Ten Years of Forest Dynamics at Radnor Lake, Tennessee

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Abstract
Composition, structure, and productivity of a mesic forest stand at the Radnor Lake State Scientific Area near Nashville, TN were examined for the period 1976 to 1986. Species diversity significantly decreased due to a substantial increase in community dominance by Acer saccharum during the study period. Virtually all other species had mortality in excess of recruitment to the tree size class (.gtoreq. 0.8 dm2) and all but A. saccharum and Fraxinus americana decreased in community importance. Tree density declined (13.4%) but mean basal area per tree increased (20.0%); total basal area increased slightly (3.9%) in 10 years. Estimated aboveground biomass (mean of 202.75 t/ha), aboveground productivity (mean of 874 g/(m2 .cntdot. yr)), and net production efficiency (0.55% of incident photosynthetically active radiation) were found to be comparable to those for other mesic deciduous forests.