Sugar maple and nitrogen cycling in the forests of Eastern North America.

Abstract

This document discusses the role of sugar maples, Acer saccharum, in nitrogen cycling in forest ecosystems. It examines how maple populations may be increasing due to a reduction in American beech, Fagus grandifolia. A reduction in sugar maple abundance from acid deposition, climate change and insect pests could result in major alterations in nitrogen retention capabilities of forested watersheds.