An American Beech-Dominated Original Growth Forest in Southeast Louisiana

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
An old-growth (more than 150 years old) forest in southeastern Louisiana was studied during 1982-1983 using nested quadrats to quantify the ecological importance of the woody species. The canopy of +35 m height is dominated by American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrhart) with 3 other co-dominants: spruce pine (Pinus glabra Walter), southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora L.) and sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua L.). The relict angiosperm star anise (Illicium floridanum Ellis) is a very common shrub. Twenty-eight woody species were found, within a forest basal area of 29.8 m2/ha. The overstory species were underrepresented in the smaller size classes, while the shrub and understory species showed typical reverse J-shaped size class distributions. The forest is thought to be climax.