Claim · model-written summary
After 5 years of recovery, herbaceous layer cover and biomass decreased by about 30%.
- Taxon
- herbaceous layert0
- Outcome
- cover/biomasse1
- Direction
- decreasede1
- Value
- ~30%e1
- Qualifier
- After the first 5 years of recoverye1
- Setting
- Fernow Experimental Foreste6
Not reportedMaterialGeneCompoundOrgan / stageInteractorInteractor roleSecond interactorSecond interactor roleTreatmentComparator
Verbatim
t0“Initial Recovery of the Herbaceous Layer of a Temperate Deciduous Forest After 30 Years of Nitrogen Amendments: Implications for the Success of the Clean Air Act”
e1“After the first 5 years of recovery, cover/biomass decreased by ~30%, species diversity (H′) increased significantly, as did species richness (S)”
e6“Fernow Experimental Forest (FEF; Tucker County, West Virginia)”
Title
Frank S. Gilliam; Zachariah K. Fowler; William T. Peterjohn Global Change Biology Communications 2026. doi:10.1002/gcb4.70013
Other claims from this paper (5)
- Observation Species diversity (H′) of the herbaceous layer increased significantly during recovery.
- Observation Species richness of the herbaceous layer increased during recovery.
- Observation Species evenness (J) of the herbaceous layer did not change with decreased nitrogen.
- Observation Rubus cover decreased by more than 40% in the 5 years without added nitrogen.
- Observation Results did not support a significant time lag in the herbaceous layer response to decreased nitrogen inputs.