Effects of elevation on foliar and sapwood metabolites in sugar maple and yellow birch from two locations within the Neversink River Basin in the Catskill Mountains, NY

This data publication contains tabular foliar and sapwood data from Acer saccharum Marsh. and Betula alleghaniensis Britton collected from two locations within the Neversink River Basin in the Catskill Mountains, NY. These data were collected as part of a study on the impacts of an elevational gradient of acidic deposition on tree health. This study includes four plots in the Dry Creek watershed in successive years 2000, 2003 and 2005, and three plots in the Fall Brook area in 2001; plots comprise a natural elevation gradient of acidic deposition for both locations. Dry Creek is located on the southeast side, and Fall Brook on the northwest side of the West Branch of the Neversink River in the Catskill Mountains of southeastern New York. At the Dry Creek location, data were collected July-August of 2000, 2003, and 2005, and included foliage from 10-25 (depending upon availability) randomly selected sugar maple (SM), and yellow birch (YB) from plots ranging in elevation from Low (2245 feet [ft]), Mid (2450 ft), Upper (2600 ft) and Ridge Top (2725 ft). Together these plots covered an elevation gradient of approximately 500 feet. Small sapwood plugs were also collected from Low and Ridge Top plots from 10 corresponding trees of YB in 2003 and 2005 and from SM only in 2005. At the Fall Brook location, data were collected in August of 2001 and included foliage from 15 randomly selected SM, and YB were collected from plots ranging in elevation from Low (2500 ft), Mid (2650 ft), and Upper (2825 ft); together these plots cover an elevation gradient of approximately 325 feet. Small sapwood plugs were also collected from three corresponding trees of SM and YB at Low, and four trees of each species at the Upper elevation. Foliage from 10 randomly selected Prunus serotina Ehrh. (Black cherry, BC) were also collected for a possible comparison of species. Data for both locations include free polyamines, free amino acids, and soluble ions. Foliar data also include chlorophyll and soluble protein content. Samples were analyzed using High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrophotometer (ICP-OES), and spectrophotometry.
The Neversink River is a main tributary of the Delaware River, a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, and feeds into the Neversink Reservoir which supplies drinking water to New York City. It flows through the Catskill Mountains, and this heavily forested area is not only an important source of water but also of timber, wildlife and recreation. This region has long received high inputs of acidic deposition, that along with increased Nitrogen (N) inputs, also has the potential to deplete calcium in soils needed for proper root development and function, which can lead to adverse effects on tree growth. These data were collected to evaluate the effects of those factors on the metabolism of foliage and sapwood of two dominate northern hardwood species at different elevations in two different forested catchments in the Neversink River Valley.