Print PageThe purpose of this study was to assess secondary ecosystem succession in the Livingstone Forest using a combination of remote sensing and ground-based methods. Livingstone Forest is 16 ha research site in the west end of the city of Salisbury in Rowan county, in the North Carolina Piedmont. The site is a former agricultural property that has remained undisturbed for at least the past 25 years. The site is representative of old-field succession in the Piedmont region of North Carolina. Two 20m X20m plots were established in the two dominant stands of Livingstone Forest representing relatively old and relatively young stages of ecosystem succession. Vegetation characteristics were measured in each stand including: tree height, basal area, species abundance, stand age and leaf area index.
Results/Conclusions
Old ( 26 - 38 year-old) and young ( 20 – 26 year-old) succession stands were both characterized by an abundance of sweet gum ( Liquidambar Styraciflua), but in general the stands were dominated by different species ( deciduous species in the old plot and coniferous species in the young plot). Leaf area index was measured intensively within each plot in late summer 2010 using a Licor LAI 2000 Plant Canopy Analyzer and was statistically indistinguishable between the two plots ( 3.66 – 3.81 m2 / m2 for the old plot and 3.0 – 3.92 m2 / m2 for the young plot). Data from this site will be used to verify airborne Lidar measurements collected in this region of North Carolina, and these results will be pooled with results from other field sites across North Carolina to assess the variability in secondary succession across the state.
