Plant species diversity on even-aged harvests at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest: 10-year results

Comparisons of plant species diversity were made on two separate watersheds treated by a block clearcut and progressive strip cut in the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire. Intrinsic diversity profiles were used to make diversity comparisons. A jackknifing technique was used on the diversity profiles for bias correction and to test for intrinsic diversity orderings. Comparisons were made within treatments over time and between treatments at 1 and 10 years after cutting. The results suggest that plant species diversity was lowest the year following treatment on both watersheds, and that it was at its highest 10 years after cutting on the progressive strip cut; however, diversity was found to be decreasing after 10 years on the block clearcut. In addition, the data suggest that the overall diversity of the progressive strip cut was higher than that of the block clearcut both immediately and 10 years after treatment.