Successional change, restoration success, and resilience in boreal mixedwood vegetation communities over three decades

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Sybille Haeussler ◽  
Richard Kabzems ◽  
John McClarnon ◽  
Lorne Bedford
Keyword(s):  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Vascular Plant ◽  
Tree Planting ◽  
Ecological Resilience ◽  
Vegetation Communities ◽  
Degraded Ecosystem ◽  
Broad Domain ◽  
Successional Change ◽  
Restoration Effort

Long-term studies of vegetation succession can inform restoration of degraded forests. We examined resilience of a boreal mixedwood vegetation community, asking whether treatments employed to restore wood production in a degraded ecosystem could also restore diversity and composition of vegetation communities. The Inga Lake trial, established in 1987 in northeastern British Columbia, used mechanical, fire, and chemical and manual treatments, encompassing a gradient of restoration effort, and tree planting to restore a shrubland to white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) forest. We monitored vascular plant, bryophyte, and macrolichen composition five times over 31 years on five to seven treatments replicated five times. We used mixed-effects models and nonmetric multidimensional scaling to compare diversity and composition among treatments and with mature reference forests. Low- to high-effort restoration created a gradient from broadleaf- to spruce-dominated overstories. Diversity increased with restoration effort. Four of 253 taxa occurred in mature forests only. There was no evidence that lower versus higher effort treatments followed divergent successional pathways toward broadleaved versus spruce reference communities. Our results suggest that these mixedwood vegetation communities lie within a broad domain of successional attraction that confers high ecological resilience to disturbance. Gap cuttings to stimulate understory re-initiation and provide woody debris are recommended to complete the restoration.

scholarly journals Boreal Plant Community Diversity 10 Years After Glyphosate Treatment

2000 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob O. Boateng ◽  
Sybille Haeussler ◽  
Lorne Bedford
Keyword(s):  
Plant Community ◽  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Vascular Plant ◽  
Structural Diversity ◽  
Community Diversity ◽  
Deciduous Trees ◽  
Herb Layer ◽  
Single Application ◽  
Tall Shrub ◽  
Trees And Shrubs

Abstract This study examined 10 and 12 yr posttreatment effects of broadcast and spot application of glyphosate for site preparation on structural diversity, species richness and diversity, and crop tree growth in two boreal forest plant communities in northeastern British Columbia. At the broadcast-sprayed site, reduced dominance of the tall shrub layer was associated with increased structural diversity and increased richness of the herb layer 10 yr after treatment. At the spot-sprayed site, no significant differences in plant community structure or diversity could be detected after 12 yr. At both sites, glyphosate application increased the growth of planted white spruce (Picea glauca) seedlings without eliminating deciduous trees and shrubs. The results indicate that a single application of glyphosate to prepare sites for reforestation can improve crop tree performance without adversely affecting vascular plant community diversity. West. J. Appl. For. 15(1):15-26.

REPRODUCTION AND DEVELOPMENTAL PHENOLOGY OF IPS PERTURBATUS (COLEOPTERA: SCOLYTIDAE) INHABITING WHITE SPRUCE (PINACEAE)

2000 ◽  
Vol 132 (4) ◽  
pp. 529-537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian C. Robertson
Keyword(s):  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Female Size ◽  
Adult Offspring ◽  
Tunnel Excavation ◽  
Breast Height ◽  
Harem Size ◽  
Late Emergence ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Ips Perturbatus

AbstractThree white spruces, Picea glauca (Moench) Voss (30–35 cm diameter at breast height), felled in central Alberta, were colonized by Ips perturbatus (Eichhoff) beginning in late May 1999. The mean (±SE) density of breeding galleries on the trees was 217 ± 23/m2 (n = 30). Harem size ranged from one to four females per gallery, with a mean of 2.1 ± 0.6 (n = 90). Tunnel excavation and oviposition occurred primarily during the first 3 weeks after gallery initiation. Individual females laid 48.9 ± 2.5 eggs (n = 30) in galleries that reached 10.0 ± 0.3 cm in length (n = 45). Males assisted their mates by removing frass and woody debris from the tunnels. Males remained in their galleries for at least 1 week, although there was gradual attrition such that < 15% of males remained after 6 weeks. Large males abandoned their galleries sooner than small males. In contrast, females were present in almost half of the oviposition tunnels examined after 6 weeks, and there was no significant relationship between female size and residence time. Mortality from egg to adult was high (98%) during this 1-year study, likely a result of the intense crowding of galleries. Adult offspring were found beneath the bark in mid-July, although the main emergence did not begin until mid-September. Because such late emergence would be too late for these individuals to reproduce before winter, I conclude that I. perturbatus has only one generation per year in central Alberta.

