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Abstract
The rate of decline of hemlock (
Tsuga canadensis) trees infested with hemlock woolly adelgid (
Adelges tsugae) appears to be highly variable and site dependent. Rates of hemlock forest decline have not been quantified at the landscape scale and reasons for observed variations in the rate of decline remain unknown. Others have suggested that site characteristics and/or landscape features, hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) dispersal patterns, weather and climate, genetic variation, and a host of other factors may play a role in structuring this apparent variation in the rate of decline. In this paper, we: 1) report the results of a preliminary investigation in which we quantify the rate of change in hemlock forest canopy across the Highlands landscape of northern New Jersey using multiple dates of remotely sensed data and change detection techniques; 2) summarize patterns in the rate of change in hemlock forest canopy; and 3) explore the effects of site factors on the rate of change.
Parent Publication
Citation
Royle, Denise; Lathrop, Richard. 2000. The effects of site factors on the rate of hemlock decline: a case study in New Jersey. In: McManus, Katherine A.; Shields, Kathleen S.; Souto, Dennis R., eds. Proceedings: Symposium on sustainable management of hemlock ecosystems in eastern North America. Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-267. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station. 103-109.
