EXAMINING EARLY PLANT COMMUNITY RESPONSE TO A NOVEL TORNADO DISTURBANCE

Forests face unprecedented threats from the increasing frequency and intensity of climate-driven disturbances, particularly in temperate regions where large disturbance events are infrequent. This study examines early-stage recovery following a 2021 tornado in a mature eastern deciduous forest at the Temple Ambler Field Station in southeastern Pennsylvania. Our aim was to investigate how surviving plants, disturbance severity, and environmental conditions combined to influence the short-term recovery of the plant community following this unusual disturbance event. Specifically, we studied the composition and abundance of the plant community, with detailed surveys of three developmental stages (adult, seedling, and seed) of woody plants. We also quantified disturbance severity by using a canopy loss model created from Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) imagery taken before and after the tornado. In addition, we assessed the environmental variables of soil moisture content, light intensity, and plant canopy coverage across our study area. The results indicate that the tornado created a heterogeneous environment, influencing the composition of the plant community. After the tornado, several species differed strongly in abundance by developmental stage. In particular, tulip polar Liriodendron tulipifera was rare in the adult stage but became hyperabundant in the seed and seedling stages. In contrast, American beech Fagus grandifolia, and northern spicebush Lindera benzoin were abundant as adults but relatively rare in the seed and seedling stages. These differences point toward a potential reassembly of the community as succession progresses. Further, in each developmental stage, canopy loss was associated strongly with overall plant composition and abundance, suggesting damage from the tornado remains the major factor structuring this recovering plant community. The study provides valuable insights into early colonization dynamics, but continued temporal analysis is necessary to fully understand long-term successional patterns and plant community shifts. These results can help orient management efforts and restoration initiatives as climate change causes large disturbances from extreme weather events to become increasingly common in areas where they were once rare.