The Ecology and Management of Atlantic White Cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides) 2012 SYMPOSIUM June 12, 13 and 14, 2012 Hilton Garden Inn on the waterfront in Suffolk, VA

Comparisons of ground plot and LiDAR data to evaluate the impacts of deer browse and silvicultural treatments on the vertical forest structure of atlantic white cedar

George Zimmermann, Michael Cicali, Samantha Anderson, Courtney Compton, Vinh Lang III

George Zimmermann, The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, School of Natural Science & Mathematics, Environmental Sciences Program

The effects of differential browsing by deer in regenerating Atlantic white cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides (L.) B.S.P.) communities can have long term consequences such as shifts in species composition and changes in vertical vegetative structure, which in turn can influence edaphic factors such as light and temperature. Ground plot and LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) data were collected aerially in 2004 and 2011, and on the ground in 2012 to quantify vertical vegetative structures on silvicultural treatments. Study sites include Wharton State Forest (Penn Swamp site) and Brendan Byrne State Forest (‘Colletti’ site) in New Jersey which have been studied since 1990. Ground plot data by height classes (0-.29, 0.3-.59, 0.6-1.29, 1.3-2.9, 3-4.9, 5-6.9, and = 7meters) were analyzed by frequency or height diversity indices and confirm significant changes in vertical forest structure especially areas of minimal browse versus controls (full exposure to deer).The Penn Swamp plot data (integrating the three slash load treatments) show the exclusion treatment (fenced-no deer) had 14.9% of its total vegetation in the 5-6.9 and = 7meter vegetation height classes in 2008 versus 0% in those same classes in the control treatment(heavy browse). The height diversity index for the Penn Swamp exclusion treatment was 1.22 versus 1.04 for the control treatment. Aerial LiDAR point cloud data analyzed by the same height classification confirm some treatment differences. Ground plot data or ground based LiDAR may be needed to augment aerial LiDAR data analysis when lower height classes predominate given that aerially collected LiDAR may be confounded by hummock topography and/or closed overhead canopy structure. A total of twenty automated probes were randomly placed in treatments at the Colletti site to record incident light and temperatures at the ground level. The probes showed some significant differences in light and temperature, confirming vertical vegetative structure effects as a consequence of deer browse.

Atlantic white cedar, deer browse, vertical vegetation structure, LiDAR, long-term plot data, height diversity indices.

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