The life history of vine maple on the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest

The objective of this study was to examine the life history ofvine maple on the H. J. Andrews Experimental Forest. This study wasconducted as a part of an I. B. P. general study of understory biomassand productivity. The specific objectives were to 1) estimate thecontribution of vine to the general community biomass. 2) evaluatethe abundance of vine maple on the basis of environment and succes -sional time frame. 3) to estimate the contribution of vine maple tothe general nutrient cycling system.
Vine maple within the study area was generally ubiquitous but atvarying levels of abundance. The distribution and abundance of vinemaple through successional time is closely related to the history ofsite disturbance. Abundance during the successional time frame fol-lows a bi-modal distribution in which early abundance after clear-cutting is followed by near-extinction at the age of 40 years under
conifers. Vine maple reproduces primarily by vegetative means.
Growth and structure of vine maple varied, depending on thegeneral stage of successional development of the associated foreststand. Vine maple appears to have the ability to selectively removelarge stems within a clump and thus alter the relative growth andbiomass structure. Therefore permitting improved survival prospectsas environmental conditions become less favorable. This alteration ofstructure and growth is hypothesized to be controlled by an internalregulation mechanism. These findings suggest that vine maple may beable to survive throughout forest succession by a "vegetative leap-frog" approach.
Vine maple in general makes an important relative contributionto the total understory biomass; its relative biomass contribution isslight when all forest vegetation layers are considered. It plays amajor role in mineral cycling as a component of early forest succes-sion and later in the understory. Vine maple's importance as aspecies relates also to its strong competitive ability within vegetationcommunities, especially under low levels of light