Effects of crown loss as a result of the 1998 ice storm on foliar metabolites in sugar maple and American beech growing in Vermont and New Hampshire; how/when trees respond to the effects of injury

These data contain biochemical parameters as measured in foliage of two hardwood tree species in the northeastern U.S. in response to damage caused by a regional ice storm. In January of 1998, a major storm event left over 17 million acres of forests in the northeastern U.S. and eastern Canada covered in variable thicknesses of ice. By October 1998 ice damaged study plots were established and comparative crown damage assessments were completed. In mid-July to mid-August 1999, 2000, and 2001 foliage was collected from 3 crown damage classes, representing different percentages of crown loss, of sugar maple growing at Butterfield Mountain, VT, and from American beech trees in the Bartlett Experimental Forest, NH. A follow-up collection was made from the remaining beech trees at Bartlett in 2015. Data used to evaluate how/when trees respond to the effects of injury and/or recovery includes free polyamines, free amino acids, soluble ions, chlorophyll and soluble proteins that were analyzed using an HPLC, ICP, and spectrophotometer.This was a study to examine how foliar metabolites respond over time to different degrees of damage from major storm events. As it is predicted that the number and severity of storms will increase, resulting tree response data could be used in modeling efforts to predict potential impacts on the structure and function of northern hardwood forests.