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Abstract
Historical land use can influence forest species composition and structure for centuries after direct use has ceased. In Wisconsin, USA, Euro-American settlement in the mid- to late 1800s was accompanied by widespread logging, agricultural conversion, and fire suppression. To determine the maximum magnitude of change in forest ecosystems at the height of the agricultural period and the degree of recovery since that time, we assessed changes in forest species composition and structure among the (1) mid-1800s, at the onset of Euro-American settlement; (2) 1930s, at the height of the agricultural period; and (3) 2000s, following forest regrowth. Data sources included the original U.S. Public Land Survey records (mid-1800s), the Wisconsin Land Economic Inventory (1930s), and U.S. Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis data (2000s).
Keywords
forest inventory and analysis,
forest landscape change,
General Land Office,
historical ecology,
homogenization,
land-use/land-cover change,
land-use legacies,
ordination,
presettlement,
species convergence,
US Public Land Survey,
Wisconsin Land Economic Inventory
Citation
Rhemtulla, Jeanine M.; Mladenoff, David J.; Clayton, Murray K. 2009. Legacies of historical land use on regional forest composition and structure in Wisconsin, USA (mid-1800s-1930s-2000s). Ecological Applications. 19(4): 1061-1078.