Do biomass removal and structure-enhancing treatments influence deadwood characteristics following commercial thinning in spruce plantations in New Brunswick, Canada?

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (10) ◽  
pp. 1407-1418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kwadwo Omari ◽  
David A. MacLean
Keyword(s):  
New Brunswick ◽  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
Commercial Thinning ◽  
Dead Trees ◽  
Biomass Removal ◽  
The Status ◽  
Intensively Managed

Effects of commercial thinning on downed coarse woody debris (CWD) and standing dead trees (snags) were examined in six intensively managed 22- to 30-year-old white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) plantations in northern New Brunswick, Canada. Four alternative treatments were applied: (i) an unthinned control and three commercial thinning 40% basal area removals, with (ii) slash and tops remaining on the site (status quo), (iii) most of the branches and tops extracted from the site (biomass removal), and (iv) clumps of unthinned trees left, with one-half of the trees in each clump girdled to create snags (enhanced structure). Three years after thinning, CWD volume increased by 14%–27% in the status quo and enhanced structure treatments, by 6% in the biomass removal treatment, and by 0.1% in the unthinned treatment. Mean snag volume changed little, i.e., less than 1 m3·ha−1 among treatments, and stumps of thinned trees were 4.6–4.9 m3·ha−1. The girdled trees added 0.7 m3·ha−1 of snags, and 1.3 m3·ha−1 is expected to be added from girdling the remaining live trees in the unthinned clumps in 2016. The girdled trees and future to-be-girdled trees added up to 50% of the new deadwood in the enhanced structure treatments, but thinning treatments did not significantly affect total deadwood. The results indicate that commercial thinning produced fine debris but had little effect on overall deadwood amount. Girdling trees during commercial thinning, at the intensity used in this study, is unlikely to produce sufficient snags. Leaving islands and clumps during harvest before plantation establishment would be a more effective way of adding structure.

The importance of coarse woody debris for vascular plants in temperate mixed deciduous forests

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (9) ◽  
pp. 1154-1163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ewa Chećko ◽  
Bogdan Jaroszewicz ◽  
Katarzyna Olejniczak ◽  
Anna J. Kwiatkowska-Falińska
Keyword(s):  
Vascular Plants ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Vascular Plant ◽  
Deciduous Forests ◽  
Seedling Density ◽  
Tree Seedling ◽  
Northeastern Poland ◽  
Ecological Filter ◽  
Species Richness And Abundance ◽  
Natural Dynamics

Deadwood in various stages of decomposition and diverse spatial arrangements provides habitat for numerous organisms. However, knowledge on the colonization of deadwood by vascular plants in mixed deciduous forests is insufficient. We carried out our study in an oak–lime–hornbeam forest in northeastern Poland. Downed logs were colonized by 49 vascular plant species, a number higher than reported from any other type of forest. Species richness and abundance of plants increased with log diameter and decomposition. The former was higher on broadleaf deadwood than on coniferous deadwood (46 vs. 38 species). The frequency and abundance on logs were higher for small-seeded plants (<1 mg) than for bigger, heavier seeded plants. Deadwood surface served as an ecological filter, keeping small seeds in cracks, but allowing bigger seeds to roll down. Tree seedling density increased with wood decomposition. However, for eight of nine species, it was higher on the ground than on deadwood. Only spruce seedlings were recorded almost exclusively on deadwood, constituting a crucial substrate for spruce regeneration in meso-eutrophic forests. Therefore, we stress the importance of constant deadwood supply, on the scale of decades, to ensure the diversity of this substrate and to allow the natural dynamics of deadwood-dependent species populations.

Woodland mouse and vole response to increased structural diversity following midrotation commercial thinning in spruce plantations

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (8) ◽  
pp. 1121-1131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evan C. Dracup ◽  
Daniel M. Keppie ◽  
Graham J. Forbes
Keyword(s):  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Structural Diversity ◽  
Understory Vegetation ◽  
Deer Mice ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Commercial Thinning ◽  
Debris Removal

We assessed whether commercially thinning (CT) spruce (Picea spp.) plantations (40% basal area removal) can cause structural changes in fine woody debris (FWD) and understory vegetation to improve habitat quality for small rodents in northwestern New Brunswick, Canada. We created three contrasting environments (FWD rich – understory vegetation rich, FWD poor – understory vegetation rich, and FWD poor – understory vegetation poor) by establishing CT with debris retention (merchantable trunk removal), CT with all debris removed (full tree removal), and non-CT (plantation without CT) in six midrotation white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) plantations. We live-trapped small mammals in each plantation during spring and summer of 2011 and 2012 and estimated animal density and survival with capture–recapture models. Southern red-backed vole (Myodes gapperi (Vigors, 1830)) density was two to three times greater in CT with debris retention than in either non-CT or CT with debris removal, and their survival rate was twice that in CT with debris removal. Woodland jumping mouse (Napaeozapus insignis (Miller, 1891)) density was two to five times greater in non-CT than in either CT treatment. Deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus (Wagner, 1845)) did not show any treatment effect. Productivity and demographics were not affected by CT treatment for any species. We found evidence that midrotation spruce plantations are used differently by small mammal species based on stand condition and recommend that managers maintain plantations in CT and non-CT states.

