The relationship between forest floor Calcium levels
and Prunis pensylvanica (pin cherry) Dominance

Kelly Coleman
kelly_coleman@hotmail.com

Past research has shown that Northern New England hardwood forest stands between the ages of 4 and 30 have high levels of forest floor calcium compared to older stands (McArthur, Yanai, Covington, etc.). Evidence suggests that these high levels of calcium are correlated with pin cherry dominance (Smith). In my study I compared three pin cherry dominated plots with matched plots dominated by other hardwoods, for 7, 18, and 29 year old stands. I measured total tree biomass, collected forest floor samples, conducted understory surveys and for my 7 year old stand collected foliage samples. The foliage and forest floor samples will both be analysed for calcium and I will run statistics on my results.