Spatial Patterns of Canopy Disturbance and Shortleaf Pine in a Mixedwood Forest

Abstract The spatial structure of forest ecosystems is dominated by the horizontal and vertical distribution trees their attributes across space. Canopy disturbance a primary regulator structure. Although importance tree pattern widely acknowledged as it affects important ecosystem processes such regeneration recruitment into overstory, quantitative reference conditions to inform silvicultural systems are lacking. This especially true for mixedwood forests, defined those that contain hardwoods softwoods in canopy. We used data from preexisting network plots complex-stage stand investigate influence canopy on neighborhood-scale patterns. reconstructed history linked detected stand-wide gap-scale events establishment patterns shortleaf pine. majority pine coincided with or disturbance. Shortleaf was clustered at scale but randomly distributed neighborhood (i.e. five clusters), which legacy historical regime. These results may be improve natural disturbance-based restore maintain forests enhanced resilience provisioning goods services.