The effects of logs, stumps, and root throws on understory communities within 28-year-old aspen-dominated boreal forests

2001 ◽  
Vol 79 (8) ◽  
pp. 905-916 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Lee ◽  
Kelly Sturgess
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Vascular Plants ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Vascular Plant ◽  
Detrended Correspondence Analysis ◽  
Tree Seedlings ◽  
Understory Composition ◽  
Colonization Patterns ◽  
Understory Communities

This study examined the role of logs, stumps, and root throws on the understory composition of aspen-dominated boreal forests. Measures of microsite coverage and suitability, and vascular plant composition and abundance were taken from 28-year-old wildfire and harvest sites. Larger logs (>20 cm diameter) with soft surfaces were the most suitable for colonization by vascular plants. These logs covered more than five times the area of stumps or root throws in both harvest and wildfire sites. Detrended correspondence analysis revealed that logs and stumps were colonized by a significantly different assemblage of vascular plants than the forest floor of either disturbance type. Contrary to studies in other forest types, assemblages of plants on root throw pits and mounds were similar to those on the forest floor. Initial colonization patterns on logs and stumps in both wildfire and harvest sites were similar. However, on more decayed logs assemblages of vascular plants were more similar to their respective wildfire or harvest forest floor assemblages. Ordination of species suggested that tree seedlings and shade-tolerant herbs were disproportionately more abundant on logs and stumps.Key words: plant community assemblages, deadwood resources, coarse woody debris, root throws, logs, boreal forest.

The contribution of coarse woody debris to carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycles in three Rocky Mountain coniferous forests

1999 ◽  
Vol 29 (10) ◽  
pp. 1592-1603 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raija Laiho ◽  
Cindy E Prescott
Keyword(s):  
Coarse Woody Debris ◽  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Pinus Contorta ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Wood Decay ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Dry Mass ◽  
Ground Vegetation ◽  
Nitrogen And Phosphorus ◽  
Aboveground Litter

The contribution of coarse woody debris to C, N, and P cycles was assessed in forests of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud.), white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench Voss), and subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa (Hook.) Nutt.) - Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii Parry ex Engelm.) in southwestern Alberta. Mass loss and changes in C, N, and P concentrations in decomposing log segments were measured for 14 years. Litter input was measured during 10 years for coarse woody debris, 1 year for ground vegetation, and 5 years for other aboveground litter types. Release of C, N and P from decomposing litter were simulated for a period of 40 years. After 14 years, log segments of pine, spruce, and fir had lost on average 71, 38, and 40%, respectively, of their dry mass. The N content of the pine logs increased, spruce changed little, and fir lost N. Phosphorus accumulated in all logs. The greatest imports of N and P occurred at the pine sites and fir sites, respectively, where these nutrients were the least available, indicating that wood decay organisms may compete with vegetation for limiting nutrients in these forests. Coarse woody debris comprised 3-24% of aboveground litter and contributed less than 5% of the N and P released. Coarse woody debris does not appear to make a significant contribution to N and P cycling in these forests.

scholarly journals Indigenous uses of wild and tended plant biodiversity maintain ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes of the Terai Plains of Nepal

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica P. R. Thorn ◽  
Thomas F. Thornton ◽  
Ariella Helfgott ◽  
Katherine J. Willis
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Monsoon Season ◽  
Vascular Plant ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Agricultural Landscapes ◽  
Ecological Resilience ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Vernacular Names ◽  
And Gender

