Invertebrate predation of postdispersal seeds and juvenile seedlings of black spruce (Picea mariana) in the boreal forest of eastern Canada

2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 674-681 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathieu Côté ◽  
Jean Ferron ◽  
Réjean Gagnon
Keyword(s):  
Picea Mariana ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Pitfall Traps ◽  
Invertebrate Predation ◽  
Habitat Types ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Exclosure Experiment ◽  
Seedling Predation ◽  
Lichen Woodland ◽  
Abundance And Diversity

We used an extensive vertebrate exclosure experiment to evaluate black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) postdispersal seed and seedling predation by invertebrates in three boreal habitats of Eastern Canada: recent burn, spruce–moss, and lichen woodland. Between 9% and 19% of seeds were eaten by invertebrates. Seed predation was higher in recent burns than in spruce–moss and lichen woodlands. Abundance and diversity of potential invertebrate seed consumers sampled in pitfall traps also varied among habitat types. Among the invertebrate seed consumers sampled, Myrmica spp. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and Pterostichus adstrictus (Eschscholtz, 1823) (Coleoptera: Carabidae) were the most numerous; Formica spp. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and Pterostichus punctatissimus (Randall, 1838) (Coleoptera: Carabidae) were also present. Between 2% and 12% of juvenile black spruce seedlings were eaten by invertebrates. The most important seedling consumers were slugs (molluscs). Invertebrate predation of seeds and seedlings was highest (19% and 12%) in recent burns, indicating that invertebrate predation may significantly influence black spruce regeneration in these sites.

Dimension analysis of various components of black spruce in subarctic lichen woodland

1980 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 491-497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew N. Rencz ◽  
Allan N. Auclair
Keyword(s):  
Parabolic Equations ◽  
Individual Component ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Dimension Analysis ◽  
Closed Forest ◽  
Lichen Woodland ◽  
Parabolic Form ◽  
Total Tree

Parabolic and logarithmic regressions were used to relate tree diameter to the biomass of root, root crown, bole, branch, needle, cone, and epiphytic lichens for a sample of 15 Piceamariana (Mill) trees occupying lichen woodland in the subarctic of eastern Canada. In 22 of 27 regressions both models yielded r2 values >0.82. Biomass estimates of total tree and individual component dry weights resulted in estimates with less than 6.5% difference between biomass estimates by logarithmic versus parabolic equations. For this data set the logarithmic model appeared more appropriate than the parabolic form. Validity of the regressions was judged on r2, analysis of variance, and examination of residuals. Equations generated in this study were considered to be inapplicable to P. mariana growing in closed forest. Problems in extrapolation were discussed.

Fire and substrate interact to control the northern range limit of black spruce (Picea mariana) in Alaska

2007 ◽  
Vol 37 (12) ◽  
pp. 2480-2493 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea H. Lloyd ◽  
Christopher L. Fastie ◽  
Hilary Eisen
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Reproduction ◽  
Picea Mariana ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Seed Viability ◽  
Range Limit ◽  
Acidic Soils ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Substrate Effects ◽  
Northern Range Limit

Black spruce ( Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) is a common treeline species in eastern Canada but rare at treeline in Alaska. We investigated fire and substrate effects on black spruce populations at six sites along a 74 km transect in the Brooks Range, Alaska. Our southern sites, on a surface deglaciated >50 000 years ago, had significantly more acidic soils, more black spruce, and higher seed viability than our northern sites, which were deglaciated approximately 13 000 years ago. Despite similar fire history at five of our six sites, postfire recruitment dynamics varied with surface age. Sexual reproduction was vigorous in both postfire and nonfire years in populations on the older surface. On the younger surface, vigorous sexual reproduction was restricted to postfire decades and clonal reproduction by branch layering predominated in nonfire years. At the northernmost site, which was unburned, black spruce reproduced almost exclusively by layering. The species’ northern range limit thus reflects an interaction between fire and substrate: on recently deglaciated surfaces, sexual reproduction is restricted to postfire years. This substrate-induced dependence on fire may restrict the range of black spruce to sites that burn sufficiently often to allow occasional sexual reproduction.

scholarly journals Wood density and wood shrinkage in relation to initial spacing and tree growth in black spruce (Picea mariana)

2021 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shu Yin Zhang ◽  
Haiqing Ren ◽  
Zehui Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Path Analysis ◽  
Wood Density ◽  
Tree Growth ◽  
Picea Mariana ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Planting Density ◽  
Longitudinal Shrinkage ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Initial Spacing ◽  
Transverse Shrinkage

