Ten year responses of Engelmann spruce and a high-elevation Ericaceous shrub community to manual cutting treatments in southern interior British Columbia

2007 ◽  
Vol 248 (3) ◽  
pp. 153-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean L. Heineman ◽  
Suzanne W. Simard ◽  
Donald L. Sachs ◽  
W. Jean Mather
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Engelmann Spruce ◽  
Shrub Community ◽  
Ericaceous Shrub

Advanced regeneration and seedling establishment in small cutblocks in high-elevation spruce–fir forest at Sicamous Creek, southern British Columbia

2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (8) ◽  
pp. 1877-1888 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberta Parish ◽  
Joseph A Antos
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Natural Regeneration ◽  
Survival Rates ◽  
Forest Edge ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Abies Lasiocarpa ◽  
Advanced Regeneration ◽  
Engelmann Spruce ◽  
Similar Survival ◽  
New Recruits

We examined the potential of natural regeneration for stocking 1-ha patch cuts in high-elevation Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii Parry) – subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa (Hook.) Nutt.) forests. Using the Sicamous Creek Silvicultural Systems site, which was harvested during winter 1994–1995, we established 1-m2 plots in patch cuts, forest edge, and untreated control forest. We marked and recorded microsite characteristics for all advanced regeneration and new recruits for up to 5 years; over 12 000 individuals were included. Advanced regeneration was abundant and was about one-quarter spruce. Spruce and fir germinants occurred in all years, but numbers varied greatly, with a very large cohort in 1998. Both advanced regeneration and new recruits were concentrated on decaying logs. Mortality of advanced regeneration was high in the patch cuts following harvest, but subsequent survival was good, approaching rates in the untreated forest within 4 years. Survival rates were higher for spruce than fir, but differed little among surface types and microtopographic positions. Survival of new recruits was high, approximately 50% the first year and 70% during the second, and was similar between spruce and fir. If the 1998 cohort has similar survival, the patch cuts could be adequately stocked. Use of natural regeneration, in combination with infill planting, is a viable option for stocking small openings in wet high-elevation forests in southern British Columbia.

Pathology of conifer seed and timing of germination in high-elevation subalpine fir and Engelmann spruce forests of the southern interior of British Columbia

1999 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianwen Zhong ◽  
Bart J van der Kamp
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Seed Viability ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Subalpine Fir ◽  
Engelmann Spruce ◽  
Black Mold ◽  
Nurse Logs

Unstratified seed of Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii Parry) and subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa (Hook.) Nutt.) in nylon mesh bags was placed on various natural and disturbed forest floor seed beds in the Engelmann Spruce - Subalpine Fir Zone in the southern interior of British Columbia in September 1995 and recovered just before snow melt in June 1996. Fifty-two and 86% of the viable spruce and fir seed, respectively, had germinated before snowmelt. Germination under snow may be an adaptation of these high-elevation species to short cool growing seasons. Seed viability at recovery was significantly lower on undisturbed forest floor seed beds (spruce, 13%; fir, 12%) than on exposed mineral soil (spruce, 57%; fir, 42%). Viability of seed placed on nurse logs was 38 and 23% for spruce and fir, respectively. Isolation from ungerminated seed yielded a Rhizoctonia sp., an as yet unidentified black mold at high frequencies, and several other seed pathogens at low frequency. Multiple linear regression of the frequency of isolation of Rhizoctonia and black mold on seed viability was highly significant for both tree species. Seed pathogens appear to cause a major loss of seed and seedlings in these forests, and this may explain both the common occurrence of regeneration on nurse logs and the requirement of mineral soil seed beds for adequate regeneration.

scholarly journals Arboreal forage lichen response to partial cutting of high elevation mountain caribou range in the Quesnel Higland of east-central British Columbia

Rangifer ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michaela J. Waterhouse ◽  
Harold M. Armleder ◽  
Amanda F. Linnell Nemec
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Group Selection ◽  
Rangifer Tarandus ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Partial Cutting ◽  
East Central ◽  
Engelmann Spruce ◽  
Dead Trees ◽  
Alectoria Sarmentosa ◽  
Feeding Zone

