The Effects of Canopy Density on Fern Size and Abundance in

Seward Park, Washington

By Katie Mrkvicka

Abstract

The importance of light to understory fern growth and abundance was tested at

three locations within Seward Park, a temperate rainforest in Washington State. Within

each location, readings of canopy openness, light, fern abundance and fern growth were

recorded from 10 sectors selected randomly. The results found did not support the initial

hypothesis, which theorized that a denser canopy resulted in fewer ferns in the understory.

Statistical significance was found unexpectedly in the correlation between openness of

the canopy (i.e. more sunlight) and frond size. It appears that more sunlight resulted in

smaller fern individuals. Further analysis indicated that there appeared to be no statistical

significance between canopy openness and number of fern individuals, nor did it support

any relationship between fern size and fern abundance.

Introduction

Examination of the understory ferns in a temperate rain forest suggests that the

availability of light may not be the limiting factor in abundance or size of these plants.

Pecot, et al. (2007) noted that understory plants must compete not only with other

understory plants, but with seedlings as well. Claveau, et al. (2006) also noted that

responses to light are also greatly dependent on soil resources and competition for those

resources within the system. That said, light still holds a great level of importance in the
success of all plants within a system, and more light should result in more growth and

abundance in understory systems, such as that seen with the fern.

A potential downside to increased light availability is in the moisture loss that can

be associated with surface area of leaves. The bigger the fern frond, the larger the surface

area exposed to the elements, in this case, heat. As exposure to heat increases, there is a

greater potential for water loss as a result of this increased heat. As beneficial a resource

as light is, water loss is a detrimental obstacle that most plants have evolved to overcome.

On the surface of most green leafed plants are stomata, pores that are used to exchange

gases like CO2 and oxygen. These openings are also subject to water loss, and are

therefore more prevalently located on the bottom sides of the leaf. As the larger frond is

subjected to greater and greater exposure, the potential result is an overall failure of an

individual plant and/or community of plants.

“Photosynthetically active radiation” is a measurement that can be used to explain

the level of full sunlight that reaches a particular place within a forest (Harrington, 2006).

Another way of measuring light that reaches the forest floor is to find the density of the

canopy above. One would assume that a less dense canopy would result in greater light

at the understory level. As this occurs, understory plants can better photosynthesize and

implement key nutrients to further grow and expand.

Given that light is necessary for plant growth, it could be hypothesized that the

greater the canopy density, the smaller the fern growth and abundance within a system

due to the decreased availability of light through the canopy.

Materials and Methods

 The sites selected for this experiment were a local temperate rainforest in

Washington State: Seward Park. Within the forest, three separate climatic sites were

selected. The sites were a flat location with predominantly of Douglas Firs, a sloped site

with a predominance of Madrona trees, and a light gap with a random assortment of a

few large trees. The exact locations for sections of data collection were determined using

a random number generator, with 10 sections observed at each site. For each section, a

1m2 was measured on the forest floor, and the individuals located within this region were

counted and recorded. For each section, the largest individual was measured for longest

frond length as well as the width of the leaflets at their greatest point.

At each section, canopy density was measured using a canopy densitometer as

well as a light meter. The purpose of these readings was to determine how much light

was able to reach the understory ferns on the forest floor. Data collected using the light

meter was not used in final analysis, as conditions between locations changed

dramatically and did not lend itself well to analysis. Once the data was collected, they

were run through SPSS to compare the abundance of ferns in each of the three locations.

A linear regression test and analysis was applied to the data to determine the interaction

between available light and overall size abundance of fern individuals at each of the three

locations.

Results

The results found through analysis of canopy openness on number of fern

individuals (figure 1) showed no statistical significance. The p-value for the linear

regression was 0.604 with an R2 value of 0.01. Figure 2 was an analysis of the
relationship between canopy openness and overall size of the length of the individual fern

frond. The results showed statistical significance for this relationship, indicating that as

canopy openness increases, or more light reaches the understory, the size of the

individual fern fronds decrease. The p-value for the linear regression was 0.043 with an

R2 value of 0.107.

Figure 1: The pattern shown in this graph is that as canopy openness increases, the

number of fern individuals also increases. The p-value of 0.604 and the R2 value of 0.01

indicate that this comparison is not statistically significant.

Figure 2: The pattern shown in this graph is that as canopy openness increases, the

overall size of the length of individual fern fronds decreases. A p-value of 0.043

indicates that the relationship between canopy openness and length of fern fronds is

statistically significant. This data resulted in an R2 value of 0.107.

Discussion

The original hypothesis of increased canopy openness yielding a greater

abundance of fern individuals than that of a very dense canopy was not supported using

linear regression analysis. Possible reasons for the apparent lack of relationship between

the two might be referenced back to the research proposed by both Claveau, et al. (2006),

and Pecot, et al. (2007). Both proposed other mechanisms that could be influencing

understory growth, such as competition for resources like space and nutrients. This could

explain the lack of a statistical relationship, as this experiment did not take into account
the differences in soil quality, the neighboring species to the ferns, and the overall

condition of the ecosystem.

Light variations between the sites also varied, but not to the degree at which was

anticipated. It was originally assumed that the light gap would have the greatest canopy

openness, followed by the sloped site and than the flat fir site. The densitometer showed

a very slight difference in density among the sites, correlating well to the prediction, but

not to the extreme differences one might expect. The tool proved not as accurate as

initially thought, as it was left up to the observer to calculate density using mirrors and

judgment. That said the methods used to read the densitometer for each location and

section were held consistent. Originally, light readings were also collected using a light

meter, but this data was not included in analysis, as it was collected over two visits, and

with varying cloud cover and increased darkness due to wintering light conditions. The

resulting data contained too much variability, and was therefore dismissed.

An unexpected finding within the experiment was the relationship between fern

size and canopy openness. In following with the original hypothesis, it would have been

expected that a more open canopy would result in larger ferns. The opposite was found

during a linear regression analysis of the data. It appears that as the canopy became less

obstructed by the large trees, the size of the largest fern decreased. This may be a result

of the plants attempt at water conservation, as discussed earlier. Very large plants lose

more water as a result of the large surface area created by their fronds. By limiting their

overall size, the ferns are also limiting the water loss that could be associated with the

increased sunlight.
 Future studies to determine how to more effectively conduct this experiment

would be to study more understory plants, and the effect the light plays with these species

as a whole. At each location, a soil sample to determine nutrients might also shed light

on the fact that this experiment did not support the initial hypothesis. Another study

could be conducted to determine the amount of water lost due to the heat, by taking

moisture readings, and examining the number of stomata located on both the upper and

lower sides of the fern.

Literature Cited

Claveau, Y., P. Comeau, C. Messier and C. Kelly. 2006. Early above- and below-ground

responses of subboreal conifer seedlings to various levels of deciduous canopy

removal. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 36.8:1891-1899.

Harrington, Timothy B. 2006. Five-year growth responses of Douglas-fir, western

hemlock, and western redcedar seedlings to manipulated levels of overstory and

understory competition. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 36.10: 2439-2453.

Pecot, S., R. Mitchell, B. Palik, B. Moser and K. Hiers. 2007. Competitive responses of

seedlings and understory plants in longleaf pine woodlands: separating canopy

influences above and below ground. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 37.3:

634-648.