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Comparing Upland and Lowland Forest Composition at Stockton University

Libby D’Albero
Ecological Principles - ENVL 2205
Dr. Catherine Tredick
11 November 2022
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Introduction
The Stockton University campus is located in Galloway, New Jersey, an area included in
the Pinelands National Reserve. The campus exhibits a wide range of communities including
deciduous forest, cedar swamps, and pine woods. We completed our study across two distinct
forest settings, one site upland and the other in the lowlands surrounding a cedar swamp.
Understanding forest composition is important as the members of forest communities can have
direct implications on key factors of health such as biodiversity and productivity (Bohn and
Huth, 2017). The forests surrounding Stockton University are home to tree species such as a
number of species from the oak, or Quercus genus, Pinus rigida, or pitch pines, Atlantic white
cedars, or Chamaecyparis thyoides, and black gum, or Nyssa sylvatica. These forests frequently
experience a range of disturbances including flooding, disease, storm conditions, and controlled
burning (La Puma et al, 2013). The objective of our study is to examine and compare the forest
composition between forest communities at varying sites. From these comparisons, we may be
able to draw conclusions on the more and less successful species and the factors that may
encourage their success.
Methods
The areas surveyed in this experiment are composed of eight total plots, where half the
plots are located in an upland area and half in a lowland area. The lowland plots were measured
just outside the cedar swamp. They are characterized by an abundance of cedar and black gum
trees with a relatively thin understory. The soil in the area can be brown (moderately organic)
and moist. The upland plots are comparatively higher in elevation with dry, light, sandy soil. The
site is composed of nearly entirely oak and pine species with a far denser understory.
In teams of four, each group conducted a survey of their 11.28 meter radius plot by
measuring across the span of the radius across the forest floor with a tape measure. In pairs, one
partner measured the diameter at breast height (DBH) of any given tree in the area using a
specialized DBH tape. We identified species as well. Any trees that were dead or measured
below 10 cm were excluded from the survey. We produced one plot 1 data sheet for the uplands,
and one plot 1 data sheet for the lowlands.
Afterwards, the class data was compiled for the eight total plots and segregated based on
upland (4 plots) and lowland (4 plots) data. Using the raw data, we created pivot tables for the
two sites and used them to examine the composition of the area. Some metrics used to examine
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the two communities include specimen count, relative density, basal area, relative dominance,
frequency, relative frequency, importance value, and Shannon’s diversity index (SDI). Relative
density describes the abundance of individuals in one species compared to the total individuals in
the plot. Basal area is the given area occupied by the tree stems of a certain species. Relative
dominance is the basal area a species fulfills in its plot compared to the total basal area of all
species. Frequency is a measure of how many plots a species appears in. Importance value
demonstrates the sum of the species’ relative density, relative dominance, and relative frequency.
Shannon’s diversity index represents the measure of diversity present in a plot, as it approaches 0
the diversity of the plot decreases. SDI is calculated with the equation 𝐻 = − Σ𝑝⋅𝑙𝑛𝑝 where H
is the SDI value and p equals the proportion of individuals found in the given species.
Results

Figure 1: Basal areas of given species located in the upland site on the Stockton University
campus in Galloway, NJ. Note the values for Blackjack Oak and Post Oak have limited visibility
and measure 0.04 and 0.02 meters squared respectively.
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Figure 2: Basal areas of given species located in the lowland site on the Stockton University
campus in Galloway, NJ. Note the value for Sassafras has limited visibility and measures 0.01
meters squared.

Given that eight 11.28 meter radius plots were surveyed, a total of 3,197.85 square meters
of forest was analyzed. Of that total, 13.37 square meters (a mere 0.4%) were occupied by tree
basal area. Both sites were occupied the most by Pitch Pines. In the upland area, almost 88% of
the total basal area was composed of Pitch Pines. Whereas the lowland site showed a greater
variety in basal area spread amongst Atlantic White Cedars, Black Gums, and some Red Maples.
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Figure 3: Species importance values vary by location depending on their role in their upland or
lowland site at Stockton University in Galloway, NJ.

The only species to appear in both sites is the Pitch Pine. In both the upland and lowland
sites, this species had the greatest importance compared to the other trees present. In the upland
location, the Pitch Pine had a value of 204.The next closest species is the Scarlet Oak with a
value of 71. Meanwhile, the runner up species in the lowland site is Black Gum with a score of
83. While the upland site had three species with values below 50, the lowland site had only one
species with a score below 50.
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Figure 4: Shannon’s Diversity Index values for each plot vary based on upland or lowland
location.
In general, the Shannon’s Diversity Index (SDI) for the lowland site plots were higher
overall in comparison to the upland site plots. Three out of four of the lowland plots score above
1.00 on the scale. Meanwhile, only one of the upland plots has a value over 1.00, with a
minimum value around 0.40 for Plot 1.

