SPRUCE S1 Bog Tree Basal Area and Understory Community Composition Assessed in the Southern and Northern Ends of the S1 Bog

The composition and cover of woody and understory species, along with the timing of stem growth, were characterized near minirhizotron installations at the south and north ends of the S1 bog in order to understand the relationship between root dynamics and the surrounding plant communities. There are three data streams: (1) Woody species basal area -- the number, basal area, and distance from the center point of all trees within a 5-m radius of each minirhizotron pair, which were quantified in 2011, (2) Understory cover -- the understory vascular plant community composition and percent cover, which were surveyed in 1 m2 areas at four cardinal directions adjacent to each pair of minirhizotrons in June 2011, and (3) Stem growth -- the basal area increment (stem growth) of nearby trees, which was quantified using automated or manual dendrobands in 2011 and 2012, respectively. The measurements were made in the S1-Bog of the Marcell Experimental Forest (MEF) near Grand Rapids, Minnesota.

为探究根系动态与周边植物群落之间的关联，研究人员在明尼苏达州大急流城附近的马塞尔实验林（Marcell Experimental Forest, MEF）S1泥炭沼泽的南北两端迷你根箱（minirhizotron）安装点周边，对木本及林下植物的组成、盖度与茎干生长节律进行了系统表征。本次研究共包含三类数据序列：(1) 木本物种胸高断面积数据：2011年，研究人员对每组迷你根箱周边5米半径范围内所有树木的数量、胸高断面积以及距中心点的距离进行了量化统计；(2) 林下盖度数据：2011年6月，在每组迷你根箱相邻的东南西北四个方位的1平方米样地中，完成了林下维管植物群落组成及盖度百分比的调查；(3) 茎干生长数据：分别于2011年与2012年，通过自动或手动树木生长带（dendrobands）对周边树木的胸高断面积增量（即茎干生长量）进行了量化测定。