Robert E. Tatina, Brice B. Hanberry. (2022). Historical forests of the Black Hills, South Dakota, USA, determined using General Land Office surveys. Silva Fennica vol. 56 no. 3 article id 10754. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.10754

Keywords: fire; Ponderosa pine; settlement; ecological reference; Government Land Office; GLO; range of variation

Highlights: Based on the U.S. General Land Office survey, the historical (1878–1915) Black Hills landscape in southwestern South Dakota, USA, was relatively open; Historical survey points with trees had lesser tree densities than current forest plots; Ponderosa pine has become less dominant as fire-sensitive species have increased; This study provides another line of evidence of a changed forest structure.

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Forests in the western United States generally have increased in tree density since Euro-American settlement, particularly through increases in fire-sensitive species, such as spruces, firs, and junipers. Like most areas, the Black Hills region in western South Dakota and eastern Wyoming was logged for forest products and underwent agricultural conversion before historical forests were documented. To supplement historical reconstructions and accounts, we compared tree composition and densities (diameters ≥12.7 cm at 1.37 m above ground height) from historical General Land Office (GLO) records (years 1878 to 1915) and current Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) tree surveys (years 2011 to 2016) in the Black Hills Highlands of South Dakota. For composition, ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa P. Lawson & C. Lawson) decreased from 95% to 86% of all trees, with a consequent increase specifically of white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) from 1.5% to 6.7% of all trees. Ponderosa pine currently is smaller in mean diameter by 7.4 cm, while white spruce is larger in mean diameter by 2.4 cm than historically. When the 35% of historical survey points without recorded trees were excluded, historical tree densities indicated an overall forested structure of savannas and open woodlands with tree densities ranging from 66 trees ha^–1 to 162 trees ha^–1. However, historical forests of the Black Hills incorporated dense stands. Tree densities have increased two- to more than four-fold, to 311 trees ha^–1 currently. These comparisons provide another source of information, paralleling changes documented in surface fire-dependent pine and oak forests throughout the United States, of transitions in forest composition and structure since Euro-American settlement.

Tatina, Department of Biological Sciences, Dakota Wesleyan University, Mitchell, SD 57301 USA E-mail: rotatina@dwu.edu
Hanberry, USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Rapid City, SD 57702 USA E-mail: brice.hanberry@usda.gov

article id 271, category Research article

Patrick Insinna, Risto Jalkanen, Bernhard Götz. (2007). Climate impact on 100-year foliage chronologies of Scots pine and Ponderosa pine in the northeast lowlands of Brandenburg, Germany. Silva Fennica vol. 41 no. 4 article id 271. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.271

Keywords: Scots pine; needle trace method; climate impact; foliage parameters; Ponderosa pine

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Due to differences in the high-frequency signal and mean sensitivity of needle parameters in Scots pine and Ponderosa pine revealed in previous investigations, variance caused by climate factors at a dry site in the northeast lowlands of Brandenburg was investigated. Although water is the general limiting factor for both tree species, there are evident differences in the climate-driven impact on individual needle parameters. Autumn precipitation of the previous year was equally important for Scots pine and Ponderosa pine, but summer precipitation was more significant for the needle parameters of Scots pine. In contrast to precipitation, temperature seems to have a minor impact on needle parameters. Although January temperatures are significant predictors for both species, intercorrelations between needle parameters and summer temperatures were found only for Ponderosa pine. Striking correlation was also found between sun activity and needle production in Ponderosa pine, but not Scots pine, indicating possible adaptation to solar radiation.

Insinna, Office for Environmental Protection Liechtenstein, Climate Change Division, P.O. Box 684, FL-9490 Vaduz, Liechtenstein E-mail: patrick.insinna@aus.llv.li
Jalkanen, Rovaniemi Research Unit, Finnish Forest Research Institute, P.O. Box 16, FI-96301 Rovaniemi, Finland E-mail: rj@nn.fi
Götz, Eberswalde University of Applied Sciences, Department of Forestry, Forest-Botanical Gardens, D-16225 Eberswalde, Germany E-mail: bg@nn.de

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