JUNIPERUS OCCIDENTALIS (WESTERN JUNIPER) ESTABLISHMENT HISTORY ON TWO MINIMALLY DISTURBED RESEARCH NATURAL AREAS IN CENTRAL OREGON
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Paul A. Knapp, Professor (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Abstract: While a trend toward western juniper ( Juniperus occidentalis spp. occidentalis) super-dominance in big
sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) communities of the Pacific Northwest since the late 1800s has been well documented,
establishment dates of western juniper in less disturbed environments have not. In this paper we document the establishment
history of western juniper on 2 minimally disturbed research natural areas that have substantial differences in
their physical characteristics. On each site we randomly established twenty 0.05-ha plots to obtain per hectare counts of
mature and juvenile western juniper and to obtain a sample of 100 trees closest to the plot center. These trees were then
dated using standard dendrochronological techniques. The lower-elevation, more xeric site has an establishment history
that suggests it is an emerging western juniper woodland, with the majority of trees sampled establishing since 1978.
The higher-elevation site is an older, well-established woodland with a more even temporal distribution of trees. These
results suggest that suitable establishment sites may switch from canopy dependence in emerging woodlands to open
sites in mature woodlands and that neither domestic livestock grazing nor active fire suppression is a required mechanism
for establishment.
JUNIPERUS OCCIDENTALIS (WESTERN JUNIPER) ESTABLISHMENT HISTORY ON TWO MINIMALLY DISTURBED RESEARCH NATURAL AREAS IN CENTRAL OREGON
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Western North American Naturalist 60(1), © 2000, pp. 26–33
- Language: English
- Date: 2000
- Keywords
- western juniper, establishment history, expansion, central Oregon, dendrochronology