Tree population dynamics in seven South Carolina mixed-species forests'

Abstract

were used to quantify shade tolerance and successional status of individual species. In all plots, small stem density decreased and large stem density increased, an indication that the forests were in mid-successional phases where competition is expected to be intense. Shade tolerant species, especially small tree life forms, had the greatest ratios of ingrowth to mortality. Large differences in population flux, even among shade tolerant species, indicated that different mechanisms can account for increases in populations of late-successional species. Within some species, ratios of ingrowth to mortality varied significantly across the gradient reflecting flooding or soil moisture effects on succession.