Group selection silvicultural systems have been recommended for managing mountain caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) habitat in high elevation Engelmann spruce – subalpine fir forests in east-central British Columbia. We measured the response of arboreal lichen (a key winter forage) to harvesting of 30% of the forested area using three partial cutting treatments, which created small (0.03 ha), medium (0.13 ha), and large (1.0 ha) openings, and a no-harvest treatment. Treatments were replicated on four sites, and monitored over a ten year post-harvest period. The short-term loss of lichen associated with removal of approximately one third of the trees was partially offset by a significant (P=0.01) increase in lichen abundance on trees in the caribou feeding zone (up to 4.5 m) in the three partial cutting treatments relative to trees in the uncut forest. Differences among treatments in the change in lichen composition, as measured by the percentage of Alectoria sarmentosa and Bryoria spp., were marginally significant (P=0.10). The partial cutting treatments showing a greater likelihood of shifting towards more Bryoria spp. than no-harvest treatment (P=0.04). In the year of harvest (1993), larger trees were found to hold more lichen than smaller trees (P=0.04), and live trees supported more lichen than dead trees (P=0.01), but lichen loading was similar among tree species (P=0.51). Tree fall rates were similar among treatments, based on the ten year average (0.6–0.8% of sample trees per year). The results indicate that caribou foraging habitat is maintained in the residual forest when group selection systems that remove only 30% of the trees are applied. Information on the distribution of lichen is useful for developing stand level prescriptions. Providing lichen bearing habitat meets just one of the needs of caribou. A comprehensive approach that considers all factors and their interactions is essential to maintain and recover the threatened mountain caribou.

scholarly journals Post-glacial diatom-inferred aquatic changes in Sicamous Creek Lake, British Columbia, Canada

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 233-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea C. Voit ◽  
Richard J. Hebda ◽  
Julien M.J. Racca ◽  
Reinhard Pienitz ◽  
Ian R. Walker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Open Water ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Low Light ◽  
Subalpine Fir ◽  
Engelmann Spruce ◽  
South Central ◽  
Inferred Ph

Diatom analyses of sediments from a high elevation lake situated in an Engelmann Spruce - Subalpine Fir (ESSF) forest of south-central British Columbia, Canada, reveal long-term climate and water chemistry change. During the transition from the late-glacial / Pleistocene to the xerothermic early Holocene, small, benthic Fragilaria diatoms species that grew under low light conditions in Sicamous Creek Lake gave way to planktonic Cyclotella species that require open-water conditions. Warm temperatures in the mesothermic Holocene are indicated by smaller Cyclotella species and large, benthic pennate diatoms. Diatom communities reflected Neoglacial cooling in the late Holocene, with abundant Nitzschia fonticola and Achnanthes minutissima. Small, benthic Fragilaria regained abundance, suggesting cooling and conditions similar to the late-glacial interval. Diatom community composition responded to the deposition of the Mt. Mazama and Mt. St. Helens tephras, though the Mazama eruption caused greater change in relative abundance of various taxa within the assemblage. Correspondence analysis shows distinct communities have occurred since the initiation of sedimentation, likely due to climate controlled landscape and vegetation changes; diatom-inferred pH values using various models and training sets show limited acidification change occurred through the lake’s history.

Clearcut harvesting effects on soil and creek inorganic nitrogen in high elevation forests of southern interior British Columbia

2009 ◽  
Vol 89 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graeme D Hope
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
N Mineralization ◽  
Stream Water ◽  
Inorganic Nitrogen ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Net N Mineralization ◽  
Engelmann Spruce ◽  
Annual Peak ◽  
Clearcut Harvesting ◽  
Exchange Resins

Responses of both soil and stream inorganic nitrogen (N) after operational clearcut harvesting were explored in two high elevation British Columbia Engelmann spruce-Subalpine fir (ESSF) forests. At one study site, net N mineralization was measured between 1 and 11 yr after harvest. At a second site, for 3 yr after harvesting, available soil ammonium and nitrate were measured using ion exchange resins, and drainage losses of N were estimated using tension lysimeters and soil water balance models. Stream water N concentrations were also measured in one unlogged, and two logged watersheds at the second study area for 12 yr, both pre- and post-clearcut harvesting. Growing season as well as over-winter increases in post-harvest soil nitrate were detected after 3 yr, and the increases were apparent for up to 11 yr. Seasonal losses of N in drainage were greater in clearcut soils than in the forest soils in year 2 for ammonium and in years 2 and 3 for nitrate. A high proportion of the N was lost in drainage during snowmelt. Stream water ammonium in all three streams and nitrate in the unlogged and one harvested creek remained at or below the detection level. In the third creek, the frequency of detection and concentrations of nitrate peaked 2 to 3 yr after 30 to 57% of the watershed was harvested. The annual peak in NO3-N concentrations occurred immediately before the snowmelt-driven stream flow peak. Drainage losses and stream N fluxes were both small, relative to the total soil N content. Key words: Nitrogen, N mineralization, nitrate, harvesting, leaching, stream N, snowmelt

Is everything all right up there? A long-term interdisciplinary silvicultural systems project in a high elevation fir-spruce forest at Sicamous Creek, B.C.

