Allometric equations for young northern hardwoods: the importance of age-specific equations for estimating aboveground biomass

2011 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 881-891 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farrah R. Fatemi ◽  
Ruth D. Yanai ◽  
Steven P. Hamburg ◽  
Matthew A. Vadeboncoeur ◽  
Mary A. Arthur ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Aboveground Biomass ◽  
Acer Saccharum ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Fagus Grandifolia ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Betula Alleghaniensis ◽  
Yellow Birch ◽  
American Beech ◽  
Stem Wood ◽  
Northern Hardwood

Estimates of aboveground biomass and nutrient stocks are commonly derived using equations that describe tree dimensional relationships. Despite the widespread use of this approach, there is little information about whether equations specific to stand age are necessary for accurate biomass predictions. We developed equations for small trees (2–12 cm diameter) of six species in four young northern hardwood stands. We then compared our equations with equations used frequently in the literature that were developed in mature stands (Whittaker et al. 1974. Ecol. Monogr. 44: 233–252). Our equations for yellow birch ( Betula alleghaniensis Britt.) predicted 11%–120% greater stem wood for individual trees compared with the equations from Whittaker et al. and, on average, 50% greater aboveground yellow birch biomass in the four stands that we studied. Differences were less pronounced for sugar maple ( Acer saccharum Marsh.) and American beech ( Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.); our equations predicted, on average, 9% greater aboveground stand biomass for sugar maple and 3% lower biomass for American beech compared with Whittaker et al. Our results suggest that stand age may be an important factor influencing the aboveground allometry and biomass of small yellow birch trees in these developing northern hardwood stands.

scholarly journals Effects of Mechanical Site Preparation on the Abundance and Diversity of Ground-Layer Vegetation in Adirondack Northern Hardwood Stands

2007 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-21 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jodi A. Forrester ◽  
Kimberly K. Bohn
Keyword(s):  
Acer Saccharum ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Woody Species ◽  
Site Preparation ◽  
Fagus Grandifolia ◽  
Ground Layer ◽  
American Beech ◽  
Mechanical Site Preparation ◽  
Northern Hardwood ◽  
Fern Species

Abstract Forest management in northern hardwoods benefits from the use of site preparation treatments when the amount of American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) and fern species in the understory interferes with regeneration of more desirable species, e.g., sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marshall). We assessed the cover and diversity of herbaceous and woody species in the ground layer of three Adirondack northern hardwood stands before and 3 years after a mechanical site preparation that removed all trees less than 14 cm with a brush saw. The treatment significantly increased the cover of all species cumulatively, with herbaceous, shrub, and arborescent species increasing significantly more in treated plots than in untreated plots. Sugar maple cover increased more in treated plots than in untreated plots, although American beech did as well. Species richness increased significantly more in treated plots than in untreated plots, but differences in diversity and evenness were not significantly different because of treatment after 3 years. Multivariate analysis indicated only minor changes in the plant community composition. Results show that mechanical site preparation techniques are a viable option for promoting abundance and maintaining diversity of the ground-layer vegetation in northern hardwood forests.

Leaf- and plant-level carbon gain in yellow birch, sugar maple, and beech seedlings from contrasting forest light environments

2000 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 390-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marilou Beaudet ◽  
Christian Messier ◽  
David W Hilbert ◽  
Ernest Lo ◽  
Zhang M Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Acer Saccharum ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Light Availability ◽  
Fagus Grandifolia ◽  
Carbon Gain ◽  
Betula Alleghaniensis ◽  
Yellow Birch ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Leaf Level ◽  
Plant Level

Leaf-level photosynthetic-light response and plant-level daily carbon gain were estimated for seedlings of moderately shade-tolerant yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britton) and shade-tolerant sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) and beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) growing in gaps and under a closed canopy in a sugar maple stand at Duchesnay, Que. All three species had a higher photosynthetic capacity (Amax) in the gaps than in shade, but yellow birch and beech responded more markedly than sugar maple to the increase in light availability. The high degree of plasticity observed in beech suggests that the prediction that photosynthetic plasticity should decrease with increasing shade tolerance may not hold when comparisons are made among a few late-successional species. Unit-area daily carbon gain (CA) was significantly higher in the gaps than in shade for all three species, but no significant difference was observed between light environments for plant-level carbon gain (CW). In shade, we found no difference of CA and CW among species. In gaps, beech had a significantly higher CA than sugar maple but similar to that of birch, and birch had a significantly higher CW than maple but similar to that of beech. Sugar maple consistently had lower carbon gains than yellow birch and beech but is nevertheless the dominant species at our study site. These results indicate that although plant-level carbon gain is presumably more closely related to growth and survival of a species than leaf-level photosynthesis, it is still many steps removed from the ecological success of a species.

