Species composition in old growth and 70-year-old second growth rich coves in the southern Appalachian mountains

There exists ongoing debate about the extent to which southern Appalachian forests recover from logging.  We compare species richness and composition between old growth and 70-year-old (± 10 years) second growth in rich cove forests of western North Carolina.  Using these comparisons, we establish the extent of recovery 70 years after logging.  We sampled twenty-six 1000 m² plots across three mountain ranges within the southern Appalachians.  Each 20 m by 50 m plot contained 10 or more subsamples at spatial scales of 0.01 m², 0.1 m², 1 m², 10 m², and 100 m².  Because of controversy surrounding previous studies of these forests, we compare and critique different analysis methods for change detection between second growth and old growth forests.  We found no difference in the species-area relationships between old growth and second growth rich coves.  Each age class demonstrated richness values of 11 species per m² and 78 species per 0.1 ha.  We found no species that were present in old growth but absent in second growth.  However, species composition differed between the two age classes.  Rich cove indicator species tended to have lower abundances in second growth plots, while species with broad ecological amplitude tended to have greater abundance in second growth plots.  These compositional differences are the consequence of successional processes in previously logged rich coves.