A Method of Estimating Direct and Indirect Effects of Armillaria Root Disease and Other Small-Scale Forest Disturbances on Canopy Gap Size

摘要

The ecological and economic impacts of individual forest pathogens on forest stands are often difficult to measure because of indirect impacts arising form their interactions with other agents. Root diseases especially interact with many elements of the forest. This study uses a method called Path analysis to estimate direct and indirect effects of Armillaria root disease and other small-scale Disturbances on a pristine Pinus ponderosa stand in the Black Hills of South Dakota.