Stands were surveyed during the third growing season postdisturbance. All stands selected were within the same biophysical
setting according to Smalley’s (1979) land classification system to
ensure analogousness of results. The majority of Quercus alba
L. stands within the Sipsey Wilderness established between 1890
and 1905 following anthropogenic clearing, and are at least 9 ha
in size. The Sipsey Wilderness is divided into compartments and
subdivided into stands, as is required by the USA Forest Service,
and stand boundaries were consistent with those established by
management personnel on the Bankhead National Forest. For this
study, we conducted a comprehensive inventory of postdisturbance biophysical conditions across a gradient of disturbance
in each stand. Undamaged neighborhoods within stands were
considered the controls in this study, and we assumed that they
were representative of pre-disturbance conditions using a spacefor-time substitution.
We overlaid shapefiles of stand boundaries, topography, and the
tornado track using ArcGIS v. 10 in combination with aerial photographs and field reconnaissance to determine stands that would be
included in the study. In each stand, we subjectively established
sample points (plot locations) using GIS software to ensure adequate spatial coverage. These locations were inputted as waypoints
into a handheld GPS device. In the field, we used a GPS receiver to
navigate to the pre-determined waypoints. Plots that occurred in
streams or on hiking trails were moved 15 m in one direction
and the new coordinate pair for the plot was recorded. Plots were
visually assigned to one of three damage classes based on the
number of downed trees within or crossing through a plot and