scholarly journals Height Development of Upper-Canopy Trees Within Even-Aged Adirondack Northern Hardwood Stands

2004 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 117-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph D. Nyland ◽  
David G. Ray ◽  
Ruth D. Yanai
Keyword(s):  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Height Growth ◽  
Fagus Grandifolia ◽  
Growth Patterns ◽  
Betula Alleghaniensis ◽  
Yellow Birch ◽  
Northern Hardwood ◽  
White Ash ◽  
Advance Regeneration ◽  
Canopy Trees

Abstract Knowledge of the relative rates of height growth among species is necessary for predicting developmental patterns in even-aged northern hardwood stands. To quantify these relationships, we used stem analysis to reconstruct early height growth patterns of dominant and codominant sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.), yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britton), white ash (Fraxinus americana L.), and America beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) trees. We used three stands (aged 19, 24, and 29 years) established by shelterwood method cutting preceded by an understory herbicide treatment. We analyzed 10 trees of each species per stand. Height growth was similar across stands, allowing us to develop a single equation for each species. Our data show that yellow birch had the most rapid height growth up to approximately age 10. Both sugar maple and white ash grew more rapidly than yellow birch beyond that point. Beech consistently grew the slowest. White ash had a linear rate of height growth over the 29-year period, while the other species declined in their growth rates. By age 29, the heights of main canopy trees ranged from 38 ft for beech to 51 ft for white ash. Both yellow birch and sugar maple averaged 46 ft tall at that time. By age 29, the base of the live crown had reached 17, 20, 21, and 26 ft for beech, sugar maple, yellow birch, and white ash, respectively. Live–crown ratios of upper-canopy trees did not differ appreciably among species and remained at approximately 40% for the ages evaluated. These results suggest that eliminating advance regeneration changes the outcome of competition to favor species other than beech. North. J. Appl. For. 21(3):117–122.

Calcium and magnesium in wood of northern hardwood forest species: relations to site characteristics

1999 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 339-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
M A Arthur ◽  
T G Siccama ◽  
R D Yanai
Keyword(s):  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Abies Balsamea ◽  
Fagus Grandifolia ◽  
Hardwood Forest ◽  
Northern Hardwood Forest ◽  
Betula Alleghaniensis ◽  
Forest Species ◽  
White Birch ◽  
Yellow Birch ◽  
Northern Hardwood

Improving estimates of the nutrient content of boles in forest ecosystems requires more information on how the chemistry of wood varies with characteristics of the tree and site. We examined Ca and Mg concentrations in wood at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest. Species examined were the dominant tree species of the northern hardwood forest and the spruce-fir forest. The concentrations of Ca and Mg, respectively, in lightwood of these species, mass weighted by elevation, were 661 and 145 µg/g for sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.), 664 and 140 µg/g for American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.), 515 and 93 µg/g for yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britt.), 525 and 70 µg/g for red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.), 555 and 118 µg/g for balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.), and 393 and 101 µg/g for white birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.). There were significant patterns in Ca and Mg concentrations with wood age. The size of the tree was not an important source of variation. Beech showed significantly greater concentrations of both Ca (30%) and Mg (33%) in trees growing in moist sites relative to drier sites; sugar maple and yellow birch were less sensitive to mesotopography. In addition to species differences in lightwood chemistry, Ca and Mg concentrations in wood decreased with increasing elevation, coinciding with a pattern of decreasing Ca and Mg in the forest floor. Differences in Ca and Mg concentration in lightwood accounted for by elevation ranged from 12 to 23% for Ca and 16 to 30% for Mg for the three northern hardwood species. At the ecosystem scale, the magnitude of the elevational effect on lightwood chemistry, weighted by species, amounts to 18% of lightwood Ca in the watershed and 24% of lightwood Mg but only 2% of aboveground biomass Ca and 7% of aboveground Mg.

