scholarly journals Modeling post-logging height growth of black spruce forests by combining airborne LiDAR and historical forestry maps in eastern Canadian boreal forest

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Batistin Bour ◽  
Victor Danneyrolles ◽  
Yan Boucher ◽  
Richard A. Fournier ◽  
Luc Guindon
Keyword(s):  
Black Spruce ◽  
Forest Disturbance ◽  
Height Growth ◽  
Airborne Lidar ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Validation Dataset ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Ecological Gradient ◽  
Young Forests ◽  
Canadian Boreal Forest

AbstractIncrease in forest disturbance due to land use as well as climate change has led to an expansion of young forests worldwide, which affects global carbon dynamics and forest management. In this study, we present a novel method that combines a single airborne LiDAR acquisition and historical harvesting maps to model height growth of post-logged black spruce-dominated forests in a 1700 km2 eastern Canadian boreal landscape. We developed a random forest model where forest height is a function of stand age, combined with environmental variables. Our results highlight the strong predictive power of this model: least-square regression between predicted and observed height of our validation dataset was very close to the 1:1 relation and strongly supported by validation metrics (R2 = 0.75; relative RMSE = 19%). Moreover, our findings indicated an ecological gradient responsible for differences in height growth at the landscape scale, with better growth rates on mesic slopes compared to badly drained soils on flat lands. With the increased availability of LiDAR data, this method is promising since it can be applied to forests across the globe that are affected by stand-replacing disturbances.

Modeling post-logging height growth of black spruce-dominated boreal forests by combining airborne LiDAR and time since harvest maps

2021 ◽  
Vol 502 ◽  
pp. 119697
Author(s):  
Batistin Bour ◽  
Victor Danneyrolles ◽  
Yan Boucher ◽  
Richard A. Fournier ◽  
Luc Guindon
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Height Growth ◽  
Airborne Lidar

scholarly journals Allometric Equations for Estimating Biomass and Carbon Stocks in Afforested Open Woodlands with Black Spruce and Jack Pine, in the Eastern Canadian Boreal Forest

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 59
Author(s):  
Olivier Fradette ◽  
Charles Marty ◽  
Pascal Tremblay ◽  
Daniel Lord ◽  
Jean-François Boucher
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Tree Height ◽  
Jack Pine ◽  
Carbon Stocks ◽  
Allometric Equations ◽  
C Stocks ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Canadian Boreal Forest

Allometric equations use easily measurable biometric variables to determine the aboveground and belowground biomasses of trees. Equations produced for estimating the biomass within Canadian forests at a large scale have not yet been validated for eastern Canadian boreal open woodlands (OWs), where trees experience particular environmental conditions. In this study, we harvested 167 trees from seven boreal OWs in Quebec, Canada for biomass and allometric measurements. These data show that Canadian national equations accurately predict the whole aboveground biomass for both black spruce and jack pine trees, but underestimated branches biomass, possibly owing to a particular tree morphology in OWs relative to closed-canopy stands. We therefore developed ad hoc allometric equations based on three power models including diameter at breast height (DBH) alone or in combination with tree height (H) as allometric variables. Our results show that although the inclusion of H in the model yields better fits for most tree compartments in both species, the difference is minor and does not markedly affect biomass C stocks at the stand level. Using these newly developed equations, we found that carbon stocks in afforested OWs varied markedly among sites owing to differences in tree growth and species. Nine years after afforestation, jack pine plantations had accumulated about five times more carbon than black spruce plantations (0.14 vs. 0.80 t C·ha−1), highlighting the much larger potential of jack pine for OW afforestation projects in this environment.

scholarly journals The Difficulty of Predicting Eastern Spruce Dwarf Mistletoe in Lowland Black Spruce: Model Benchmarking in Northern Minnesota, USA

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 843
Author(s):  
Ella R. Gray ◽  
Matthew B. Russell ◽  
Marcella A. Windmuller-Campione
Keyword(s):  
Stand Structure ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Forest Health ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Predictive Performance ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Management Decisions ◽  
Dwarf Mistletoe ◽  
Growing Seasons ◽  
Model Interpretation

