Transcript
Page 1: Twenty-three years of stand dynamics in an old-growth Chamaecyparis forest in central Japan

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Twenty-three years of stand dynamics in an old-growthChamaecyparis forest in central Japan

Michinari Matsushita • Daisuke Hoshino •

Shin-Ichi Yamamoto • Naoyuki Nishimura

Received: 25 June 2012 / Accepted: 26 January 2013 / Published online: 6 March 2013

� The Japanese Forest Society and Springer Japan 2013

Abstract Structures and dynamics of old-growth conif-

erous stands are affected by several types of disturbances

including typhoons. We report the forest dynamics of four

old-growth Chamaecyparis stands in central Japan that

differ in the disturbance history of typhoons over a period

of 23 years. The stem number, basal area and mortality

were examined. In a predominant stand of C. obtusa (Sieb.

et Zucc.) Endl., 24 % of the C. obtusa canopy trees died,

mainly as a result of the severe damage of a strong typhoon

that caused a single tree-fall gap and the following gap

enlargements. In this stand, the total basal area decreased to

76.5 % of the initial value, although the mortality declined

in recent years. In contrast, the other three stands decreased

only slightly in the stem numbers (0.0–5.6 %) and

increased in the basal areas of C. obtusa canopy trees. It is

confirmed that the stand-level ingrowths of 300-year-old

C. obtusa canopy trees could contribute to the increase in

the stock of each stand. Our results support an idea that the

dynamics of old-growth Chamaecyparis forests were

greatly affected by typhoons. The stand structures will be

gradually changed (with the processes of gap dynamics)

and C. obtusa will continue to be dominant, potentially

over hundreds of years.

Keywords Forest dynamics � Gap formation �Long-term study � Natural disturbance � Stem growth

Introduction

Stand structures and dynamics are often affected by several

types of disturbances (e.g., typhoons) that vary in intensity

and frequency (Yamamoto et al. 2011; Torimaru et al.

2012). In many old-growth coniferous forests in East Asia,

gap creation by typhoons is one of the major disturbance

regimes (e.g., Asai et al. 2003). Because such disturbances

occur infrequently and stochastically (Yamamoto et al.

2011; Torimaru et al. 2012), their effects on dynamics of

old-growth forests are often complex (Parish and Antos

2004), and therefore long-term monitoring studies are

important.

The genus Chamaecyparis is distributed around the

Pacific basin and along the eastern coast of North America

(Farjon 2005). Most Chamaecyparis species are known as

long-lived with slow growth rates. For example, the max-

imum age of C. formosensis, a species in Taiwan, exceeds

ca. 3,000 years old (Zobel 1998). In North America,

C. nootkatensis is a very long-lived stress tolerator found in

a wide variety of habitats, which appears to need some

opening of the stand to reach the canopy (Antos and Zobel

1986; Antos et al. 2005; Parish and Antos 2006). Because

Nomenclature: Ohwi and Kitagawa (1992).

M. Matsushita (&)

Laboratory of Forest Sciences, Department of Biological

Environment, Akita Prefectural University, Akita 010-0195,

Japan

e-mail: [email protected]

D. Hoshino

Tohoku Research Center, Forestry and Forest Products Research

Institute, 92-25, Morioka, Iwate 020-0123, Japan

S.-I. Yamamoto

Laboratory of Forest Plant Ecology, Graduate School

of Bioagricultural Sciences, Nagoya University, Chikusa,

Nagoya 464-8601, Japan

N. Nishimura

Environmental Sciences Laboratory, Faculty of Social

and Information Studies, Gunma University, 4-2 Aramaki,

Maebashi, Gunma 371-8510, Japan

123

J For Res (2014) 19:134–142

DOI 10.1007/s10310-013-0398-x

Page 2: Twenty-three years of stand dynamics in an old-growth Chamaecyparis forest in central Japan

of their longevities and slow growth, the regeneration

processes of Chamaecyparis species have not fully been

understood.

Two Chamaecyparis species, C. obtusa (Sieb. et Zucc.)

