young disturbed mesic sugar maple-beech (Acer saccharum-Fagus grandifolia) forest in Kalamazoo Co., Michigan, was investigated by point-quarter and transition matrix methods. The results indicate that this forest is dominated by sugar maple in both canopy and understory composition. Beech is the second most important species. Fourteen species were found as canopy trees or replacements. The hypothesis that a young forest is more diverse than comparable climax forests such as Warren Woods and Hueston Woods was supported. Its successional trend is that sugar maple will become more abundant at the expense of the other species. Beech is a subdominant species at steady state. Some shade-intolerant species will be lost from the canopy as succession proceeds. A combination of three models proposed by Connell and Slatyer was used to explain the successional trends of this forest.
Recommended Citation
Li, Zhenchang, "The Trend in Canopy Composition in a Young Mesic Forest" (1985). Masters Theses. 4498.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/4498