SREL Reprint #2418

Post-hurricane vegetation dynamics in old-growth forests of the Congaree Swamp National Monument

Bruce P. Allen and Rebecca R. Sharitz

Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Drawer E, Aiken, South Carolina 29802

Introduction: Severe windstorms can influence vegetation structure and dynamics in temperate floodplain forests by causing direct mechanical damage and tree mortality. The vegetation structure of the forest, particularly species composition and stand aqe, also can influence the nature and extent of wind damage (Foster and Boose 1995). In ,floodplain forests, the hydrologic regime, particularly the depth and duration of flooding or of soil saturation, is the major environmental factor affecting tree species establishment and growth. In the southeastern United States in particular, hurricane-induced changes in the biotic and abiotic environment can interact with the underlying hydrologic regime to shape future forest composition. Furthermore, human alterations of floodplain ecosystems, especially changes to the hydrologic regime (including sediment transport and, deposition), fire regimes, and herbivore populations, also may influence long-term forest establishment patterns.
The objectives of this study were to address two questions concerning hurricane impacts on forest composition and structure in the Congaree Swamp National Monument: How has stand composition changed over the eight years following the hurricane? and, Has the hurricane changed the future composition of the forest?

SREL Reprint #2418

Allen, B.P. and R.R. Sharitz. 1999. Post-hurricane vegetation dynamics in old-growth forests of Congaree Swamp National Monument. pp. 306-312. In: D. Harmon (Ed.). On the Frontiers of Conservation: 10th Conference on Research and Resource Management in Parks and on Public Lands. The George Wright Society, Inc. Asheville, NC.

This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).