Ecology and management of natural regeneration of white spruce in the boreal forest

2011 ◽  
Vol 19 (NA) ◽  
pp. 461-478 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefanie M. Gärtner ◽  
Victor J. Lieffers ◽  
S. Ellen Macdonald
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Natural Regeneration ◽  
White Spruce

Radial Growth Decline of White Spruce (Picea glauca) During Hot Summers without Drought: Preliminary Results from a Study Site South of a Boreal Forest Border

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrei Lapenis ◽  
George Robinson ◽  
Gregory B. Lawrence
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Radial Growth ◽  
Summer Precipitation ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Southern Limit ◽  
Central New York ◽  
Growth Decline ◽  
Hot Days

Here we investigate the possible<sup></sup> future response of white spruce (Picea glauca) to a warmer climate by studying trees planted 90 years ago near the southern limit of their climate tolerance in central New York, 300 km south of the boreal forest where this species is prevalent. We employed high-frequency recording dendrometers to determine radial growth phenology of six mature white spruce trees during 2013-2017. Results demonstrate significant reductions in the length of radial growth periods inversely proportional to the number of hot days with air temperature exceeding 30 oC. During years with very hot summers, the start of radial growth began about 3 days earlier than the 2013-2017 average. However, in those same years the end of radial growth was also about 17 days earlier resulting in a shorter (70 versus 100 day), radial growth season. Abundant (350-500 mm) summer precipitation, which resulted in soil moisture values of 20-30% allowed us to dismiss drought as a factor. Instead, a likely cause of reduced radial growth was mean temperature that exceeded daily average of 30<sup> o</sup>C that lead to photoinhibition.

scholarly journals Effects of substrate availability and competing vegetation on natural regeneration of white spruce on logged boreal mixedwood sites

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 324-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola A. Kokkonen ◽  
S. Ellen Macdonald ◽  
Ian Curran ◽  
Simon M. Landhäusser ◽  
Victor J. Lieffers
Keyword(s):  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Natural Regeneration ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Solid Wood ◽  
Seedling Mortality ◽  
Competing Vegetation ◽  
Survival And Growth

Given a seed source, the quality of available substrates is a key factor in determining the success of white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) natural regeneration. We examined the influence of substrate and competing vegetation on survival and growth of natural regeneration of white spruce up to 4 years following harvesting in deciduous-dominated upland boreal mixedwood sites. Feather moss, thick soil surface organic layers, litter, and solid wood were poor substrates for establishment. Early successional mosses establishing on mineral soil, thin organics, and rotten wood were generally favourable microsites but were not highly available on postharvest sites. Mineral soil substrates were not as suitable as expected, likely because on a postlogged site, they are associated with unfavourable environmental characteristics (e.g., low nutrient availability, exposure). There was some evidence that survival and growth of seedlings were improved by surrounding vegetation in the first years, but heavy competing vegetation had a negative impact on older seedlings. Burial by aspen litter greatly increased seedling mortality, especially when combined with a brief period of submergence due to heavy spring snowmelt. The results provide insight into conditions under which natural regeneration could be an option for establishing white spruce following harvesting of deciduous-dominated boreal mixedwood forests.

Summary and Synthesis: Past and Future Changes in the Alaskan Boreal Forest

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marilyn W. Walker ◽  
Mary E. Edwards
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Bark Beetles ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Rapid Change ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Tree Resistance ◽  
Forest Sites

Historically the boreal forest has experienced major changes, and it remains a highly dynamic biome today. During cold phases of Quaternary climate cycles, forests were virtually absent from Alaska, and since the postglacial re-establishment of forests ca 13,000 years ago, there have been periods of both relative stability and rapid change (Chapter 5). Today, the Alaskan boreal forest appears to be on the brink of further significant change in composition and function triggered by recent changes that include climatic warming (Chapter 4). In this chapter, we summarize the major conclusions from earlier chapters as a basis for anticipating future trends. Alaska warmed rapidly at the end of the last glacial period, ca 15,000–13,000 years ago. Broadly speaking, climate was warmest and driest in the late glacial and early Holocene; subsequently, moisture increased, and the climate gradually cooled. These changes were associated with shifts in vegetation dominance from deciduous woodland and shrubland to white spruce and then to black spruce. The establishment of stands of fire-prone black spruce over large areas of the boreal forest 5000–6000 years ago is linked to an apparent increase in fire frequency, despite the climatic trend to cooler and moister conditions. This suggests that long-term features of the Holocene fire regime are more strongly driven by vegetation characteristics than directly by climate (Chapter 5). White spruce forests show decreased growth in response to recent warming, because warming-induced drought stress is more limiting to growth than is temperature per se (Chapters 5, 11). If these environmental controls persist, projections suggest that continued climate warming will lead to zero net annual growth and perhaps the movement of white spruce to cooler upland forest sites before the end of the twenty-first century. At the southern limit of the Alaskan boreal forest, spruce bark beetle outbreaks have decimated extensive areas of spruce forest, because warmer temperatures have reduced tree resistance to bark beetles and shortened the life cycle of the beetle from two years to one, shifting the tree-beetle interaction in favor of the insect (Chapter 9).

