The Acadian Forest Ecosystem Research Program: an example of natural disturbance-based silviculture in the northeast

Mike R. Saunders; Robert S. Seymour; Robert G. Wagner

Treesearch

The Acadian Forest Ecosystem Research Program: an example of natural disturbance-based silviculture in the northeast

Informally Refereed

Authors:

Mike R. Saunders, Robert S. Seymour, Robert G. Wagner

Year:

2014

Type:

Paper

Station:

Northern Research Station

Source:

In: Kenefic, Laura S.; Brissette, John C., comps. Penobscot Experimental Forest: 60 years of research and demonstration in Maine, 1950-2010. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-123. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 71-80.

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Abstract

The Acadian Forest Ecosystem Research Program (AFERP) began in 1994 as one of the nation's first trials of natural disturbance-based silviculture. The study tests the ecological impacts of two versions of expanding-gap silvicultural systems that are designed to emulate the spatial extent and frequency of natural disturbances in northeastern North America. The AFERP is now well into its second decade of monitoring. Inventory systems for overstory trees, saplings, herbaceous plants, tree regeneration, coarse woody debris, forest floor depth, and canopy light interception are described in this paper.

Parent Publication

Penobscot Experimental Forest: 60 years of research and demonstration in Maine, 1950-2010

Keywords

ecological resilience, long-term experiment, Maine

Citation

Saunders, Mike R.; Seymour, Robert S.; Wagner, Robert G. 2014. The Acadian Forest Ecosystem Research Program: an example of natural disturbance-based silviculture in the northeast. In: Kenefic, Laura S.; Brissette, John C., comps. Penobscot Experimental Forest: 60 years of research and demonstration in Maine, 1950-2010. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-123. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 71-80.