Forest mesophication threatens the regeneration and potential future perpetuation of oak ( Quercus spp.) forests throughout southern Appalachia and eastern United States (US). We explored methods to produce stand-scale oak site suitability maps, within the Nantahala National Forest in North Carolina, which can be used to prioritize site-specific treatments to allow for oak regeneration and recruitment using silvicultural strat...

Background Remote sensing (RS) technologies provide unprecedented opportunities to assess forest structure at broad spatial scales. Light detection and ranging (LiDAR) is a powerful tool that offers detailed vertical information, but its consistent high‐resolution coverage can be limited across vast areas and quantifying understory vegetation remains challenging due to occlusion. Conversely, while high‐resolution RGB imagery i...

Aim Tree size distributions are an emergent feature of forest dynamics across space and time. Theory suggests that undisturbed forests exhibit a size‐abundance distribution captured by a power‐law relationship with a near‐2 slope. We aimed to quantify how disturbances systematically and predictably cause deviations from this expected pattern. Location Contiguous United States. Time Period 2001–2023. Major Taxa Studied Diverse...

In a changing climate, the future survival and productivity of species rely on individual populations to respond to shifting environmental conditions. Many tree species, including northern red oak ( Quercus rubra ), exhibit phenotypic plasticity, the ability to respond to changes in environmental conditions at within‐generation time scales, through varying traits such as leaf phenology. Phenotypic plasticity of phenology may v...

Aim Climate change has impacted forest ecosystems, leading to species‐level tree migration. However, the impacts of climate change on forest communities are mostly unknown. Here, we assess changes to forest communities at three scales: within‐community changes in species composition, individual community spatial shifts and changes across all communities. Location Eastern USA. Major taxa studied Forest tree species. Methods Usi...

Aim Much is known about the elevational diversity patterns of native species and about the mechanisms that drive these patterns. A similar level of understanding is needed for non‐native species. Using published data, we examine elevational diversity patterns of non‐native plants and compare the resulting patterns with those observed for native plants. Location Global. Methods We compiled data from 65 case studies on elevation...