Abstract
Widespread mortality of eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) through hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) infestation has altered riparian forest structure and function throughout the southern Appalachians. Eastern hemlock and Rhododendron maximum often co-occur in these riparian forests, where the latter species is highly shade tolerant, forms a dense shrub layer that strongly attenuates light incident on the forest floor, has little to no herbaceous cover below its canopy, negatively affects tree seedling recruitment, and decreases nitrogen availability in the soil and litter layer to non-ericaceous species.
Parent Publication
Citation
Elliott, Katherine; Miniat, Chelcy F.; Knoepp, Jennifer; Crump, Michael A.; Jackson, C. Rhett. 2016. Restoration of southern Appalachian riparian forest affected by eastern hemlock mortality. In: Stringer, Christina E.; Krauss, Ken W.; Latimer, James S., eds. 2016. Headwaters to estuaries: advances in watershed science and management -Proceedings of the Fifth Interagency Conference on Research in the Watersheds. March 2-5, 2015, North Charleston, South Carolina. e-General Technical Report SRS-211. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 1 p.
