Successional changes in a Cheboygan County, MI forest over a fifty-five year period and its effects on the corresponding avian community.

Abstract

Succession of aspen forests into northern hardwood forests and pine forests has been thoroughly studied with conflicting results. Cheboygan County, MI is an area with a rich history of logging and fire disturbances. The changes in vegetation following the end of logging practices have been well-studied in regions on and near UMBS. This study looked at the present vegetation and corresponding avian communities of a forest area which was surveyed in a 1944 study (Kendeigh 1948). It was expected that Populus spp. would have been succeeded by Acer rubrum, Quercus rubra, and Pinus. Significant changes between vegetation fifty-five years ago and present were found, and indicate that succession to both beech-maple and pine forests have taken place. The distribution of pine trees and climax deciduous trees appeared to differ between small regions within this area. Bird communities were also found to be different from those of the 1944 study, implying that some birds have reacted to the vegetation changes. However the point count methods used to census the bird population may also account for some of the these differences. Methods designed for long-term studies are needed to monitor succession in this area, and its effects on the corresponding bird communities.