2016 Volume 98 Issue 6 Pages 273-278
To determine the effect of difference in tree species composition on the stand shift after damage by Japanese oak wilt, we monitored forest dynamics for seven years at three secondary-forest plots in the Kaisho forest, Aichi Prefecture. Mass mortality was observed within five years after the spread of the oak wilt. Approximately 60% of stems in Quercus serrata and Quercus variabilis died, while we found no interspecific differences in mortality. Although total basal area of the stands decreased by approximately 20%, recruitment and/or growth rates increased in Gamblea innovans, Eurya japonica, Quercus glauca, Ilex pedunculosa, and Clethra barbinervis at the upper layer, and in G. innovans, E. japonica, Q. glauca, Ligustrum japonicum, and Camellia japonica at the lower layer. Thus, according to the stand type, damaged stands are expected to shift to a Q. serrata dominated stand with several deciduous broadleaved species at the sub-canopy layer, an evergreen-broadleaved-trees dominated stand with sparse canopy trees, or a Q. glauca dominated stand.
