Alice Belskis

November 2, 2018
Ecological Principles
Campus Forest Composition;
Bottomland versus Upland Tree Species Diversity
Introduction:
The Pine Barrens of New Jersey are a specialized and unique ecosystem. The acidic soils
and water of the region allow a select few species to dominate the forest canopy, however in
recent years there has been a change in the composition of these iconic forests. Where Atlantic
White Cedar once dominated most bottomland forest stands, an increasing number of Black gum
and Red Maple are now being reported (Zampella et al, 1999). In upland stands, Oak is
becoming more prominent in contrast to the once-dominating Pitch Pine (Scheller et al, 2008).
These alterations to forest composition are attributed to increased human disturbances such as
agriculture and urbanization (Scheller et al, 2008), as well as the decrease of naturally occurring
wildfires due to increased forest management and protection (Forman and Boerner, 1981). Other
disturbances that may be affecting the composition of the forests include deer-overgrazing (Cote
et al, 2004), changing climate, and more extreme storm activity. To combat these changes,
prescribed burns and clearcutting (Scheller et al, 2011) have been implemented in different areas
of the Pine Barrens in an attempt to study and return the Barrens to a pre- colonial state.
Prescribed burns are controlled fires used to cut back undergrowth and promote growth
of new saplings. In the Pine Barrens, upland forest stands are burned to promote the germination
of Pitch Pine, and to lessen the chance of a natural wildfire that may be unmanageable (Mitchell
et al, 2009). It also releases carbon and nitrogen that is stored in the fallen tree limbs and
vegetative understory, nutrifying the soil to aid new growth. Clearcutting also uses this idea of
promoting new growth, but it clears canopy cover rather than ground cover. By lowering the
density of trees in a given stand, the canopy is cleared allowing more sunlight and rainfall to
reach the ground, giving less dominant species a chance to germinate and grow. Both of these
forest management strategies are being studied to some extent in the Pine Barrens.
In this study, four bottomland and four upland plots were investigated to determine the
density, diversity, dominance, and overall importance of tree species within the Stockton campus
forests. This was achieved by surveying each plot and recording the number of each species
found, calculating each tree’s basal area (M2), and using subsequent calculations to determine
Shannon’s Diversity Index (SDI) per plot. SDI’s from both upland and bottomland stands were
then combined and converted to give a percentage of the importance of each tree species within
the total forest.
Methods:
Data Collection- Four bottomland plots were chosen in close proximity to each other on the first
section of the N Wing trails on Stockton’s campus. This area was particularly waterlogged and
muddy, as storms had recently refreshed these cedar swamps. Prominent tree species in this area
included Atlantic White Cedar, Pitch Pine, Black gum, and Red Maple. Plots were numbered 1
through 4, with 1 and 2 being closest to the parking lot and adjacent to each other, and 3 and 4
being adjacent a short distance further down the trail. While plots 1, 2, and 3 had visible water,
plot 4 was dry. Once plots were designated, samples were taken using the circular quadrat
method. 11.28m radius circles were measured for each plot using a 25 M measuring tape. All
trees with a diameter greater than 10cm within this area were identified and had their diameter
measured approximately 1.4M from the ground using a 1 diameter (DBH) tape. Trees were also
recorded as dead or alive. Only every other tree that bordered the measured circle was considered
for data.
Upland forest plots were designated a few hundred feet up the trail. The ground here was
significantly drier, with visible sand. Plot 4 was closest to the bottom land plots, with plots 1, 2,
and 3 being a short distance up the trail. Prominent tree species in this area included Pitch Pine,
Post Oak, White Oak, and Scarlet Oak. The understory was not overgrown, however there was
some ground cover. Trees were also significantly larger in both height and diameter compared to
the bottom land plots. This stand was also located close to a controlled burn area. The same
sampling protocol as bottomland plots were used.
Calculations- Once the data was collected, it was entered into two workbooks in Excel, keeping
bottomland data and upland data separate, but using the same formulas. The first calculation was
to determine the relative density of each species per plot, which was found by dividing the
number of individuals per species by the total number of individuals found in the plot, which was
then multiplied by 100 to give a percentage. Next, Basal Area (BA) of each tree species was
found per plot. To do this, the BA of each tree was found. The equation ((x/2)2 (Pi(x/2))/10000=
BA M2 was used, where x = diameter(cm) of an individual tree. Once individual BA was
determined, species BA was found by adding the BA of all individuals of the same species.
Finally, the BA’s of all species within a plot were added, giving the BA of the plot itself.
Relative dominance was then found for each species within a plot by dividing the species BA by
the total plot BA, then multiplying by 100 to give a percentage.
Frequency was then found by comparing all plots within a stand and determining how
often a species was found across all plots. For example, if Red Maple was found in three out of
four plots, it was given a frequency of .75. Once frequency for all species was found, relative
frequency was calculated by dividing species frequency by total plot frequency (sum of all
species frequencies within a plot) and multiplied by 100 to give a percentage. An importance
value was then given to each species within a plot by adding the relative frequency, relative
density, and relative dominance of each species. Values were checked for accuracy by adding the
importance values of all species within a plot together. If the sum of all of the values was 300
(total plot importance), results were considered accurate.
Shannon’s Diversity Index (SDI) was then found for each plot. First, p of each species
was found by dividing relative density by 100. ln(p) was then found and plugged into the
equation p* ln(p). All values of p* ln(p) per species were added, and the absolute value was
taken to give the SDI of each plot. Plots with a higher SDI were considered to be more evenly
dispersed in species, and therefor had a higher diversity overall.
To find species importance per stand, the importance values of each species was added
individually, and divided by total stand importance (1200). This value was then multiplied by
100 to give a percentage. This was done for both the upland and bottomland stands, which were
then averaged by species and divided by 2 (number of stands sampled), then multiplied by 100 to
give a percentage. This gave an overall percent importance per species recorded, which can be
used to give an overlook of overall forest composition.
Results:
Figure 1

