The influence of ground disturbance and gap position on understory plant diversity in upland forests of southern New England

The forest understory contains the majority of vascular plant diversity in eastern temperate forests, and its diversity, composition, and dynamics contribute directly to ecosystem function. Forest managers have traditionally viewed the understory as primarily affecting forest regeneration or wildlife habitat, but the growing recognition of goods and services the understory provides (e.g., ecosystem function, ecological resiliency, non-timber forest products) has increased concerns about the impacts of forest management on understory diversity. We monitored response of understory diversity to microsite position and degree of ground-level disturbance within experimental gaps for 10 years. We did this at four sites with distinct soil types and topographic positions of a glacial geology in southern New England that were categorized as (i) mesic, (ii) mid-slope, (iii) outwash, and (iv) sandy-skeletal. We analyzed differences in patterns of species richness, Shannon diversity, and evenness across sites and through time. Understory species richness was generally enhanced by gap formation. Gap position was the primary factor influencing species richness across all sites, but the patterns of diversity and evenness within gaps was site specific. Ground-disturbance was influential on drier sandy sites, and more pronounced earlier in the experiment. Temporal differences were also evident across sites, with richness stabilizing at all sites 10 years after gap creation. The one exception was the sandy-skeletal site, which was still increasing in richness. Resource managers interested in protecting and enhancing understory species diversity need to consider underlying site, specifically soil type when planning silvicultural treatments, as the response of the understory community to disturbance can vary greatly with site.