• Nelson, Andrew S.
  University of Maine Graduate School
  

Early successional stands are common across the Acadian forests of eastern Canada and the Northeastem US. However, productivity and dynamics of these stands, as well as the underlying mechanisms influencing these processes, under different management scenarios are poorly understood. To address this need, I used a factorial experiment that controlled silvicultural intensity and species composition to quantify the effects of varying treatments on early stand dynamics, and the physiological and morphological factors influencing tree performance. Specifically, I studied: 1) species differences in aboveground allometrics, 2) light capture, light-use efficiency (LUE; growth/light capture), and foliar carbon isotope composition (813C) of white spruce across a range of growing conditions, and 3) stand growth and yield in response to combinations of silvicultural intensity and compositional objectives.