Investigation of the Impacts of Clearcutting, Feral Hogs, and White-Tailed Deeron the Native Vegetative Resources of the Congaree Swamp National Monument (Revised)

摘要

Vegetation surveys, large mammal exclosures, and acorn collections were used tostudy the effects of past cuttings, feral hogs, and deer on the continued presence of large, majestic oaks on the monument. Few oaks other than laurel oak remain in the harvested areas of the western half of the monument which are dominated by green ash and sweetgum. This species composition is very similar to that of the predisturbance condition, sweetgum-green ash-laurel oak, bottomland forest type. The scattered, remaining large oaks (cherrybark, Shumard, water and willow oak) have failed to reproduce adequately under the conditions created by the harvest practices. Lack of acorn production and seedling establishment rather than large mammal predation of oaks appear to be the primary factors in the decline of oaks in the disturbed areas.