Effects of Flooding and Root Competition on Growth of Shaded Bottomland Hardwood Seedlings

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Abstract
Potted seedlings of five bottomland hardwood species were grown in deeply shaded environments and subjects to: (1) inundation (flooding of the entire stem) of several days early in the growing season followed by well drained conditions for the remainder of the experiment; (2) constant waterlogging of the soil without stem inundation; or (3) invasion of the pot by roots of established forest vegetation. Brief inundation resulted in high mortality or substantial growth reduction in all species. Constant soil waterlogging resulted in no mortality and minor or no growth reduction. Tolerance of stem inundation was poorly correlated with tolerance of soil waterlogging. Root competition resulted in significantly smaller plants in two species. Competition had no measurable effect in species partitioning high proportions of total dry mass to roots. In one species, seedlings were larger when a few invading roots were present than when none were present. [All experiments were conducted using current year seedlings of red maple (Acer rubrum L.), river birch (Betula nigra L.), American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis L.), cherrybark oak (Quercus falcata var. pagodifolia Ell). and American elm (Ulmus americana L.).