Beneficial influence of plant neighbours on tree growth in drained forested peatlands: a case study

2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (9) ◽  
pp. 2341-2350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvain Jutras ◽  
Hannu Hökkä ◽  
Jean Bégin ◽  
André P Plamondon
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Water Table ◽  
Tree Growth ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Larix Laricina ◽  
Diameter Increment ◽  
Canadian Boreal Forest ◽  
Speckled Alder ◽  
Forested Peatland

In boreal forest, drainage can be successfully used to lower the water-table level of postharvest forested peatland stands suffering from watering-up. The later vegetation revival and growth is suspected to gradually create a water-table drawdown described in this study as biological drainage. Its effect on the annual stump diameter increment of planted eastern larch (Larix laricina (Du Roi) K. Koch) and naturally regenerated black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) was studied on a postharvested and drained forested peatland located in eastern part of the Canadian boreal forest. A factor describing the neighbourhood occupancy of every subject tree was used to illustrate biological drainage in a retrospective growth analysis. Results showed the dual effect of the neighbourhood occupancy factor: competing situations close to the ditch and growth-favouring situations farther from it. In the latter case, the studied trees demonstrated better growth with moderately increasing neighbourhood occupancy. This was interpreted as evidence of the beneficial effect of biological drainage on tree growth. The presence of speckled alder (Alnus incana subsp.rugosa (Du Roi) J. Clausen) in the neighbourhood of selected trees corresponded to improved growth for both studied species.

Chemical quality of aboveground litter inputs for jack pine and black spruce stands along the Canadian Boreal Forest Transect Case Study

Ecoscience ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 202-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline M. Preston ◽  
Jagtar S. Bhatti ◽  
Charlotte E. Norris
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Jack Pine ◽  
Chemical Quality ◽  
Spruce Stands ◽  
Canadian Boreal Forest ◽  
Aboveground Litter ◽  
Forest Transect

Effects of mechanized careful logging on natural regeneration and vegetation competition in the southeastern Canadian boreal forest

2002 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 653-666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Harvey ◽  
Suzanne Brais
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Abies Balsamea ◽  
Rubus Idaeus ◽  
Larix Laricina ◽  
Silty Clay ◽  
Predominantly Black ◽  
Vegetation Development ◽  
Monitoring Study ◽  
Canadian Boreal Forest

Careful logging regulations in Quebec restrict circulation of harvesting and forwarding or skidding machinery to evenly spaced, parallel trails, which creates a particular pattern of disturbed and relatively undisturbed zones in cutovers. A 7-year monitoring study was established to evaluate the effects of careful logging on vegetation development in the southern boreal forest of Quebec. A total of 255 sample plots (2 m2) were located in seven cutovers in predominantly black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) forests that were whole-tree "careful logged": 120 on fresh to moist silty clays or silty clay loams and 135 on dry to fresh loamy sands. Three microsites were sampled: skid trails and the edge and the centre of protection strips. A gradient of disturbance from the skid trail to centre of the protection strip was evident for finer textured sites. Careful logging resulted in high densities of black spruce and balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) (> 20 000 stems/ha each) in the protection strip. Survival of other understory species was also favoured in protection strips. Higher disturbance levels in skid trails favoured establishment of larch (Larix laricina (Du Roi) K. Koch), raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.), and graminoids. Reduction of ericaceous cover occurred in skid trails on coarse-textured sites but was only temporary. Softwood stocking 7 years after harvest (based on 2-m2 plots), ranged from 69 to 74% on fine- to medium-textured sites and from 31 to 51% on coarse-textured sites. The pattern of vegetation development created by careful logging has important implications for silvicultural decisions and stand modelling.

scholarly journals Draining an unproductive black spruce peatland stand: 18-year post-treatment tree growth and stand productivity estimation

2007 ◽  
Vol 83 (5) ◽  
pp. 723-732 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvain Jutras ◽  
Jean Bégin ◽  
André P Plamondon ◽  
Hannu Hökkä
Keyword(s):  
Tree Growth ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Site Index ◽  
Site Productivity ◽  
Individual Tree ◽  
Diameter Increment ◽  
Stand Productivity ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Canadian Boreal Forest ◽  
Forest Drainage

In the eastern Canadian boreal forest, drainage of unproductive black spruce peatlands is an infrequently used silvicultural treatment. The sparse scientific literature concerning its influence on tree growth is, however, relatively positive about the possibility of using drainage to convert unproductive stands into productive ones. This study aimed to address this issue by assessing the individual tree growth and by estimating the future stand productivity on a drained black spruce peatland stand. Results showed larger mean annual post-drainage stump diameter increment with increasing ditch proximity but they also showed the lack of effect of the treatment at distances greater than 15 m from the ditch. Small-sized trees reacted more strongly to the treatment than larger ones. Estimated site productivity was also influenced by the ditch proximity. The presence of excavating mounds on only one side of the ditch greatly influenced tree growth and site productivity. Considering the obtained results, intensive drainage operations, utilizing narrow ditch spacing, would be necessary in order to transform the type of unproductive sites studied into productive ones. Key words: diameter growth, site index, forested peatland, forest drainage, Picea mariana

