Ice storms as a successional pathway for Fagus grandifolia advancement in Quercus rubra dominated forests of Southern New England

On December 11th, 2008 a severe ice storm affected large portions of Southern New England. We report the results of a study investigating differential damage among tree species. Past studies surveying ice damaged forests have relied heavily on ocular estimations of canopy damage. We compare this method to damage estimates based on the cross-sectional area of downed woody material and quantitative comparisons of tree height and canopy projection in damaged and undamaged stands. Ocular estimates and changes in canopy height and projection were unreliable. Estimates based on the amount of woody debris provide a more robust measure of storm damage. We assess damage in two forest tracts with a dominant red oak (Quercus rubra L.) canopy (42% of total basal area), and an American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) dominated understory (50% of all stems >1.3 m). Species’ standing basal area was well correlated with the amount of newly downed woody debris (r=.69, pThe accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author