Plot 1 Species Richness Plot 2 Species Richness

25 15
20
10
Count

15 Count
10
5
5
0 0
Black Gum Cedar Pitch Pine Red Maple Black Gum Cedar Pitch Pine Red Maple
SDI- 1.013908 Species SDI- 1.313831 Species

Plot 3 Species Richness Plot 4 Species Richness

15 30

10 20
Count
Count

5 10

0 0
Black Gum Cedar Pitch Pine Red Maple Black Gum Magnoilia Pitch Pine Red Maple
Species SDI- 0.954179 Species
SDI- 1.190689

(Figure 1 shows graphs that indicate species richness of the four bottomland forest plots. Highlighted
value in lower left corner represents each plot’s individual calculated Shannon’s Diversity Index.)
Figure 2

Plot 1 Species Richness Plot 2 Species Richness

12 30
10 25
8 20

Count
Count

6 15
4 10
2 5
0 0
Pitch Pine Scarlet Oak White Oak Pitch Pine Scarlet Oak White Oak
SDI-0.72987121 Species SDI-0.848367511 Species

Plot 3 Species Richness Plot 4 Species Richness

20 15
15 Count 10
Count

10 5
5
0
0 Holly Pitch Post Oak Scarlet White
Pitch Pine Scarlet Oak White Oak Pine Oak Oak

SDI-0.988737269 Species SDI-1.264418768 Species

(Figure 2 shows graphs that indicate species richness for the four upland plots. Highlighted value in lower
left corner represents each plot’s individual calculated Shannon’s Diversity Index.)

Figure 3 Figure 4

Species Importance in Species Importance in Upland

Bottomland Forest Forest
40 60
Percent Importance
Percent Importance

30 40
20
20
10
0 0
Pitch Black Red Cedar Magnolia Pitch Scarlet White Post Oak Holly
Pine Gum Maple Pine Oak Oak
Species Species

(Figure 3 shows the averaged species importance (Figure 4 shows the averaged species importance
across the four bottomland forest plots across the four upland forest plots
converted to determine a percentage.) converted to determine a percentage.)
Figure 5

Total Species Importance

50
45
Percent Importance

40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0

Species

(Figure 5 shows total species importance averaged from all plots sampled, indicating assumed importance
of individual species across the campus forest.)