Stocks, Chemistry, and Sensitivity to Climate Change of Dead Organic Matter Along the Canadian Boreal Forest Transect Case Study

2006 ◽  
Vol 74 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 223-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. M. Preston ◽  
J. S. Bhatti ◽  
L. B. Flanagan ◽  
C. Norris
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Dead Organic Matter ◽  
Canadian Boreal Forest ◽  
Forest Transect

Residual-tree growth responses to partial stand harvest in the black spruce (Picea mariana) boreal forestThis article is one of a selection of papers published in the Special Forum IUFRO 1.05 Uneven-Aged Silvicultural Research Group Conference on Natural Disturbance-Based Silviculture: Managing for Complexity.

2007 ◽  
Vol 37 (9) ◽  
pp. 1563-1571 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. C. Thorpe ◽  
S. C. Thomas ◽  
J. P. Caspersen
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Tree Growth ◽  
Picea Mariana ◽  
Radial Growth ◽  
Growth Response ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Tree Age ◽  
Growth Responses ◽  
Partial Harvest ◽  
Partial Harvesting

Variants of partial harvesting are gaining favour as means to balance ecosystem management and timber production objectives on managed boreal forest landscapes. Understanding how residual trees respond to these alternative silvicultural treatments is a critical step towards evaluating their potential from either a conservation or a wood supply perspective. We used dendroecological techniques combined with a chronosequence approach to quantify the temporal radial growth response pattern of residual black spruce ( Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) trees to partial harvest in northeastern Ontario. At its peak, 8–9 years after harvest, radial growth of residual trees had doubled. The growth pattern was characterized by a 2-year phase of no response, a subsequent period of increase 3–9 years after harvest, and a stage of declining rates 10–12 years after harvest. The magnitude of tree growth response depended strongly on tree age: peak postharvest growth was substantially higher for young trees, while old trees displayed only modest growth increases. Both the large magnitude and the time delay in postharvest growth responses have important implications for the development of more accurate quantitative tools to project future yields and, more generally, for determining whether partial harvesting is a viable management option for the boreal forest.

Wood ash and N fertilization in the Canadian boreal forest: Soil properties and response of jack pine and black spruce

2015 ◽  
Vol 348 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne Brais ◽  
Nicolas Bélanger ◽  
Toma Guillemette
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Soil Properties ◽  
Forest Soil ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Jack Pine ◽  
N Fertilization ◽  
Wood Ash ◽  
Canadian Boreal Forest

Science and the industrial planning process in the western Canadian boreal forest: a case study

2008 ◽  
Vol 7 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan S. Russell ◽  
Daniel W. Smith ◽  
Gordon Putz ◽  
Ellie E. Prepas
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Industrial Planning ◽  
Canadian Boreal Forest

Control of landscape diversity by catastrophic disturbance: A theory and a case study of fire in a Canadian boreal forest

1988 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger Suffling ◽  
Catherine Lihou ◽  
Yvette Morand
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Landscape Diversity ◽  
Canadian Boreal Forest

scholarly journals Partial Harvest in Paludified Black Spruce Stand: Short-Term Effects on Water Table and Variation in Stem Diameter

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 271
Author(s):  
Samuel Roy Proulx ◽  
Sylvain Jutras ◽  
Alain Leduc ◽  
Marc J. Mazerolle ◽  
Nicole J. Fenton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Water Table ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Stem Diameter ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Area Reduction ◽  
Partial Harvest ◽  
Diameter Variation ◽  
Water Table Rise

The boreal forest is considered to be a low productivity forest due to its cold climate and poorly drained soils promoting paludification. These factors create conditions favouring accumulation of undecomposed organic matter, which causes declining growth rates of forest stands, ultimately converting mature stands into peatlands. Under these conditions, careful logging is conducted during winter, which minimizes soil disturbance in northwestern Quebec boreal forest. This results in water table rise, increased light availability and paludification. Our main objective was to evaluate the short-term effect of partial harvesting as an alternative method to careful logging in winter to mitigate water table rise on black spruce (Picea mariana [Mill.] B.S.P.) stands. We quantified tree stem diameter variation and daily variation in water table depth in mature spruce stands before and after partial harvest (basal area reduction of 40%) and girdling (same basal area reduction with delayed mortality) during 2016 and 2017 growing seasons. Water table variation prior to and following silvicultural treatments did not differ one year after treatment. Daily stem diameter variation in black spruce did not differ between treatments and control. Furthermore, temperature exerted a positive effect on variation in water table and on stem diameter. These results suggest that partial harvest could be more effective than clearcutting to mitigate negative effects of a high water table while limiting paludification.

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