Figure 5: Each species in the upland site holds unique relative dominance values indicating the
size of their role in their ecosystem.
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Figure 6: Each species in the lowland site holds unique relative dominance values indicating the
size of their role in their ecosystem.

The relative dominance dominance values for the upland site show a less even spread
compared to the lowland site. In both areas, Pitch Pines are the most dominant species. In the
upland area, the lowest dominance value recorded is 1.81 for Post Oaks, meanwhile in the
lowland location the lowest value is 0.42 representing Sassafras. In fact, the Pitch Pine is so
dominant in the upland site that its four lesser categories add up to a sum less than the dominance
of either Atlantic White Cedar or Black Gum in the lowland site. Both locations are divided
among five species, but the only species to overlap between sites is Pitch Pines.
Discussion
The upland forest consists of five species; Pitch Pines, Scarlet Oaks, White Oaks,
Blackjack Oaks, and Post Oaks. The most dominant species is the Pitch Pine based on relative
dominance values (Figure 5). This means that pines are the most numerous based on basal areas
in the plot compared to basal areas of other species. In this site, Pitch Pines have an importance
value (Figure 3), which is a measure of its combined effects in relative density, relative
dominance, and relative frequency. Such a high significance value for one species leaves less
capacity for the remaining four species to contribute to the diversity of the community. The
prevalence of the Pitch Pine can be attributed to its hardiness where the species can thrive under
a range of conditions such as sunlight and nutrient availability. In fact, they prefer establishing in
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bare, sandy, poor soil that other plants may not tolerate (Little and Garrett). This soil preference
coincides with the different soil qualities of the two sites. In the upland site, where pines are
86.56% dominant (Figure 5), soil was far more sandy in appearance. In comparison, the lowland
site, where the pines are only 49.7% dominant (Figure 6), the soil was darker, wetter, and more
organic in appearance.
Interestingly, only 0.42 square meters, or one individual, of the Sassafras was found
across the two sites. Sassafras trees are described as soil tolerant and capable of growing under
partial shade and a range of precipitation and pest levels (Hassani, 2022). However, Sassafras
trees are intolerant of full shade, so reproduction and success in wooded areas is unpredictable
(Griggs). This likely accounts for the single individual count as the canopy cover in the lowland
site can become fairly dense during the warmer months. .
Basal area is important in measuring the ‘success’ of a species, where a greater total basal
area correlates to a healthier population (Howard and Eckert, 2022). Basal area can be increased
two ways. The more trees that grow in the area, the more bodies are contributing to the overall
area, even if the trees are relatively small. Contrastingly, a species may have less individuals
overall, but the trees that are present may be very large in diameter. Low basal area for a
population could indicate that new saplings may have troubling establishing in the forest, or
perhaps the larger mature trees may be suffering from a phenomena that keeps them from
growing larger or kills the individual altogether. In both sites, the species with the largest basal
area is Pitch Pine, in accordance with the observed hardiness of the species. In the upland site,
the basal area for Pitch Pine (Figure 1) is almost 10 times greater than the second greatest
species, the Scarlet Oak. Looking at the species listed, four of the five belong to the oak family,
the Quercus genus. Oaks prefer well-drained soil and full sun, both conditions which are present
in the upland site with sparse canopy cover and sandy soil. Therefore, if all four oak species are
competing for the same ideal conditions, then the potential success of one species is divided four
ways. Furthermore, being closely related provides each individual with a relatively similar set of
adaptations to use to their advantage, in other words, more closely related species are more
ecologically similar (Burns and Strauss, 2011). Therefore, this fight for resources is prime for the
overall dominance of an additional species who has a completely different set of adaptations.
The lowland forest consists of five species; Pitch Pines, Atlantic White Cedars, Black
Gums, Red Maples, and Sassafras. The most dominant species is the Pitch Pine based on relative
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dominance values (Figure 6). Similar to above, pines are the most numerous in the area based on
basal area compared to other species. The importance value for pines in the lowland area is
nearly half of the same metric in the upland site. Instead, there is a more even distribution of
importance values across the four top species (Figure 3). In comparison to the upland forest, this
site is more diverse where Pitch Pines are still the most dominant, but there is a greater effect of
the other four species on the overall diversity in the area.
Importance value factors in the effect of the species density, dominance, and frequency
overall. The greater the importance value a species holds at its particular site, the more
‘prominent’ it is overall, meaning it has a high density, dominance, and frequency or any
combination of the three. Calculating the importance value for a species is important in
