| Abstract: | This publication provides a baseline overview of forest resources for Isle Royale National Park (Isle Royale) using data from the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. The availability of permanent FIA plots allows for the first-ever comparison of Isle Royale's forest conditions (2006-2010) to reserved and non-reserved forest land within Michigan's Laurentian Mixed Forest- Ecoprovince 212. Isle Royale's prominent forest types, structure, and species composition reflect human and natural disturbances. FIA data suggest Isle Royale's species-specific stand-size stocking, growth and mortality rates, tree densities, volume, live biomass, and aboveground and belowground carbon reflect a unique ecosystem due to a combination of factors: remote location in Lake Superior, disturbance legacy related to natural processes and mining exploration, absence of forest management for over eight decades, and 50 years of complex interactions between moose/wolf populations. |
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