Coarse woody debris in an age sequence of southern Appalachian forests

Coarse woody debris (CWD) on an age sequence of forests in the southern Appalachians was examined. Sites represented 35 yr post-catastrophic-disturbance to undisturbed sites 341-yr-old.; Twenty-two CWD taxa were identified and a category, “Unknown,” for material unidentified. Most Unknown was moderate to advanced decay and likely included Liriodendron tulipifera, Acer, Betula, Carva, and Cornus florida, in that ranking.; Quercus, Castanea, Unknown, and Pinus spp. (yellow pine) formed the top four Importance Value 300 (IV) ranks. IV declined sharply—50% among descending ranks.; Quercus and Castanea occurred on all sites and on 77 and 48% of plots, respectively. Quercus, Castanea, and Tsuga formed 80% of CWD volume, 41, 29, and 10%, respectively.; The accepted pattern of CWD volume dynamics related to site ages was not confirmed. Conforming were high and statistically equal volumes in the youngest (35 yr) disturbed site (244.5 m3 ha−1 ) and oldest (341 yr) least disturbed site (249.6 m3 ha−1). Absent was gradual volume accumulation with advancing-age. Volume was equal among five sites ranging from 76 yr to 294 yr old. Removal of CWD via harvest, salvage, and firewood may explain the lack of accumulation.; Largest diameter CWD was Quercus, Castanea, and Tsuga and larger diameter CWD was more likely where removal was less likely—Albert Branch and Little Santeetlah. Coincidentally, these were the youngest and oldest sites. CWD removal from these sites may have been prevented because they were protected by law and remote.; Large diameter CWD formed most of the volume due to exponential volume growth with linear increases in diameter. Although 50% of observations were 5–15 cm diameter, they formed 10% of volume.; Most Castanea CWD was of advanced decay, likely due to decades of decay since chestnut blight (Cryphonectria parasitica ) killed Castanea dentata. Non-Castanea CWD volume was evenly divided among slight, moderate and advanced decay classes.; Variation in CWD endemic to the material combined with environmental variation produced an extremely variable population. Such variability potentially masked significant differences. The importance of disturbance history on CWD volume and other characteristics in southern Appalachian forests cannot be overstated.