Origin of small understory beech in New York northern hardwood stands

Abstract

I sampled understory beech with heights that were 4 ft tall or less to determine their origin in 22 northern hardwood stands in New York. The proportion of seedling-origin beech ranged from 5 to 75% across sites. However, in 20 stands, the majority of beech (58-91%) with heights of 2-4 ft tall had a root sucker origin. Coupled with other information from published sources, findings suggest four possibilities about beech regeneration: (1) seed production and/or early seedling survival may have a clonal linkage, with some genotypes producing little viable seed, or with few seedlings surviving after germination; (2) a prevalence of root suckers among the taller understory beech suggests their higher potential for long-term survival and development and limited shifts in the genetic makeup of that species within a stand; (3) at some level of stocking, taller understory beech root suckers may interfere with survival and development of seedling regeneration; and (4) because the taller understory beech has a root sucker origin at most sites, root suckers may just develop more rapidly than seedlings. Copyright © 2008 by the Society of American Foresters.