1999 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 467-472 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan Vyse
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Wildlife Habitat ◽  
Spruce Forest ◽  
Individual Tree ◽  
Subalpine Fir ◽  
Engelmann Spruce ◽  
South Central ◽  
Wide Range

The Sicamous Creek Project was established as part of the British Columbia Provincial Silvicultural Systems program in 1990 to investigate the effects of clearcutting and other practices on a high elevation forested ecosystem. The objective is to provide the forestry community with information on the ecology of high elevation forests in the Southern Interior, and the probable responses to a wide range of disturbance. After a period of planning by a team of scientists and foresters from several agencies, a site in subalpine fir-Engelmann spruce forest at 1530 m to 1830 m elevation near the town of Sicamous in the south central interior of British Columbia was logged in the winter of 1994–95. A range of treatments was created by logging one third of the forest in 30 ha experimental units using a range of opening sizes (individual tree selection, 1/10 ha, 1 ha, and 10 ha) and a no-logging control. Within these experimental units, smaller areas (0.08 ha) have been treated to create a range of soil disturbance conditions (no disturbance, burning, complete organic soil removal, mounding). A wide range of studies has been conducted on the site by a team of scientists before and after treatment and those studies are continuing. The project is long-term, (at least 30 years), the main treatments are sufficiently large to have operational significance, and the supported studies are intended to be interdisciplinary in scientific method and scope. Support for the project is strong within the operational forestry community because information on logging costs, safety issues and snags, windthrow, bark beetle management, wildlife habitat and small streams has already been made available to them. Studies of stand structure and wildlife habitat suggest that in future much greater emphasis should be placed on the silviculture of fir than spruce. Key words: silviculture systems, clearcutting, opening size, Engelmann spruce, subalpine fir, long term research, interdisciplinary research

scholarly journals Height Growth Models for High-Elevation Subalpine Fir, Engelmann Spruce, and Lodgepole Pine in British Columbia

2000 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 62-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Han Y. H. Chen ◽  
Karel Klinka
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Growth Models ◽  
Lodgepole Pine ◽  
Site Index ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Logistic Function ◽  
Height Growth ◽  
Potential Productivity ◽  
Subalpine Fir ◽  
Engelmann Spruce

Abstract To estimate potential productivity of the high-elevation Engelmann Spruce and Subalpine Fir (ESSF) zone of British Columbia forests, the height growth models developed from low-elevation forests are currently used to estimate site indices of subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa), Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii), and lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta). Whether these models are adequate to describe height growth of high-elevation forests is of concern. We sampled a total of 319 naturally established, even-aged, and undamaged stands with breast height age ≥50 yr (165 for subalpine fir, 87 for Engelmann spruce, and 67 for lodgepole pine) ranging widely in climate and available soil moisture and nutrients. In each sampled stand, three dominant trees were destructively sampled for stem analysis. Height growth models developed from fitting data to a conditioned logistic function explained > 97% variation in height for all three study species. Examined by residual analysis, no models showed lack of fit. These models provided more accurate estimates of site index than the currently used models developed from low-elevation stands or different species. It is recommended that the models developed in this study be applied to estimate site index of the three species in the ESSF zone in British Columbia. West. J. Appl. For. 15(2):62-69.

Holocene vegetation and natural disturbance in the Engelmann Spruce – Subalpine Fir biogeoclimatic zone at Mount Kobau, British Columbia

2001 ◽  
Vol 31 (12) ◽  
pp. 2183-2199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus L Heinrichs ◽  
Richard J Hebda ◽  
Ian R Walker
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Pinus Contorta ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
Plant Macrofossils ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Climate History ◽  
Subalpine Fir ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Engelmann Spruce

The vegetation and natural disturbance history of the Mount Kobau area, in the Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii Parry ex Engelm.) – subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa (Hook.) Nutt.) (ESSF) forest of southern British Columbia, was reconstructed using pollen, plant macrofossils, and microscopic charcoal. Late-glacial vegetation, occurring from about 11 000 14C years BP, consisted of an Artemisia steppe under a cold and dry climate. Rapid warming occurred at the start of the Holocene, approximately 10 000 to 9500 years BP, and grassland steppe vegetation prevailed. Moisture increased during the mid-Holocene, from approximately 7000 to 3800 years BP, and fires may have occurred more widely and burned more severely. Open lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud.) parkland occupied the mountain summit. Late-Holocene cooling at 4000 years BP resulted in the establishment of modern ESSF forest. The vegetation and inferred climate history confirm a broad three-stage (warm dry – moderate moist – cool moist) regional climatic pattern of the Holocene. Under future anticipated climate change, the high-elevation, dry ESSF forests in southern British Columbia may be replaced by grasslands.

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