Endl. and C. pisifera (Sieb. et Zucc.) Endl. are indigenous

to Japan. The rates of exploitation of Chamaecyparis have

been very high in the past, since the lumber of Chamae-

cyparis spp., especially C. obtusa, has been used prefer-

entially to build feudal architectures (e.g., castles) because

of its excellent quality (Nishioka and Obara 1975; Ito

2000). According to IUCN 2010, C. obtusa is classified as

‘‘Near Threatened’’, and the remaining natural C. obtusa

forests are small and fragmented (Maeda 1951; Maeda and

Yoshioka 1952; Matsumoto et al. 2010). Therefore, their

conservation has been an important and urgent issue

(Yamamoto 1998; Tsumura et al. 2007). Currently, Kiso

district in central Japan is the core habitat over the entire

geographical distribution of natural C. obtusa populations

(Matsumoto et al. 2010); old-growth Chamaecyparis for-

ests are rare and thus very precious because of both

their ecological and commercial value (Yokouchi 1970;

Yamamoto 1998).

Akaswa Forest Reserve in the Kiso district is an excel-

lent representative of Chamaecyparis forests, characterized

by the pronounced dominance of C. obtusa (Nagano

Regional Forest Office 1985; Yamamoto 1993a; Hoshino

et al. 2001). Most Chamaecyparis canopy trees reach

around 300 years old (Hoshino et al. 2001; Asai et al.

2003). To understand the current condition and long-term

trends in Chamaecyparis forests, we began to examine the

dynamics of typical old-growth stands in this Reserve in

1985. In this paper, we report the dynamics of old-growth

C. obtusa stands over 23 years: i.e., the changes in the stem

number, basal area and mortality patterns. Since little

information is available on old-growth Chamaecyparis

forests, our report provides useful information about Cha-

maecyparis regeneration.

Here, specific questions were: (1) are the number and

basal area of C. obtusa canopy trees decreasing or

increasing; (2) how much are C. obtusa trees growing in

diameter; and (3) what, if any, are the mortality patterns of

C. obtusa trees? We summarized the structure and

dynamics of each stand focusing on the role of typhoon

disturbances, and then discussed long-term trends and

future states of old-growth Chamaecyparis forests.

Materials and methods

Study area

The Akasawa Forest Reserve (35�4305700N, 137�3705000E;

1,046 ha; 1,080–1,558 m a.s.l.) is located in the Kiso

district of Nagano Prefecture, central Honshu, Japan

(Nagano Regional Forest Office 1985). Annual precipita-

tion is ca. 2,500 mm and snow accumulation is 50–100 cm.

The mean annual temperature is 7.8 �C at 1,113 m a.s.l.;

the mean monthly maximum and minimum temperatures

are 14.3 �C in August and -11.8 �C in February, respec-

tively. The reserve is on an elevated peneplain with a

gentle slope. The geology is dominated by acidic igneous

rocks, including granite, granite porphyry and rhyolite.

Soils are mainly dry or wet podzols, although brown forest

soils appear on hillsides or along streams (Nagano Regio-

nal Forest Office 1985; Yamamoto 1993a).

Old-growth Chamaecyparis stands in this Reserve, like

the other stands in the Kiso and neighboring districts, have

become established after heavy cutting during 1688–1703

(Nagano Regional Forest Office 1985). Since that time, most

stands have been protected from heavy cutting, but selection

cutting mainly for hardwoods has been undertaken.

In the reserve, C. obtusa mainly dominates the over-

story, and C. pisifera frequently co-dominates on the lower

slopes or along the streams (Nagano Regional Forest Office

1985; Hoshino et al. 2001). Other coniferous trees like

Thujopsis dolabrata (L.f.) Sieb. et Zucc. and Thuja

standishii (Gordon) Carriere, and some hardwood trees

such as Magnolia obovata Thunb. and Quercus mongolica

Fisch. ex Ledeb. var. grosseserrata (Blume) Rehder et

E.H.Wilson, occasionally co-occur. The understory layer in

this Reserve is characterized by dense cover of the saplings

of T. dolabrata, occasionally with small trees of some

broadleaved species (Yamamoto and Suto 1994; Hoshino

et al. 2001, 2003; Matsushita et al. 2010). T. dolabrata is a

highly shade-tolerant species which can reproduce by

layering under closed canopy conditions (Yamamoto and

Suto 1994); meanwhile, the seedlings of C. obtusa estab-

lished on exposed mineral soil beneath tree-fall gaps

(Yamamoto 1988, 1993b), and there are no or very few

saplings of C. obtusa (Yamamoto and Suto 1994; Hoshino

et al. 2001, 2003).

