Environmental causes and consequences of forest clearance and agricultural abandonment in central New York, USA

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1、JournalofBiogeography(J.Biogeogr.)(2005)32,439–452ORIGINALEnvironmentalcausesandconsequencesARTICLEofforestclearanceandagriculturalabandonmentincentralNewYork,USAKathrynM.Flinn*,MarkVellendandP.L.MarksDepartmentofEcologyandEvolutionaryABSTRACTBiology,CorsonHall,CornellUniversity,

2、AimClimate,topographyandsoilsdrivemanypatternsofplantdistributionandIthaca,NY,USAabundanceacrosslandscapes,butcurrentplantcommunitiesmayalsoreflectalegacyofpastdisturbancesuchasagriculturallanduse.Toassesstherelativeinfluencesofenvironmentalconditionsanddisturbancehistoryonvegetati

3、on,itisimportanttounderstandhowtheseforcesinteract.Thisstudyrelatesthegeographicaldistributionoflandusestovariationintopographyandsoils;evaluatestheconsequencesofland-usedecisionsforcurrentforests;andexaminestheeffectsofagriculturallanduseonthechemicalpropertiesofforestsoils.2Loc

4、ationTompkinsCountyoccupies1250kmincentralNewYork’sFingerLakesregion.LikemuchofeasternNorthAmerica,thisareaunderwentforestclearanceforagricultureduringthe1800sandwidespreadfieldabandonmentandforestrecoveryduringthe1900s.Thecurrentlandscapeconsistsofapatchworkofforeststhatwerenever

5、cleared,foreststhatdevelopedonoldfieldsandactiveagriculturallands.MethodsWeinvestigatedrelationshipsamongtopography,soilsandland-usedecisionsbygatheringinformationaboutland-usehistory,slope,aspect,elevation,soillimecontent,soildrainageandaccessibilityinageographicinformationsystem

6、(GIS).Toassesstheeffectsofagricultureonforestsoilchemistry,wemeasuredpH,organicmattercontentandextractablenutrientconcentrationsinfield-collectedsoilsamplesfrom47post-agriculturalandunclearedforests.ResultsSteeperslopes,lessaccessiblelandsandlower-limesoilstendedtoremainforested,a

7、ndfarmersweremorelikelytoabandonfieldsthatweresteeper,fartherfromroads,lowerinlimeandmorepoorlydrained.Slopehadbyfarthegreatestimpactonpatternsofclearanceandabandonment,andaccessibilityhadasurprisinglystronginfluenceonthedistributionoflanduses.Theeffectsofotherfactorsvariedmore,dep

8、endingforexampleonlocationwithinthecount