AbstractThis study has quantified basic wood density and various types of wood shrinkage in relation to initial spacing (or initial planting density) and tree growth based on a 48-year-old black spruce (Picea mariana) spacing trial in eastern Canada. A total of 139 sample trees were collected from four initial spacings (3086, 2500, 2066, 1372 trees/ha) for this study. Analyses of variance (ANOVA) show that initial spacing is the most important parameter affecting wood density significantly, followed by tree diameter at breast height (DBH) class. With increasing spacing, wood density, radial and volumetric shrinkage tend to decrease, whereas longitudinal shrinkage tends to increase gradually. The largest spacing has the lowest wood density, the smallest transverse shrinkage and the largest longitudinal shrinkage. Path analysis indicates that wood density is the most important parameter affecting transverse shrinkage, followed by the distance from the pith. Furthermore, much of the variation of the transverse shrinkage with wood density may be due to the initial spacing and tree DBH class. Path analysis also reveals that longitudinal shrinkage is mainly related to log height and tree DBH class. With increasing log height, longitudinal shrinkage tends to increase, and transverse shrinkage tends to decrease. With increasing DBH class, the trees tend to have an increasing longitudinal shrinkage and a decreasing transverse shrinkage. Overall, this study suggests that a large increase in the initial spacing (e.g., 1372 trees/ha) might lead to a significant reduction in both wood density and transverse shrinkage, and a significant increase in longitudinal shrinkage in black spruce.

scholarly journals Complete Chloroplast Genome Sequence of a Black Spruce (Picea mariana) from Eastern Canada

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (39) ◽  
Author(s):  
Theodora Lo ◽  
Lauren Coombe ◽  
Diana Lin ◽  
René L. Warren ◽  
Heather Kirk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chloroplast Genome ◽  
Genome Sequence ◽  
Picea Mariana ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Genetic Basis ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Complete Chloroplast Genome ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Chloroplast Genome Sequence

ABSTRACT Here, we present the chloroplast genome sequence of black spruce (Picea mariana), a conifer widely distributed throughout North American boreal forests. This complete and annotated chloroplast sequence is 123,961 bp long and will contribute to future studies on the genetic basis of evolutionary change in spruce and adaptation in conifers.

scholarly journals Occurrence of the Maritime Shrew (Sorex maritimensis) in Black Spruce (Picea mariana) Forest Stands in Southeastern New Brunswick

2012 ◽  
Vol 126 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Julie Henderson ◽  
Graham Forbes
Keyword(s):  
New Brunswick ◽  
Picea Mariana ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Coniferous Forest ◽  
Forest Stands ◽  
Habitat Types

Twenty-one specimens of Sorex maritimensis (Maritime Shrew) were collected in coniferous forest of central New Brunswick, a habitat considered atypical for the species. We suggest S. maritimensis uses a wider range of habitat types than previously documented.

Predicting the seasonal development of the yellowheaded spruce sawfly (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae) in eastern Canada

2007 ◽  
Vol 139 (3) ◽  
pp. 365-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacques Régnière ◽  
Dan Lavigne ◽  
Alain Dupont ◽  
Nelson Carter
Keyword(s):  
Picea Mariana ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Adult Emergence ◽  
Seasonal Development ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Pheromone Traps ◽  
Degree Days ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Larval Stages ◽  
Degree Day

AbstractDegree-day phenology models for the yellowheaded spruce sawfly, Pikonema alaskensis (Rohwer), were developed from data sets collected in infested plantations of black spruce, Picea mariana (Mill.), and white spruce, P. glauca (Moench) Voss, in New Brunswick and Quebec, Canada, between 1995 and 1999. The models describe the relationships between degree-day accumulation (above −1 °C, from 1 April) and cumulative adult emergence, capture in pheromone traps, the dates of appearance of first adult, egg, and larva, and the relative frequency of successive larval stages. The models predict adult emergence with a precision of ±2 days and male catch in pheromone traps with a precision of ±1.6 days. The first adult, first egg, and first larva occurred after 527 ± 42, 660 ± 52, and 725 ± 18 degree-days above –1 °C, respectively, and the dates of these events are predicted within ±1.8 days. The dates of 50% occurrence of the successive instars are predicted within 4.5 days of observed dates, and the date of peak 2nd instar is predicted within ±3.6 days.

Vegetation and pollen relationships in eastern Canada

1993 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
George A. King
Keyword(s):  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Spruce Forest ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Forest Tundra ◽  
Surface Samples ◽  
Vegetation Zones ◽  
Pollen Types ◽  
Shrub Tundra ◽  
Lichen Woodland

The relationship between the vegetation and modern pollen assemblages in eastern Canada is summarized and analyzed using isopoll maps, ordination, and cluster analysis. The major vegetation zones are shrub tundra, forest tundra (divided into shrub and forest subzones), lichen woodland, closed black spruce forest, mixed boreal forest, and coastal barrens. The pollen assemblages of these zones are distinguished by differences in the relative abundance of a few important pollen types rather than by floristic differences. Northern zones have relatively high Cyperaceae and low Picea pollen percentages, and southern zones have high Picea and Abies pollen percentages. Surface samples from each vegetation zone generally form distinctive groups in the ordination analysis. However, samples from the shrub subzone of the forest tundra cluster with shrub tundra samples, and lichen woodland samples cluster with samples from the closed black spruce forest and the forest subzone of the forest tundra. Cluster analysis separates the samples into geographically distinct groups. However, these groups generally contain samples from several vegetation zones. The surface sample data set analyzed here will prove useful in reconstructing the vegetation history of the region. Key words: pollen surface samples, modern vegetation, eastern Canada.

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