scholarly journals Splitting in Fire-Killed Trees in the Boreal Forest of Alberta

2003 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 167-174
Author(s):  
Nobutaka Nakamura ◽  
Paul M. Woodard ◽  
Lars Bach
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Lodgepole Pine ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Crown Fire ◽  
In Fire ◽  
Solar Angle

Abstract Tree boles in the boreal forests of Alberta, Canada will split once killed by a stand-replacing crown fire. A total of 1,485 fire-killed trees were sampled, 1 yr after burning, in 23 plots in 14 widely separated stands within a 370,000 ha fire. Sampling occurred in the Upper and Lower Foothills natural subregions. The frequency of splitting varied by species but averaged 41% for all species. The order in the frequency of splitting was balsam fir, black spruce, white spruce and lodgepole pine. The type of splitting (straight, spiral, or multiple) varied by species, as did the position of the split on the tree bole. Aspect or solar angle was not statistically related to the type or occurrence of splitting.

Carbon balance of the taiga forest within Alaska: present and future

2002 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 757-767 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Yarie ◽  
Sharon Billings
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Carbon Dynamics ◽  
Mean Annual Temperature ◽  
Century Model ◽  
Inventory Data ◽  
Balsam Poplar ◽  
Taiga Forest ◽  
Paper Birch

Forest biomass, rates of production, and carbon dynamics are a function of climate, plant species present, and the structure of the soil organic and mineral layers. Inventory data from the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) Inventory Analysis Unit was used to develop estimates of the land area represented by the major overstory species at various age-classes. The CENTURY model was then used to develop an estimate of carbon dynamics throughout the age sequence of forest development for the major ecosystem types. The estimated boreal forest area in Alaska, based on USFS inventory data is 17 244 098 ha. The total aboveground biomass within the Alaska boreal forest was estimated to be 815 330 000 Mg. The CENTURY model estimated maximum net ecosystem production (NEP) at 137, 88, 152, 99, and 65 g·m–2·year–1 for quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.), paper birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.), balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera L.), white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss), and black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) forest stands, respectively. These values were predicted at stand ages of 80, 60, 41, 68, and 100 years, respectively. The minimum values of NEP for aspen, paper birch, balsam poplar, white spruce, and black spruce were –171, –166, –240, –300, and –61 g·m–2·year–1 at the ages of 1, 1, 1, 1, and 12, respectively. NEP became positive at the ages of 14, 19, 16, 13, and 34 for aspen, birch, balsam poplar, white spruce, and black spruce ecosystems, respectively. A 5°C increase in mean annual temperature resulted in a higher amount of predicted production and decomposition in all ecosystems, resulting in an increase of NEP. We estimate that the current vegetation absorbs approximately 9.65 Tg of carbon per year within the boreal forest of the state. If there is a 5°C increase in the mean annual temperature with no change in precipitation we estimated that NEP for the boreal forest in Alaska would increase to 16.95 Tg of carbon per year.

Root and shoot biomass and mycorrhizal development of white spruce seedlings naturally regenerating in interior Alaskan floodplain communities

1984 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 554-558 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. E. Krasny ◽  
K. A. Vogt ◽  
J. C. Zasada
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Mycorrhizal Fungi ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Shoot Biomass ◽  
Seedling Biomass ◽  
Mycorrhizal Development ◽  
Root:Shoot Ratios ◽  
Root And Shoot Biomass

Root and shoot biomass and mycorrhizal development were examined for white spruce (Piceaglauca (Moench) Voss) seedlings naturally regenerating in four floodplain communities in the boreal forest. Mean seedling biomass was highest in the open community and lowest in the spruce community. Seedlings growing in the open community had higher root:shoot ratios (0.50) compared with seedlings growing in the willow (0.34), alder (0.20), and spruce (0.24) communities. Essentially all short roots of spruce seedlings growing in all four communities were infected by mycorrhizal fungi throughout the growing season.

scholarly journals White Spruce Regeneration on a Blade-Scarified Alaskan Loess Soil1

1990 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 121-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edmond C. Packee
Keyword(s):  
Natural Regeneration ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Site Preparation ◽  
Forest Stand ◽  
Aspen Forest

Abstract Following hardwood removal from a mixed spruce-birch-aspen forest stand, portions of the stand were blade-scarified to encourage natural white spruce regeneration. Six years after treatment the number and height of white spruce seedlings were significantly greater on scarified than on unscarified plots. Whereas 100% of scarified sample plots contained five or more seedlings, 73% of unscarified plots contained no seedlings. Exposure of mineral soil and removal of grass competition are essential for the satisfactory natural regeneration of white spruce. Detailed regeneration surveys should not be considered for white spruce until seedlings are 15 cm tall, typically the fifth or sixth year after site preparation. North. J. Appl. For. 7:121-123, September 1990.

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