Coastal Forest Tree Populations in a Changing Environment, Southeastern Long Island, New York

The temporal and spatial dynamics of tree populations in coastal forests of southeastern Long Island, New York, were reconstructed from analyses of (1) historical accounts, maps, and aerial photos, (2) field evidence of forest history (3) age and height class distributions along the moisture gradient, and (4) fossil—pollen content of bordering salt—marsh deposits. Tide—gauge records of sea level provided independent evidence for long—term change in the physical environment (rise in sea level) that caused populations to migrate up the continental shelf. Field evidence for fire and historically documented land—use change demonstrated the important role of disturbance in the dynamics of tree populations. Spatial and temporal patterns in forest, were determined by information on disturbance frequency, dispersal, generation times, and rates of change in the physical environment. Mature cohorts occupied lower elevations than did their progeny because during the period from germination to seed production, suitable soil—moisture conditions shifted upslope in response to sea—level rise. Establishment of new regeneration depended on disturbances that opened the forest canopy and/or prepared seed beds. Frequent fire, land clearance and abandonment, and tree blowdowns insured opportunities for seedling establishment at higher elevations as conditions became unsuitable for regeneration on low—elevation sites. The resultant pattern of range shifts was stepwise, with waves of regeneration following disturbances and subsequent reduced seedling establishment as soil moisture continued to increase. The vegetation dynamics could be explained solely on the basis of life histories of plant species and environmental change; "emergent properties" and "successional stages" in a deterministic sense were not apparent. An understanding of successional change required information on both the spatial and temporal dimensions of vegetation pattern because composition change over time resulted from range shifts in response to environmental transition.