Table 1.

Life history characteristics of the nine North America tree species sampled in this study

Family	Species	Common name	Shade tolerance	Successional status	Tree longevity	Growth rate
Sapindaceae
	Acer negundo	Boxelder	Low	Early	<100 years	Fast
	Acer rubrum	Red maple	Moderate	Midseral	<150 years	Intermediate
	Acer saccharum	Sugar maple	High	Late	>350 years	Slow
Betulaceae
	Betula lenta	Sweet birch	Low	Early	<150 years	Fast
	Betula alleghaniensis	Yellow birch	Moderate	Midseral	>300 years	Moderately fast
Fagaceae
	Quercus rubra	Red oak	Low-moderate	Early	<250 years	Intermediate
	Quercus alba	White oak	Moderate	Midseral	>400 years	Slow
Pinaceae
	Pinus virginiana*	Virginia pine	Low	Midseral	<120 years	Fast
	Pinus strobus †	White pine	Moderate	Midseral	>400 years	Moderately fast

Species contrasted in shade tolerance, successional status, tree longevity and growth rate.

*Often found on ridgetops and other less fertile but open canopy conditions.

^†Common on hill slopes in mid-successional mixed hardwood forests.