Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Alabama A&M University, Normal, AL, United States of America.
Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2021 Jan 19;16(1):e0245218. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0245218. eCollection 2021.
The long-term decline of longleaf pine-dominated forests has received considerable attention among land managers and conservation professionals in the last few decades. The objective of this study was to investigate the change in and the variation of the proportion, density, growth, and dominance of longleaf pine across the longleaf pine ecosystems for the 1997-2018 period. We used two sets of measurements of 1,432 plots from the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) dataset covering the entire current longleaf pine range. The relationship between disturbances and longleaf pine basal area ratio and basal area growth were analyzed using linear mixed modeling. Change detection maps were produced using the Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW) interpolation method. The total basal area and aboveground biomass per hectare increased in 64% and 72%, but decreased in 30% and 28% of the study area, respectively, between the first and last inventory intervals. Species richness and diversity generally decreased across the studied plots. Longleaf pine tree density and importance value percent increased during the period. However, longleaf basal area ratio and aboveground biomass ratio in the stands decreased on average by 5% during the period, although these ratios increased in some locations in southwest Georgia and near the west coast of Florida. The longleaf pine basal area ratio and aboveground biomass ratio decreased equally in 37%, and increased in 19% and 21% of the study area, respectively. There was about 79% variation in the ratio of longleaf pine basal area among plots. When compared to the natural control of no disturbance, fire disturbance was significantly associated with greater longleaf pine basal area ratio and basal area growth. Understanding the change in growth and distribution patterns of longleaf pine across its range over time is vital to restore these critical ecosystems.
在过去几十年中,长叶松主导的森林的长期衰退引起了土地管理者和保护专业人员的广泛关注。本研究的目的是调查 1997-2018 年期间长叶松林生态系统中长叶松的比例、密度、生长和优势度的变化和变化。我们使用了两组来自森林清查和分析(FIA)数据集的 1432 个样地的测量值,这些样地覆盖了整个当前长叶松的范围。使用线性混合建模分析了干扰与长叶松基面积比和基面积生长之间的关系。使用反距离加权(IDW)插值方法生成变化检测图。在第一次和最后一次清查之间,研究区分别有 64%和 72%的总基面积和每公顷地上生物量增加,而分别有 30%和 28%的研究区减少。整个研究样地的物种丰富度和多样性普遍下降。长叶松的树密度和重要值百分比在这期间增加。然而,在该期间,林分中的长叶松基面积比和地上生物量比平均减少了 5%,尽管在佐治亚州西南部和佛罗里达州西海岸附近的一些地方,这些比例有所增加。在研究区的 37%中,长叶松基面积比减少了 19%和 21%,分别增加了 19%和 21%。样地之间长叶松基面积比的差异约为 79%。与无干扰的自然对照相比,火灾干扰与更大的长叶松基面积比和基面积生长显著相关。了解长叶松在其分布范围内随时间推移的生长和分布模式的变化对于恢复这些关键生态系统至关重要。