Insects, fungi, and diseases play an important role in forest stand development and subsequently, forest management decisions and treatments. As these disturbance agents commonly occur within and across landscapes, modeling has often been used to inform forest planning and management decisions. However, models are rarely benchmarked, leaving questions about their utility. Here, we assessed the predictive performance of a Bayesian hierarchical model through on–the-ground sampling to explore what features of stand structure or composition may be important factors related to eastern spruce dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium pusillum Peck) presence in lowland black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B. S. P.). Twenty-five state-owned stands included in the predictive model were sampled during the 2019 and 2020 growing seasons. Within each stand, data related to the presence of eastern spruce dwarf mistletoe, stand structure, and species composition were collected. The model accurately predicted eastern spruce dwarf mistletoe occurrence for 13 of the 25 stands. The amount of living and dead black spruce basal area differed significantly based on model prediction and observed infestation, but trees per hectare, total living basal area, diameter at breast height, stand age, and species richness were not significantly different. Our results highlight the benefits of model benchmarking to improve model interpretation as well as to inform our understanding of forest health problems across diverse stand conditions.

scholarly journals Developmental Trends of Black Spruce Fibre Attributes in Maturing Plantations

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter F. Newton
Keyword(s):  
Black Spruce ◽  
Microfibril Angle ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Temporal Correlation ◽  
Wood Formation ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Forest Region ◽  
Cambial Age ◽  
Canadian Boreal Forest ◽  
Crown Closure

This study assessed the temporal developmental patterns of commercially relevant fibre attributes (tracheid length and diameters, wall thickness, specific surface area, wood density, microfibril angle, fibre coarseness, and modulus of elasticity) and their interrelationships within maturing black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) plantations. A size-based stratified random sample procedure within 5 semimature plantations located in the Canadian Boreal Forest Region was used to select 50 trees from which radial cross-sectional xylem sequences at breast-height (1.3 m) were cut and analyzed. Statistically, the graphical and linear correlation analyses indicated that the attributes exhibited significant (p≤0.05) relationships among themselves and with morphological tree characteristics. Relative variation of each annually measured attribute declined with increasing size class (basal area quintile). The transitional shifts in temporal correlation patterns occurring at the time of approximate crown closure where suggestive of intrinsic differences in juvenile and mature wood formation processes. The temporal cumulative development patterns of all 8 of the annually measured attributes varied systematically with tree size and exhibited the most rapid rates of change before the trees reached a cambial age of 20 years. At approximately 50 years after establishment, plantation mean attribute values were not dissimilar from those reported for more mature natural-origin stands.

Root rot damage in naturally regenerated stands of spruce and balsam fir in Ontario

1989 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. D. Whitney
Keyword(s):  
Root Rot ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Tree Age ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Root Decay ◽  
Forest Region

In an 11-year study in northern Ontario, root rot damage was heaviest in balsam fir, intermediate in black spruce, and least in white spruce. As a result of root rot, 16, 11, and 6%, respectively, of dominant or codominant trees of the three species were killed or experienced premature windfall. Butt rot, which resulted from the upward extension of root rot into the boles of living trees, led to a scaled cull of 17, 12, and 10%, respectively, of gross merchantable volume of the remaining living trees in the three species. The total volume of wood lost to rot was, therefore, 33, 23, and 16%, respectively. Of 1108 living dominant and codominant balsam fir, 1243 black spruce, and 501 white spruce in 165 stands, 87, 68, and 63%, respectively, exhibited some degree of advanced root decay. Losses resulting from root rot increased with tree age. Significant amounts of root decay and stain (>30% of root volume) first occurred at 60 years of age in balsam fir and 80 years in black spruce and white spruce. For the three species together, the proportion of trees that were dead and windfallen as a result of root rot increased from an average of 3% at 41–50 years to 13% at 71–80 years and 26% at 101–110 years. The root rot index, based on the number of dead and windfallen trees and estimated loss of merchantable volume, also increased, from an average of 17 at 41–50 years to 40 at 71–80 years and 53 at 101–110 years. Death and windfall of balsam fir and black spruce were more common in northwestern Ontario than in northeastern Ontario. Damage to balsam fir was greater in the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Forest region than in the Boreal Forest region. In all three tree species, the degree of root rot (decay and stain) was highly correlated with the number of dead and windfallen trees, stand age, and root decay at ground level (as a percentage of basal area) for a 10-tree sample.

