The comparison of species composition, size structure, and susceptibility to invasion in logged and unlogged landscapes in northern lower Michigan.

Abstract

Humans have altered their environments throughout history. Michigan's forests have dramatically changed since settlers arrived. By 1900 most of the pines had been logged and the hardwoods were taken soon after. In this study I aimed to find what sort of impacts logging had on Grapevine Point compared to Colonial Point that has not been logged. Both sites are on UMBS property in Cheboygan County, Michigan. I compared the landscapes in areas of biodiversity, species richness, size structure, relative abundance of species, and occurrence of invasive species. I took vegetation data along a transect in each forest and identified trees, shrubs or small trees and herbaceous or tree saplings in different size plots. Results show that Colonial Point has a higher species richness, but within a single site, Grapevine Point is more diverse. The most abundant species in all layers of both forests is Acer saccharum, sugar maple. Trees have larger diameters at breast height in the logged stand than the one that has not been logged. Invasive species were not prevalent at either site.