Vital Attributes of Species

Noble and Slatyer (1980) suggested that species composition of stands that develop after disturbance could be predicted from three vital attributes of species: (Loftis 1993a)

1. The method of arrival or persistence of a species at a site during or after a disturbance.
2. The ability to grow to maturity in the developing stand.
3. The time needed for an individual of a species to reach critical life stages. (Loftis 1993a)

Several authors have addressed the first attribute by examining the primary reproduction source that is characteristic for various species (Beck 1988, Kelty 1988, Johnson 1989). Oaks, for example, are considered to be highly dependent on advance growth; i.e., they persist through a disturbance as advance reproduction and stump sprouts. Yellow-poplar is an example of a species that usually becomes established after disturbance as new seedlings from seed stored in the forest floor (Loftis 1993a).

The second attribute, the ability to grow to maturity in the developing stand, has been, and is being, addressed more fully for oaks than for any group of hardwood species. In general, the fairly strong relationship between preharvest size of advance growth and its post-harvest development are being used to predict the amount of oak expected in the next stand (Loftis 1993a).