A STUDY OF SUGAR MAPLE (ACER SACCHARUM MARSH) DECLINE DURING 1979 TO 1989 IN NORTHERN PENNSYLVANIA

Open Access
- Author:
- Drohan, Patrick
- Graduate Program:
- Soil Science
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- May 18, 2000
- Committee Members:
- Edward John Ciolkosz, Committee Member
David Russell Dewalle, Committee Member
Susan L Stout, Committee Member
Rick Lane Day, Committee Member
Gary Walter Petersen, Committee Chair/Co-Chair - Keywords:
- decline
soil
pennsylvania
chemistry
sugar maple - Abstract:
- Sugar maple decline, a result of many possible biotic and abiotic causes, has been a problem in northern Pennsylvania since the early 1980s. Several studies have focused on specific causes, yet few have tried to look at a wide array. The purpose of this research was to investigate stresses in sugar maple forest plots in northern Pennsylvania. Three studies were undertaken. The first study examined the spatial extent of sugar maple on 248 plots in Bailey's ecoregions 212F and 212G, which are glaciated and unglaciated regions, respectively. In addition, a health assessment of sugar maple in Pennsylvania was made, with a resulting separation in population between healthy and unhealthy stands occurring at 20 percent dead sugar maple basal area. Sugar maple was most often found to populate north and east aspects on low percent slopes across Pennsylvania within both glacial regions. No significant relationships were found between stand health and slope or aspect. Significant relationships were found between unhealthy stands and higher atmospheric deposition variables N, NH4, SO4, H and Ca across the state and within the unglaciated region of Pennsylvania. No significant relationship was found within the glaciated region between health variables and atmospheric deposition. The second study was conducted to evaluate a statistical sampling design of 28 forested plots, from the above studies population of plots (248), and to provide data on physical and chemical soil variability and sample size estimation for other researchers. The variability of several soil parameters was examined within plots and between health classes of sugar maple and sample size estimations were derived for these populations. The effect of log-normal transformations on reducing variability and sample sizes was examined and soil descriptions of the plots sampled in 1998 were compared to the USDA Soil Survey mapping unit series descriptions for the plot location. Lastly, the effect of sampling intensity on the detection of significant differences between health class treatments was examined. Soil data gathered from plots matched Soil Survey data very well (< 1 parameter different) 63% of the time and matched well (< 2 parameters different) 80% of the time. Soil physical and chemical properties were quite variable within a plot, but soil horizon types within a plot matched (satellite pits to primary pit) 76% of the time. Plots that had similar horizonation (A, Bt, C) also generally had a lower variance and percent coefficient ovariation in physical and chemical properties. Plot soil parameter variability was influenced by slope and plot microtopography. Estimates of variation and sample size decreased when estimates were based on log-normal transformations as compared to untransformed data. Detecting significant differences between treatments appears to be more dependent upon sampling multiple holes within plots than on the number of plots within treatments. The last study addressed sugar maple decline in northern Pennsylvania during the same period as the first study (approximately 1979-1989) but on 28 plots chosen from the first studies population. These were the same plots used in the second study on soil variability. Recent literature on sugar maple decline has focused on specific causes and few have tried to look at a wide array. This paper investigates stresses in sugar maple plots related to moisture and how these interact with other stresses such as chemistry, insect defoliation, geology, aspect, slope, topography, and atmospheric deposition. In the summer of 1998, 28 plots of declining and nondeclining sugar maple trees across northern Pennsylvania were sampled for a variety of soil physical and chemical parameters, site characteristics, and tree health. Foliage from healthy plots was found to have significantly higher base cations and P and lower Mn as compared to declining plots. Data from 762 soil horizons indicate that soils in healthy plots, as compared to declining plots, have higher base cations, pH, a Ca Al-1 > 1, and high %clay and low %sand suggesting trees on declining plots are prone to nutritional and drought stress. Regression relationships between foliar and soil chemistry indicate foliar nutrition is highly correlated with upper solum soil chemistry. Multivariate analysis indicates declining plots, as compared to healthy, tend to occur at higher elevations, have sandstone geologies, base poor--sandy soils, higher upper solum percent rock fragments, a lower deep solum pH, lower foliar base cations, and frequent, severe insect defoliations. Significant negative correlations were also found with foliar and soil chemistry and atmospheric deposition, suggesting base poor soils on sandstone geologies may be susceptible to deposition induced acidification.