Forest aggregates influence conifer recruitment and height growth in a long-term variable-retention experiment

The practice of aggregated retention is becoming increasingly common in forests managed for multiple objectives (e.g., timber production and maintenance of biodiversity). Undisturbed patches of forest (aggregates) can serve as refugia for disturbance-sensitive species and as dispersal sources for recolonization of adjacent harvested areas. However, few studies have characterized the contributions of aggregates to the natural recruitment or...