understanding the role of the species in its community. A great importance indicates a species
has an important place in its ecosystem. Identifying species with high importance values can be
useful in locating possible keystone species. If a species has a great enough importance value, it
is likely that its deletion from the community will create lasting negative ripple effects across the
forest. In the upland site, the Pitch Pine has a significantly greater importance value than any of
the remaining four tree species (Figure 3). However, for the same pine species in the lowland site
the value is roughly halved. The spread of the values across the lowland site and far more even in
distribution. Therefore, if some range of conditions called for the failure of pines across the
Pinelands, the uplands would be more negatively impacted than the lowlands. The other
organisms that rely on the success of the pines would have a difficult time adjusting to their new
absence. This reinforces the importance of diversity discussed next.
Shannon’s Diversity Index (SDI) is a good measure of the diversity in the area, based on
the values calculated for relative densities. An SDI was calculated for each of the eight plots. The
higher the SDI, the more diverse the community is, likewise, an SDI of 0 would mean that only
one species inhabits the community. So, we can get a general sense of a plot's SDI based on the
relative densities of its species. All four lowland plots had an SDI greater than 0.9 (Figure 4),
which means the four plots and thus the community overall have high diversity. However, three
of the four plots among the upland sites have an SDI below 0.7, the lowest being roughly 0.40 in
Plot 1. Overall, the upland plots are less diverse compared to the lowland plots. This is due to the
overrepresentation of Pitch Pines that dominate the upland site.
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Higher SDI values are generally more desirable for a community (Gilliam and Platt,
1999). Diversity itself is important because it leads to greater stability (McCormick, 2013). The
more diverse a community is, the more likely it will rebound from disturbance compared to an
area with lower diversity. If we compare our upland and lowland data, the former has greater SDI
values overall. Based on this data, we could predict that the lowland site is more stable, and in
the face of disturbance, disease, or climate change, its populations will feel lesser effects
compared to the upland site. The prominent disturbance in the Pinelands is fire. Naturally
occurring fire can wipe out the species in an area, however, pines depend on this phenomenon to
release their seeds as their competitors decrease drastically. The uplands on campus have
experienced prescribed burning, which could provide an explanation for the dominance of Pitch
Pines in the area. Meanwhile, the lowlands are quite damp and not fire prone, so pines are not as
successful there as their upland counterparts. Furthermore, if we scrutinize the species present in
the uplands, four of the five listed species belong to the same oak genus. From this we may say
that some resource in the upland area, perhaps soil organics, pH, or sun cover, facilitate success
in oak species. However, if that resource is altered in the future, then all four species may show
decline. This is the downside of low diversity.
Some limitations to this study include human error in the data collection. Specifically, I
think there is a sizable margin of error in the differentiation between the oak species. Among a
group of novices, I would assume that there is some degree of misidentification in the oak tree
species. Additionally, there was room for error in our tree counting method where there was no
way to differentiate between measured and unmeasured trees other than memorizing which trees
we had already looked at. Furthermore, the measuring out of each plot was a rough estimate.
Without a complete circle to indicate the real circumference of the 11.28 meter radius plot, we
made rough estimates of which trees were inside and outside our boundary.
This experiment could be improved by eliminating the areas for error above. Students
may want to mark measured trees in order to distinguish between trees measured and
unmeasured. To avoid tree misidentification students may be given advanced time to familiarize
themselves with the range of species in each area. The use of a book or application for species
identification could also be beneficial. In order to get an accurate sense of the plot
circumference, students could set up a perimeter using flags or tape in order to denote included
and excluded individuals.
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The next steps in this experiment could investigate the exact conditions that facilitate the
success of each species found in the area. Depending on the disturbances in the area, human
intervention could be considered to support the success of a particular species. For example, if
we know that some less dominant tree species provides shelter for some critical rodents found in
the forest, then it would be useful to understand ways biologists can support the success of the
tree. Therefore, if some phenomenon disturbs the already small population, we fan create a plan
to help the community return to normal conditions.
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References
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relationships. Royal Society open science, 4(1), 160521.
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Burns, J., & Strauss, S. (2011). More closely related species are more ecologically similar in an
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