Study plot and field methods

Four representative old-growth stands were chosen for this

study (Table 1). The canopy of Stand O consisted of only

C. obtusa, whereas Stands S and H had a few other species

in the canopy but were dominated by C. obtusa. However,

several species co-existed in the canopy of Stand K. While

there were no records of selection cutting in Stand H,

Stands O, S and K underwent selection cutting during the

period 1915–1947, mainly to remove ‘‘dead’’ canopy trees

(Nagano Regional Forest Office 1985). When C. obtusa

trees have died naturally (e.g., as the result of typhoons),

the dead trees have been (but not frequently) removed from

the reserve by forest managers.

J For Res (2014) 19:134–142 135

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Page 3: Twenty-three years of stand dynamics in an old-growth Chamaecyparis forest in central Japan

There is no evidence of forest fires, but typhoons are a

major natural disturbance. The Isewan typhoon in 1959

caused severe damage to several stands in the reserve

(Nagano Regional Forest Office 1985), and, especially,

Stand K was severely damaged by the typhoon (Yamamoto

1993a). Stand O was affected by another strong typhoon in

1991. At these times, dead trees were removed from these

stands, and stumps were left.

In September–October 1985, a 0.2-ha plot (40 9 50 m)

was laid out in a representative location within each forest

stand. In each plot, canopy trees [stem diameter at breast

height (DBH) C20 cm] were tagged, and their species

name, living status, location, and DBH were recorded.

Re-censuses were conducted from then until 2008 at ca.

5-year intervals (specific census years are shown in

Table 2). The condition of dead trees was classified as

standing dead, uprooted, stem broken or stump.

Data analysis

The annual rate of stem mortality was calculated as:

100 � lnNi � lnNsð Þ=T ;

where Ni is the initial number of living stems and Ns is the

number of the surviving stems at each subsequent census,

and T is the time interval (years) between the censuses.

Basal area (BA) of each stem ([20 cm DBH) was cal-

culated as: p 9 (DBH/2)2. Then, the stand-level BA was

defined as the sum of the BAs of all stems ([20 cm DBH)

within each plot. As an index of ingrowth, the increment in

the stand BA of surviving trees (excluding recruited trees)

was defined as follows:

Growth of stand BA ¼ ln BAf � ln BAið Þ=T;

where BAf and BAi are the stand BAs at the final and initial

census, respectively, and T is the time interval (years)

between the final and initial censuses.

As an index of the growth of each individual stem, the

increment in the DBH of surviving trees was defined as the

absolute growth rate (AGR), as follows:

AGR ¼ DBHf � DBHið Þ=T;

where DBHf and DBHi are the DBHs of each stem at the

final and initial census, respectively, and T is the time

interval (years) between the final and initial censuses.

The 95 % confidence intervals for these parameters

(mortality, growth of stand BA, and AGR), were estimated

by the standard bootstrapping method, with the populations

resampled 1,000 times from the original data. We used the

bias-corrected percentile method to determine confidence

intervals (Manly 2007). Statistical analyses were performed,

by using R 2.8.2 (R Development Core Team 2008).

Results

Changes in the stem density and mortality

Over the 23-year study period, the numbers of coniferous

canopy trees decreased from 75 to 57 in Stand O, from 67

to 65 in Stand S, and from 85 to 76 in Stand H, but

increased from 85 to 96 in Stand K (Table 2). When tar-

geting only C. obtusa, whereas there was a slight increase

in the number from 15 to 16 in Stand K, the numbers

decreased in the other three stands.

The mortality rate of canopy trees was highest in Stand

O, whereas it was very low in Stands S and K (Fig. 1). In

Stand O, the mortality rate of C. obtusa canopy trees was

higher in the periods 1990–1998 and 1998–2003, and then

decreased in the period 2003–2008 (Table 2). During the

23 years, stem recruitment events were observed only for

Stand K, where 1 C. obtusa tree and 12 hardwood trees

(mainly of M. obovata) were recruited, while there was no

recruitment stems in Stands O, S and H.

Table 1 Attributes of the four old-growth Chamaecyparis stands in the Akasawa Forest Reserve

Stand H Stand S Stand O Stand K

Topographic position Middle slope Middle slope Upper slope Lower slope

Slope direction E SW NW SW

Slope inclination (�) 0–5 0–5 0–5 5–10

Stand height (m) 33–34 35 35–36 25–26

Dominant canopy tree

species

Chamaecyparis obtusa, Thujopsis

dolabrata, Magnolia obovata

C. obtusa, Thujopsis

dolabrata

C. obtusa C. obtusa, C. pisifera;

hardwood trees

Dominant understory

species

Thujopsis dolabrata T. dolabrata Deciduous broad-

leaved shrubs

C. pisifera

History of major

disturbance

None Selection cutting

during 1915–1947

Selection cutting

during 1915–1947

Strong typhoon in

1991

Selection cutting during

1915–1947

Isewan typhoon in 1957

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Page 5: Twenty-three years of stand dynamics in an old-growth Chamaecyparis forest in central Japan

Growth trends at the stand and stem levels

The total BA decreased in Stand O, and did not change (or

slightly increased) in Stands S and H (Table 2). However,

the stand total BA consistently increased in Stand K. The

stand-level BA of C. obtusa showed similar trends with the

stand total BA.