Results indicate that there was a high level of variance regarding species richness in the
four bottomland plots sampled. Both plots 1 and 4 saw Black gum as the most numerous species,
whereas plot 2 saw Cedar as the most numerous, and plot 3 saw Red Maple. Plot 4 is the only
plot lacking Cedar, which was replaced by the presence of Magnolia. Plot 2 had the highest
Shannon’s Diversity Index (SDI) at 1.313831, indicating that the plot had the most even spread
of diversity across the species identified. Plot 4 on the other hand had a SDI of 0.954179,
indicating it had the least even spread of species.
Plots 1, 2, and 3 of the upland forest to have similar species richness, with Pitch Pine
being the most numerous in all three, Scarlet Oak being the second, and White Oak being the
third. SDI’s for these plots differed as plot 3 had the highest at 0.988737269, plot 2 had the next
highest at 0.848367511, and plot 1 had the overall lowest at 0.72987121. However, plot 4 had
the absolute highest SDI at 1.264418768. This plot did not follow the trend of the other upland
plots, and not only contained Pitch Pine, Scarlet Oak and White Oak, but also Holly and Post
Oak. The presence of these two additional species aided in the total diversity evenness of the
plot, regardless of the higher count of Pitch Pine.
Within the bottomland forest stand, Pitch Pine had the highest percent importance of
approximately 35.9%. Subsequent rankings are Black gum with 29.4%, Red Maple with 18.2%,
Cedar with 15.5%, and Magnolia at only .9%. The upland forest stand also showed Pitch Pine to
have the highest percent importance, at 56.8%. Subsequent rankings for this stand are Scarlet
Oak at 23.1%, White Oak at 16.7%, Post Oak at 2.1%, and Holly at 1.4%.
 Pitch Pine has the absolute highest importance within the total forest at 46.3%. Black
gum was found to have an importance of 14.7%, Scarlet Oak at 11.6%, Red Maple at 9.1%,
White Oak at 8.3%, Cedar at 7.8%. The remaining three species were of low importance, Post
Oak at 1%, Holly at .7%, and Magnolia at .5%.
Discussion: The findings of this study indicate that the Stockton Campus, situated in the Pine
Barrens of New Jersey, are still dominated by Pitch Pine. However, the high presence and
dominance of Black gum and Red Maple trees within the Atlantic White Cedar swamps is
concerning, as Cedar seems to be declining in comparison. The increased presence of these
species may indicate that the succession of the cedar swamps is occurring now (Zampella et al,
1999), which could lead to alterations of the unique Pine Barrens ecology. As these deciduous
species overpower the evergreen, water pH and soil composition within these wetlands can be
expected to change.
With Red Maple and Black gum shedding their leaves each autumn, the soil biota will
change as it moves from a primarily sand-based layer to a nutrient rich, organic matter layer
(Eaton et al, 2017). As differences in bacterial, fungal, and invertebrate species changed to
accommodate the new soil, vegetation would be expected to also change to species that thrive
under those soil conditions (Eaton et al, 2017). Red Maple and Black gum would most likely be
more suited to this soil (Jacob et al, 2009). Cedar would be at a loss as the soil biota changed to
favor these deciduous species, and a decline in importance may be observed.
The pH of these bottomland swamps may also change. While the ideal pH of water in the
Pine Barrens has been shown to hover around 5.5, the addition of deciduous leaf litter may alter
this over time. The presence of a waxy cuticle on Cedar leaves and on Pitch Pine needles lessens
“steeping”, or the leaching of compounds and chemicals within the leaves into the water. Red
Maple and Black gum leaves lack this cuticle, allowing tannins and other compounds to enter the
water, potentially altering the pH. However, more research would be required to definitively
determine the effects that these new species of leaf litter would have on the Atlantic White Cedar
swamps of the region.
In the upland stands, the continued dominance of Pitch Pine is reassuring. However, the
three prevalent Oak species that were recorded may be starting to encroach. The increased
presence of Oaks within these stands over time may also change the soil composition of these
forests. While the Pitch Pine are evergreen and retain their needles each season, the Scarlet Oak,
White Oak, and Post Oak all drop their leaves in the autumn. This will lead to a buildup of
organic matter on top of the sandy soil. This may lead to a change in the diversity of the ground
cover typically found in the Pine Barrens. Currently, much of the understory is comprised of
hearty shrubs like blueberry and huckleberry that require the acidic, well-drained soil to thrive.
With softer, more waterfilled soil being composited, new species may be found in the underbrush
that typically wouldn’t withstand the harsher soil (Eaton et al, 2017). This study did not consider
any changes or diversity among understory growth.
The Magnolia recorded in this study was probably present in bottomland plot 4 due to the
ground being completely dry, which is not ideal for Cedar. The Holly found in the uplands was
only present in plot 4 and could probably be considered an outlier due to its rarity among other
plots. The presence of these two species was determined to be inconsequential within the forest,
as their total importance is so minimal.
If the forests on campus are to retain their Pine Barren status, it may be best to continue
controlled burning and clear cutting of forest stands to study the succession and dominance of
tree species. While eventual succession may be inevitable due to changing climate and increased
human interference, the restoration and protection of this unique ecosystem should still be striven
for. Although Pitch Pine and Atlantic White Cedar were shown to have a relatively high
dominance within the forest, Oaks, Red Maple, and Black gum are shown to also have a high
dominance overall, overpowering Cedar in total importance. Results gave a good indication of
the composition of the forest, and of the dominance and importance of the prominent species
found within.
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