medium-N regime, and root biomass of seedlings in the low-N regime.

First-year seedlings typically have high mortality rates, drought being the principal cause, with roots having been unable to develop enough to maintain contact with soil sufficiently moist to prevent the development of lethal seedling water stress. Somewhat paradoxically, however, Eis (1967a) observed that on both mineral and litter seedbeds, seedling mortality was greater in moist habitats (alluvium and Aralia-Dryopteris) than in dry habitats (Cornus-Moss). He commented