Data Paper. Data Paper
File List
Files are ASCII text, tab-delimited. No compression schemes were used.
all_plots_1935_1948.txt -- data for all stems measured in 1935 and 1948.
all_plots_1974-1980.txt -- data for all stems measured in 1974 through 1980.
upland_plots_89-07.txt -- data for upland plots mapped and measured two or more times, 1989 through 2007.
swamp_all_modern.txt -- data for wetland plots censused from 1992 through 2007.
species_codes.txt -- four-letter codes and full names for all species.
sampling_history.txt -- table summarizing sampling history for all plots.
Description
Established in 1935, a regular grid of 256 permanent plots includes about 20% of a 100-ha old-growth forest at the Dukes Research Natural Area in northern Michigan, USA. Woody stems have been remeasured 3–7 times providing extensive quantitative records of population and community dynamics over periods of up to 72 years. Woody stems in upland hemlock–northern hardwood stands, about half of the study plots, have been mapped and individually tracked since about 1990. Remaining plots are in swampy stands dominated by Fraxinus nigra and Thuja occidentalis. Detailed, long-term demographic data for late-successional forests are rare in general; this data set is both of exceptional duration and unusual in spatial intensity and detail. Because sample plots are in a regular array over the stand, they can support analyses of spatiotemporal pattern at various scales. A major wind disturbance in 2002 provides a unique opportunity to compare disturbance response to baseline dynamics. Several publications based on this data set have already provided new insights into late-successional processes, but general availability of the data set with metadata should permit a range of further comparative and integrative analyses. The study is ongoing, and new measurements will be added to the archived data set. Several ancillary data sets are available from the author.
Key words: Acer saccharum; Betula alleghaniensis; Fagus grandifolia; Fraxinus nigra; long-term studies; northern hardwood forest; old-growth forest; permanent plots; succession; Thuja occidentalis; tree mapping; Tsuga canadensis.