Abstract Background Despite a rapidly accumulating evidence base quantifying ecosystem services, the role of biodiversity in the maintenance of ecosystem services in shared human-nature environments is still understudied, as is how indigenous and agriculturally dependent communities perceive, use and manage biodiversity. The present study aims to document traditional ethnobotanical knowledge of the ecosystem service benefits derived from wild and tended plants in rice-cultivated agroecosystems, compare this to botanical surveys, and analyse the extent to which ecosystem services contribute social-ecological resilience in the Terai Plains of Nepal. Method Sampling was carried out in four landscapes, 22 Village District Committees and 40 wards in the monsoon season. Data collection was based on transects walks to collect plant specimens, structured and semi-structured interviews, and participatory fieldwork in and around home gardens, farms, and production landscapes. We asked 180 farmers to free-list vernacular names and describe use-value of biological material. Uses were categorized into eight broad groupings, and 61 biomedical ailment classifications. We assessed if knowledge of plant species diversity and abundance differed with regard to caste, age and gender. Results Nepalese farmers have a deep knowledge of the use and management of the 390 vascular plant specimens identified, which provide key provisioning, regulating, supporting and cultural ecosystem services. Altogether, plants belong to 75 distinct plant species from 49 phylogenetic families: 56 are used to cure 61 ailments, 27 for rituals, 25 for food, 20 for timber, 17 for fuel, 16 for fodder, 11 for soil enhancement, and 8 for pesticides. Four caste groups have statistically different knowledge, and younger informants report a lower average number of useful plants. Conclusion Agricultural landscapes in Nepal are reservoirs of biodiversity. The knowledge of the use of wild and tended plant species in and around these farms differs by the caste and age group of land manager. Conducting research on agroecosystems will contribute to a deeper understanding of how nature is perceived by locals, to more efficient management and conservation of the breadbasket of Nepal, and to the conservation of valuable, but disappearing traditional knowledge and practice.

Classification and ordination of southern boreal forests from the Hondo – Slave Lake area of central Alberta

1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 614-628 ◽  
Author(s):  
George H. La Roi
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
Picea Mariana ◽  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Pinus Banksiana ◽  
Vascular Plant ◽  
Percent Cover ◽  
Lake Area ◽  
Vascular Plant Species ◽  
Community Types

Sixty-five undisturbed stands, spanning a wide range of physical habitats in the southern boreal subzone, were sampled in central Alberta using relevés, then classified with two-way indicator species analysis (TWINSPAN) and ordinated with detrended correspondence analysis (DECORANA), based on the estimated midsummer percent cover of 100 vascular plant species. Six floristically and ecologically distinct community types were recognized along soil-moisture and texture–nutrient gradients: oligotrophic PINUS BANKSIANA/ASTER LAEVIS on warm, xeromesic, nutrient-poor sand deposits; oligo-mesotrophic PINUS BANKSIANA/CORNUS CANADENSIS on cooler, xeromesic to submesic, low-nutrient sands; mesotrophic PICEA GLAUCA – POPULUS TREMULOIDES/ELYMUS INNOVATUS on mesic, medium-nutrient tills; eu-mesotrophic PICEA GLAUCA – POPULUS TREMULOIDES/RIBES TRISTE on mesic to hygromesic, nutrient-rich alluvium and till; oligotrophic PICEA MARIANA/RUBUS CHAMAEMORUS on cool, hygromesic to hygric, nutrient-poor peatlands; oligotrophic PICEA MARIANA/CAREX AQUATILIS on hygric to hydric, low-nutrient peatlands. The six community types and 19 species groups elucidated by TWINSPAN occupy distinct sectors on the two-dimensional DECORANA ordination that are associated with differences in moisture and nutrient availability. The community types are ecologically vicarious with boreal forest assemblages previously described for Alaska, central and eastern Canada, and northwestern Europe. Key words: cover, ecological series, gradient, moisture, nutrients, plant community, soil, vascular plant species, vegetation.

Coarse woody debris in sub-boreal spruce forests of west-central British Columbia

1998 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 284-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
D F Clark ◽  
D D Kneeshaw ◽  
P J Burton ◽  
J A Antos
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Coarse Woody Debris ◽  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Pinus Contorta ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Abies Lasiocarpa ◽  
History Of

An evaluation of how coarse woody debris (CWD) changes in quantity and quality during stand development was conducted using a 426-year chronosequence of 71 stands in sub-boreal forests in British Columbia. Additional characteristics of CWD were determined in 14 of the stands. Most stands are fire initiated and input from the predisturbance stand is critical in controlling the amounts and characteristics of CWD within young stands. Log volume declines from over 100 m3/ha in young stands (0-50 years) to just over 60 m3/ha in stands from 51 to 200 years old, and then increases to greater than 140 m3/ha in the oldest (>= 400-year-old) stands. Mean snag basal area is highest (31.6 m2/ha) in young, postfire stands, decreases to a very low value (2.0 m2/ha) in stands 51-100 years old, and then reaches a second maximum (12.1 m2/ha) in stands that are 201-250 years old; it declines slightly in very old stands. The high snag basal area in stands 201-250 years old coincides with the successional transition from lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud. var. latifolia Engelm.) to stands dominated by subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa (Hook.) Nutt.) and interior spruce (hybrids of Picea glauca (Moench) Voss and Picea engelmannii Parry). Stand age, characteristics of the predisturbance forest, and the disturbance history of stands subsequent to stand initiation all appear to be very important in determining variation in both the quality and quantity of CWD in these sub-boreal forests.

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