Pattern of Kirtland's warbler occurrence in relation to the landscape structure of its summer habitat in northern Lower Michigan

Studies of the endangered Kirtland's warbler in relation to landscape ecosystems were conducted from 1986–1988 on a large wildfire-burn surrounding Mack Lake in southeastern Oscoda County, Michigan. A landscape ecosystem approach was used to distinguish low- and high-elevation segments of the landscape, as well as 11 local ecosystem types. The ecosystems were distinguished by physiography, microclimate, soil, and vegetation. The early occurrence of the warblers was strongly related to landscape structure, i.e. , to the broad low- and high-elevation areas and the local ecosystem types within them. Territories of male warblers were observed in 5 of the 11 ecosystems. The five ecosystem types where warblers were observed were characterized by (1) a physiography of level or rolling terrain; (2) soil series of Grayling, Graycalm, Montcalm, or Rubicon; (3) uplands with relatively warm temperature during the breeding season; (4) vegetation dominated by low sweet blueberry, bearberry, wintergreen, northern pin oak, blue stem grasses, and hair cap moss; and (5) canopy of relatively tall, dense, and patchy jack pine and oak. Landscape structure appears to be an important factor affecting the occurrence of the warbler in its summer habitat in northern Lower Michigan.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43161/1/10980_2004_Article_BF00129700.pd

Variability in early height growth rate of forest trees: implications for retrospective studies of stand dynamics

Retrospective studies of forest stand dynamics may rely on estimates of tree ages. In some of these studies, trees are aged near the stem base, while in other studies trees may be aged at breast height. An age correction may be added to breast-height ages in an attempt to account for average time to reach breast height and thus provide better estimates of total ages. Aging at breast height can provide estimates of stem and stand ages that are sufficient and appropriate for many studies of stand dynamics, for example, those focusing on the dynamics of canopy recruitment. However, the various aging methodologies will provide similar interpretations of actual stand age structures only if early height growth rates are not variable among stems, an assumption not likely to be true. Thus, aging at breast height, with or without a correction factor, may be inappropriate in studies that rely on accurate determination of tree establishment times. In the present study, variability of early height growth rates for several tree species common to Populus grandidentata Michx. forests is quantified by determining the number of years to reach breast height. Interpretations of stand age structures and dynamics are made based on total tree ages, breast-height ages, and corrected breast-height ages. The results are compared to explore the implications of ignoring variability in early height growth rates when interpreting development of the stands. For the study populations, early height growth rates were highly variable. Some variability was accounted for by differences in understory tolerance, establishment times, and regenerative modes. Intolerant species establishing early grew faster than more tolerant, later establishing species. Sprout-origin stems grew faster, and had much less variable growth rates, than did seed-origin stems. In the understory, hardwood regeneration grew faster than pine regeneration. Even after accounting for these factors, early height growth rates were still variable. Within replicate plots, cumulative establishment distributions based on breast-height ages always differed from those based on total ages, leading to different interpretations of stand age structures. Cumulative establishment distributions based on breast-height ages corrected for aging height differed 44% of the time from those based on total ages. The timing of understory reinitiation, an important dynamic in even-aged forests, was determined using the three aging methods and compared. The timing of understory reinitiation based on breast-height ages differed significantly from that derived using total ages, while that derived using corrected breast-height ages did not differ from the latter. These results suggest that interpretations of stand age structures and past dynamics based on breast-height ages should be viewed cautiously if the objectives of a study require accurate estimates of tree establishment times

Net assimilation and photosynthate allocation of Populus clones grown under short-rotation intensive culture: Physiological and genetic responses regulating yield

The overall objective of this project was to determine the differential responses of poplar clones from sections Tacamahaca and Aigeiros of the genus Populus to varying levels of applied water and nitrogen. Above- and below-ground phenology and morphology, photosynthate allocation, and physiological processes were examined. By manipulating the availability of soil resources, we have been able to separate inherent clonal differences from plastic responses, and to determine genotype-environment interactions. We also have been able to make some contrasts between trees grown from hardwood cuttings and coppice sprouts. Our overall hypothesis was that carbon allocation during growth is greatly influenced by interactions among moisture, nitrogen, and genotype, and that these interactions greatly influence yield in short-rotation plantations. As is true of any project, some of our original expectations were not realized, whereas other initially unforeseen results were obtained. The reduced funding from the Biofuels Feedstock Development Program (BFDP) during the last few years of the project slowed us down to some extent, so progress was not been as rapid as we might have hoped. The major problem associated with this funding shortfall was the inability to employ skilled and unskilled student labor. Nonetheless, we were able to accomplish most of our original goals. All of the principal investigators on this project feel that we have made progress in advancing the scientific underpinning of short-rotation woody biomass production

Kinetics of nitrogen uptake by Populus tremuloides in relation to atmospheric CO2 and soil nitrogen availability

Sustained increases in plant production in response to elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration may be constrained by the availability of soil nitrogen (N). However, it is possible that plants will respond to N limitation at elevated CO2 concentration by increasing the specific N uptake capacity of their roots. To explore this possibility, we examined the kinetics of 15NH4/+ and 15NO3/- uptake by excised roots of Populus tremuloides Michx. grown in ambient and twice-ambient CO2 concentrations, and in soils of low- and high-N availability. Elevated CO2 concentration had no effect on either NH4/+ or NO3/- uptake, whereas high-N availability decreased the capacity of roots to take up both NH4/+ and NO3/-. The maximal rate of NH4/+ uptake decreased from 12 to 8 μmol g-1 h-1, and K(m) increased from 49 to 162 μmol 1-1, from low to high soil N availability. Because NO3/- uptake exhibited mixed kinetics over the concentration range we used (10-500 μmol 1-1), it was not possible to calculate V(max) and K(m). Instead, we used an uptake rate of 100 μmol g-1 h-1 as our metric of NO3/- uptake capacity, which averaged 0.45 and 0.23 μmol g-1 h-1 at low- and high-N availability, respectively. The proximal mechanisms for decreased N uptake capacity at high-N availability appeared to be an increase in fine-root carbohydrate status and a decrease in fine-root N concentration. Both NH4/+ and NO3/- uptake were inversely related to fine-root N concentration, and positively related to fine-root total nonstructural carbohydrate concentration. We conclude that soil N availability, through its effects on fine-root N and carbohydrate status, has a much greater influence on the specific uptake capacity of P. tremuloides fine roots than elevated atmospheric CO2. In elevated atmospheric CO2, changes in N acquisition by P. tremuloides appeared to be driven by changes in root architecture and biomass, rather than by changes in the amount or activity of N-uptake enzymes