During the 23 years, the growth of stand total BA was

highest in Stand K, and that was gradually higher in Stand

H than Stands S and O (Fig. 2, lower). On the other hand,

the growth in the stand-level BA of C. obtusa was lowest in

Stand K (Fig. 2, upper), while the corresponding trends for

the other stands were similar with those stand total BAs.

At individual-stem level, the AGR was higher in Stand

K than the other stands, but the rates were relatively similar

among Stands O, S, and H (Fig. 3). C. obtusa trees in Stand

K showed greatest absolute diameter growth rates (Fig. 3,

upper), although the DBH distribution in Stand K was

smaller than the other three stands (Fig. 4).

Size distribution and state of mortality

The DBH class distributions of canopy trees in 1985 varied

between the stands (Fig. 4). The dominant DBH class was

around 50–60 cm in Stands O, S, and H, whereas smaller

trees were more abundant in Stand K. During the study

period, deaths of canopy trees were observed in all DBH

classes in Stand O. In the other stands, just one canopy

trees died in Stand S, and the trees belonging to smaller

DBH classes died in Stands H and K.

With respect to the dead trees, the classifications of deaths

were mainly recorded as ‘‘standing-dead’’ or ‘‘stump’’

(Table 3).

Spatial patterns of stem mortality

The spatial pattern of the dead canopy trees in Stand O showed

a clumped distribution (Fig. 5). In this stand, canopy trees’

death spread out from the single tree with the broken trunk that

was injured by a severe typhoon in 1991 (Figs. 5, 6).

Fig. 1 Mortality of canopy trees over the 23-year study period in four

old-growth Chamaecyparis stands in the Akasawa Forest Reserve.

Error bar 95 % confidence interval

Fig. 2 Growth rates of BA of surviving canopy trees over the 23-year

study period in four old-growth Chamaecyparis stands in the

Akasawa Forest Reserve. Error bar 95 % confidence interval

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Page 6: Twenty-three years of stand dynamics in an old-growth Chamaecyparis forest in central Japan

Discussion

Our long-term monitoring study provides precious infor-

mation on the dynamics of old-growth Chamaecyparis

forests. Here, we first summarize the characteristics of each

stand, and then discuss the trends in old-growth Chamae-

cyparis forests over time.

In Stand O, the largest decrease in the stem number and BA

resulted from the sudden death of the single tree injured by a

typhoon in 1991: thereafter, the surrounding canopy trees

began to die. This phenomenon is a typical gap enlargement

process, originating from a single tree falling to form a gap

(Foster and Reiners 1986; Liu and Hytteborn 1991; Yamam-

oto 2000). Such single tree-fall gaps often enlarge as a result of

the trees surrounding the original gap subsequently falling

(McCarthy 2001). Therefore, Stand O may be in the process of

becoming a ‘‘gap-dynamic’’ stand (Watt 1947), or progressing

towards a shifting steady-state (Bormann and Likens 1981).

In contrast to Stand O, Stand S was not severely affected

by the 1991 typhoon, possibly because the stand was not

located on an upper slope, and thus the trees in the stand

could escape from strong winds. In Stand S, very few

canopy trees died, and deaths only occurred during

1985–1990, i.e., before the 1991 strong typhoon.

In Stand K, it has been reported that the Isewan typhoon

in 1959 caused severe damage to this stand (Nagano

Regional Forest Office 1985). During 1985–2008, no

C. obtusa canopy stems died, but stem recruitments were

observed, and, consequently, the stand BA continued to

increase. This suggests that Stand K can be considered in a

state of recovery from the severe disturbance of the

typhoon (Yamamoto 1993a).

In Stand H, the only death of C. obtusa trees was

recorded during 1985–2000, and the BA of C. obtusa trees

gradually increased. Stand H has been considered to be a

well-stocked stand within this reserve (Yamamoto 1993a).

Historically, there has been no record of selection cutting

on this stand (Nagano Regional Forest Office 1985), indi-

cating that Stand H can be considered to have developed

without human disturbances.

