Changes in woody vegetation abundance and diversity after natural disturbances causing different levels of mortality

Questions How does woody vegetation abundance and diversity differ after natural disturbances causing different levels of mortality? Location Abies balsamea-Betula papyrifera boreal mixed-wood stands of southeast Quebec, Canada. Methods Woody vegetation abundance and diversity were quantified and compared among three disturbance-caused mortality classes, canopy gap, moderate-severity disturbances, and catastrophic fire, using redundancy analysis, a constrained linear ordination technique, and diversity indices. Results Substantial changes in canopy tree species abundance and diversity only occurred after catastrophic fire. Shade-tolerant, late-successional conifer species remained dominant after canopy gap and moderate-severity disturbances, whereas shade-intolerant, early-successional colonizers dominated canopy tree regeneration after catastrophic fire. Density and diversity of mid-tolerant and shade-intolerant understory tree and shrub species increased as the impact of disturbance increased. Highest species richness estimates were observed after catastrophic fire, with several species establishing exclusively under these conditions. Relative abundance of canopy tree regeneration was most similar after canopy gap and moderate-severity disturbances. For the sub-canopy tree and shrub community, relative species abundances were most similar after moderate-severity disturbances and catastrophic fire. Vegetation responses to moderate-severity disturbances thus had commonalities with both extremes of the disturbance-caused mortality gradient, but for different regeneration layers. Conclusions Current spatio-temporal parameters of natural disturbances causing varying degrees of mortality promote the development of a complex, multi-cohort forest condition throughout the landscape. The projected increase in time intervals between catastrophic fires may lead to reduced diversity within the system.