A nested quadrat pattern analysis suggests that the adult members of early seral tree species exhibit maximal clumping at a quadrat size corresponding to the sizes of natural lightgaps created by treefalls. However, the dominant species show a pattern of randomness at nearly all quadrat sizes. Some seral characteristics of forest trees support the idea that the beech—maple forest is a mosaic of species of different seral stages.
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G. Bruce Williamson (1975) studied this question.
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