A SPATIAL MODEL OF FOREST DYNAMICS

Effects of spatial processes on temperature deciduous forest structure and dynamics were investigated with a spatial simulator derived from a forest gap model. The multi-species neighborhood model accounted for competitive interactions and endogenous disturbance in the form of small canopy gaps. Simulated and actual spatial pattern of old-growth stands were compared. The 400 yr simulations produced a pattern scale (0.07-0.2 ha patches) similar to that of an actual stand; simulated pattern intensity was greater than actual intensity, however. Distances to nearest neighbor were somewhat similar for trees in the simulated and actual stands; yet the frequency distributions of distance to nearest neighbor values differed substantially. The simulated stand patterns were generally less random than the actual patterns. Spatial pattern changed markedly during the course of simulated succession. Pattern approached a random dispersion in early succession. Intensity peaked at mid-succession (ca. 150 yr) with a hyper-dispersed overstory and a strongly clumped understory. Pattern intensity diminished in late succession as a mixed size structure developed. Old-growth patch size was greater than the neighborhood (or gap) size, suggesting the gap-sized areas do not behave independently.