Natural disturbance is a major factor affecting the

structure and dynamics of forests (White 1979; Pickett and

White 1985). The stands in this Reserve are no exception;

several typhoons, varying in intensity, have passed during

the last several decades (weather data available online from

Japan Meteorological Agency, http://www.jma.go.jp/jma/

menu/report.html/). So, it is likely that canopy gap cre-

ations and enlargements, owing to natural disturbances like

typhoons, will occur in the future in stands in this Reserve.

Chamaecyparis forests that would experience such distur-

bances may show a stand regeneration pattern relating with

canopy-gap dynamics; Stand K is considered to be in a

state of recovery (low mortality with high AGR), while

Stand O is in a state of a decay (high mortality with low

AGR).

For stands resembling Stands S and H, with a T. do-

labrata understory, Hoshino et al. (2001, 2002, 2003)

suggested that the occurrence of abundant growth of

T. dolabrata does not mean that the species monopolizes

every gap that occurs; certain deciduous broadleaved trees

and a few Chamaecyparis trees occupy these gaps. This

suggests that such stands become more diverse, with a

shifting mosaic of developmental stages (Bormann and

Likens 1981) through gap formations (Asai et al. 2003). It

could be proposed that the stands in Akasawa Forest

Reserve, probably like other old-growth Chamaecyparis

forests in Kiso district, are still in the process of develop-

mental stages.

Some Chamaecyparis species, like C. nootkatensis in

North America, are very long-lived (ca. 1,000 years old)

and show great dominance in several stands (Parish and

Fig. 3 The absolute growth rate of surviving canopy trees over the

23-year study period in four old-growth Chamaecyparis stands in the

Akasawa Forest Reserve. Each box indicates the middle 50 % of

the observed data, while the lower, middle and upper lines for each

box represent the 25, 50, and 75th percentiles, respectively. The lower

and upper bars represent the range equivalent to 1.5 times the extent

of the boxes. Outliers are plotted as empty circles. Different letters

indicate significant differences (P \ 0.05)

J For Res (2014) 19:134–142 139

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Page 7: Twenty-three years of stand dynamics in an old-growth Chamaecyparis forest in central Japan

Fig. 4 DBH class distributions

of canopy trees in four old-

growth Chamaecyparis stands

in the Akasawa Forest Reserve

in 1985

Fig. 5 Spatial distribution of

dead and recruited canopy trees

in four old-growth

Chamaecyparis stands in the

Akasawa Forest Reserve. Arrow

indicates the dead canopy tree

with a broken trunk caused by a

strong typhoon, TY19, which

passed along the Japanese

archipelago on 27–28

September 1991

140 J For Res (2014) 19:134–142

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Page 8: Twenty-three years of stand dynamics in an old-growth Chamaecyparis forest in central Japan

Antos 2004, 2006). In old-growth forests, C. nootkatensis

often has few individuals of intermediate sizes (Antos and

Zobel 1986), and its growth rates are often very slow since

their recruitment depends on gap creations on a suitable

scale (Antos et al. 2005). Based both on the previous

findings and on our present results, it can be concluded that

the dynamics and regeneration patterns of old-growth

Chamaecyparis forests are greatly affected by natural dis-

turbance regimes, such as typhoons.

Our result showed that the stand-level ingrowth of

300-year-old C. obtusa canopy trees could contribute to the

stock of each stand. This suggested that C. obtusa will

continue to maintain its dominance potentially over hun-

dreds of years (Oda et al. 1997; Kawada 1933), and that

Chamaecyparis forests will turn to the state of diverse and

late successional forests if the present conservation suc-

cessfully prevails.

Acknowledgments We thank the Kiso (Agematsu) District Forest

Office and the Chubu (Nagano) Regional Forest Office for permitting

this study in Akasawa Forest Reserve. We also thank the many

researchers and students who helped our work, including Masao

Katayama, Yojiro Matsuura, Yasuhide Nagayama, Shigeharu

Kogushi, Keita Hamaguchi, Yasuko Moriyama, Nobuhiro Tomaru,

Yuri Nakao, Takahiro Asai, Kouji Kurita, Hajime Kobayashi, Yasu-

hiro Koyama, Daisuke Kabeya and Tomoyuki Saitoh. This work was

supported partly by the Nagoya University Global COE (Center of

Excellence) Program ‘‘From Earth System Science to Basic and

Clinical Environmental Studies (GCOE-BCES) of the Ministry of

Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of

Japan.

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