Growth declines in red spruce
Over the past two decades second-growth red spruce stands in the Northeast have demonstrated declines in radial increment. Some observers are implicating air pollution as a primary cause of the declines, based on recently acquired increment cores from dominant trees. Various forms of air pollution (O/sub 3/, NO/sub x/, SO/sub 2/, and trace metals) are known to reduce growth and development of tree species, but few studies have provided concrete evidence of regional pollution-caused declines in forest ecosystems. Recently published evidence of a synchronous, consistent, and unprecedented regional decline in red spruce should be weighed against the realization that radial increment in red spruce declines naturally as stands age. Separating anthropogenic stress-caused growth patterns from natural stand dynamics requires an in-depth knowledge of forest growth and yield, tree silvics, and forest ecosystem processes. Detailed analyses of growth by stand characteristics - site index, density, elevation, stand history - will be necessary to implicate air pollution as a primary cause of red spruce decline.
- Research Organization:
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State Univ., Blacksburg
- OSTI ID:
- 6943777
- Journal Information:
- J. For.; (United States), Vol. 85:1
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
METALS
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
NITROGEN OXIDES
OZONE
SPRUCES
BIOLOGICAL STRESS
PLANT GROWTH
SULFUR DIOXIDE
AGE DEPENDENCE
AIR POLLUTION
FORESTS
PRODUCTIVITY
REGIONAL ANALYSIS
CHALCOGENIDES
ELEMENTS
GROWTH
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PLANTS
POLLUTION
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
SULFUR OXIDES
TREES
500200* - Environment
Atmospheric- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (-1989)
560300 - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology