Invasion of red maple (Acer rubrum L.) during old field succession in the North Carolina Piedmont: Age structure of red maple in young pine stands

(Acer rubrum L.) during old field succession in the North Carolina Piedmont: Age structure of red maple in young pine stands. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 121: 357-359. 1994.-The age structure of red maple (Acer rubrum L.) in two agricultural fields that were abandoned 16 and 20 yr ago was investigated in order to determine the timing of this species' invasion during the North Carolina piedmont old field successional sequence. At the 20 yr old site, red maples in the 6-12 yr age classes accounted for 78% of the individuals measured, and individuals in the 2-5 and 13-20 yr age classes were poorly represented. Individuals in the 2-7 yr age classes made up 86% of the red maples sampled at the 16 yr old site. These data suggest that most successful red maple establishment in the early phase of the piedmont successional sequence does not occur until 6-9 yr after abandonment of the field. The results of this study contrast with those identified by Rankin and Pickett's (1989) study of red maple invasion in a New Jersey old field, which indicated that most successful invaders established within the first 2 yr after abandonment. Local and regional variation in the opening and closing of establishment windows for red maple during old field successional sequences may result from differences in climate, soils, seed predation, seed availability, site size and shape, or herbivory.