A Demographic Approach to Evaluating Tree Population Sustainability

摘要: Quantitative criteria for assessing demographic sustainability of tree populations would be useful in forest conservation, as climate change and a growing complex invasive pests are likely to drive forests outside their historic range variability. In this paper, we used CANOPY, spatially explicit, individual‐tree model, examine the effects initial size distributions on 70 northern hardwood stands under current environmental conditions. A index was calculated ratio future simulated basal area area, given structure density‐dependent equations. Only steeply descending were indicated moderately or highly sustainable (final area/initial ≥0.7 over several generations). Five six principal species had values 1. Simulation experiments suggested that minimum sapling density 300 per hectare required sustain but further increases did not increase because coincident mortality. variable slope with high q‐ratios small classes needed maintain existing overstory mature old‐growth stands. This analytical approach may identifying needing restoration treatments composition situations where have recruitment limitations.