scholarly journals Comparative Height Growth of Eastern Larch and Black Spruce in Northwestern Ontario

1978 ◽  
Vol 54 (6) ◽  
pp. 296-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas A. Mead
Keyword(s):  
Picea Mariana ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Height Growth ◽  
Larix Laricina ◽  
Stem Analysis ◽  
Northwestern Ontario ◽  
Analysis Methods ◽  
Spruce Stands

Height growth of eastern larch (Larix laricina (Du Roi) K. Koch) and black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) was determined using standard stem analysis methods on trees from two sites in northwestern Ontario. The data were obtained from mixed larch-spruce stands which were relatively undisturbed. The larch exhibited substantially better height growth than the spruce through age 65.

Boreal forest provenance tests used to predict optimal growth and response to climate change: 2. Black spruce

2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 143-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley M. Thomson ◽  
Claire L. Riddell ◽  
William H. Parker
Keyword(s):  
Survival Data ◽  
Transfer Functions ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Optimal Growth ◽  
Height Growth ◽  
Optimal Performance ◽  
Seed Sources ◽  
Contour Lines ◽  
Provenance Trials ◽  
Maximum Temperatures

Height, diameter, and survival data were obtained from 20 range-wide black spruce ( Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) provenance trials established from 1973 to 1977. Population response functions based on February minimum temperatures were developed for 23 Ontario and Great Lakes states provenances to predict climate values maximizing height growth for individual seed sources. Site transfer functions based on February maximum temperatures and May maximum temperatures were developed for five test sites to predict climate values maximizing height growth for test locations. Contour lines representing optimal performance were fitted to current (1961–1990) and future (2041–2070) climate grids. For black spruce seed sources from the east of Lake Superior and Lake Huron, optimal height growth was achieved between 45° and 47°N; for the western sources optimal performance moved north between 46° and 48°N. In eastern Ontario, height growth of northern sources may increase with transfer to warmer environments and with future temperature increases. Central sources are currently growing at or close to optimum and will be negatively affected by increased future temperatures. Southern sources may currently benefit from transfer to cooler environments, and the effects of global warming may cause significant height growth loss and the potential extirpation of local populations.

scholarly journals Effect of stand age on whole ecosystem CO2exchange in the Canadian boreal forest

2003 ◽  
Vol 108 (D3) ◽  
pp. n/a-n/a ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcy Litvak ◽  
Scott Miller ◽  
Steve C. Wofsy ◽  
Michael Goulden
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Canadian Boreal Forest

Survival and Growth of Planted Black Spruce, Alder, Aspen and Willow After Fire on Black Spruce/Feather Moss Sites in Interior Alaska

1987 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 84-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
John C. Zasada ◽  
Rodney A. Norum ◽  
Christian E. Teutsch ◽  
Roseann Densmore
Keyword(s):  
Key Words ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Seedling Survival ◽  
Height Growth ◽  
Balsam Poplar ◽  
Feather Moss ◽  
Interior Alaska ◽  
Survival And Growth ◽  
Broad Leaved Species

Seedlings of black spruce, aspen, green alder, and grayleaf willow planted on black spruce/feather moss sites in the boreal forest in interior Alaska survived and grew relatively well over a 6-year period after prescribed burning. Survival of black spruce was significantly greater than that of the broad-leaved species, but height growth was significantly less. Development of feltleaf willow and balsam poplar from unrooted cuttings was poor. Severity of burn appeared to have an important effect on height growth of all species but not on seedling survival. Key words: Planting, Picea, Alnus, Populus, Salix, microsite.

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