Data from: The influence of landscape context on short- and long-term forest change following a severe ice storm

1. When deforestation results in small forest fragments surrounded by a
non-forest matrix, forest stands within these fragments experience changes
in structure and community composition. They also continue to experience
natural disturbances like hurricanes and ice storms. It is unclear whether
the landscape context of forest stands influences plant community response
to natural disturbances. 2. Using data from surveys of forested plots in
the years immediately following and 19 years after a severe ice storm, we
measured changes in woody stem density, species richness, and beta
diversity. 3. Plots with greater storm damage had greater gains in stems
and species, and greater shifts in community composition. In addition,
there were interactions between the degree of storm damage and landscape
context. The short-term effects of storm damage were magnified in plots
with less forest on the surrounding landscape and farther from the forest
edge. In plots with high damage, a return towards pre-storm conditions
over the long-term occurred more often in plots farther from the forest
edge compared to those close to the edge. 4. Synthesis: Future climate
scenarios predict increases in severe weather and accompanying ecosystem
disturbance. Our results show that it is important to consider landscape
context when assessing the response of forest communities to such
disturbances.