Evaluation of a tree classification system in relation to mortality risk in Québec northern hardwoods

2008 ◽  
Vol 84 (6) ◽  
pp. 886-899 ◽  
Author(s):  
François Guillemette ◽  
Steve Bédard ◽  
Mathieu Fortin
Keyword(s):  
Mortality Risk ◽  
Classification System ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Tree Level ◽  
Betula Alleghaniensis ◽  
Yellow Birch ◽  
American Beech ◽  
Risk Class ◽  
Northern Hardwood

A tree classification system was developed in the 1980s as part of a guide for tree-marking in the rehabilitation of unevenaged northern hardwood stands in Québec. It differentiates trees that are at high and low risk of mortality, trees with sawlog potential and cull trees. The risk class was assessed based on the presence of major crown and bole defects. The main objective of the present study was to evaluate this system with respect to its capacity to predict the probability of tree mortality. The variables used to classify the trees were observed in 88 experimental plots (0.5 ha) established between 1983 and 1999. Tree-level mortality probabilities were modelled for sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.), American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) and yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britt.) to test the significance of the classification variables. The presence of decay, fungus or canker, wounds, uprooting, the death of at least 30% of the crown or of the roots, and the product class had significant (p < 0.05) effects on mortality probabilities for at least one of the 3 species studied. In the main, the results supported the tree classification system. However, this system could be modified to differentiate not only trees with a high or low mortality risk, but also to identify some very high-risk trees. Key words: northern hardwood, mortality, defect, quality, classification, selection cutting, partial cut, sugar maple, American beech, yellow birch, uneven-aged, tree-marking

scholarly journals Birch and conifer deadwood favour early establishment and shade tolerance in yellow birch juveniles growing in sugar maple dominated stands

2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 114-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Bastien Lambert ◽  
Aitor Ameztegui ◽  
Sylvain Delagrange ◽  
Christian Messier
Keyword(s):  
Acer Saccharum ◽  
Shade Tolerance ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Light Availability ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Betula Alleghaniensis ◽  
Yellow Birch ◽  
Northern Hardwood ◽  
Reduced Height

Small-seeded tree species such as yellow birch (YB, Betula alleghaniensis Britt.) require deadwood or mineral soil for their establishment. Although much research has been done comparing YB germination on leaf litter vs. exposed mineral soil, less is known about deadwood as a seedbed and how different seedbeds affect YB early growth along light availability and size gradients. We examine how three common seedbeds (deadwood, moss cover on deadwood, and mineral soil) affected establishment and growth, biomass partitioning, and morphological traits of YB juveniles growing in the understory of temperate mixed deciduous and coniferous forests in southern Quebec. A total of 274 YB were sampled in four sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) dominated northern hardwood stands where selective cuts had been applied 6 and 15 years prior to sampling. Over 75% of the YB found on deadwood were on material of birch and conifer origin, although these species made less than 40% of the basal area. YB juveniles growing on deadwood showed traits that improve survival in shade such as reduced height growth for tall plants, higher efficiency in resource capture, and multilayered crowns. Our results demonstrate the importance of deadwood of birch and conifer origin in maintaining an abundant, natural, spatially well-distributed, and multistoried regeneration of YB.

American beech and sugar maple sapling relative abundance and growth are not modified by light availability following partial and total canopy disturbances

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 632-638 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim Bannon ◽  
Sylvain Delagrange ◽  
Nicolas Bélanger ◽  
Christian Messier
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Acer Saccharum ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Light Availability ◽  
Soil Nutrient ◽  
Fagus Grandifolia ◽  
American Beech ◽  
Clear Cutting ◽  
Canopy Opening ◽  
Unmanaged Forest

Studies have reported divergent results on the effect of soil fertility and canopy opening on understory density and growth of sugar maple (AS; Acer saccharum Marsh.) and American beech (FG; Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.). The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a gradient of canopy opening and soil fertility on the density and growth of AS and FG saplings in southwestern Quebec, Canada. We investigated 56 stands containing both AS and FG that were subjected to different disturbance history types (DHTs) (UF, unmanaged forest; PC, partial cut; and CC, clearcut) on various soil types. AS and FG absolute and relative sapling density varied greatly among the 56 stands; however, no significant effects of DHT, soil nutrient availability, or their interaction were found. Both species responded positively in terms of radial growth to canopy openings, with FG growth being slightly better than AS growth in PC stands compared with other canopy treatments. Contrary to our hypothesis, AS did not show significantly higher growth than FG following clear-cutting. These results do not support the idea that AS abundance and growth could be promoted by increasing the intensity of the canopy opening during harvest, at least on the generally acidic and base-poor soils that were investigated.

Present-day expansion of American beech in northeastern hardwood forests: Does soil base status matter?

2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (12) ◽  
pp. 2273-2282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis Duchesne ◽  
Rock Ouimet
Keyword(s):  
Acer Saccharum ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Base Cation ◽  
Hardwood Forests ◽  
Fagus Grandifolia ◽  
Soil Base ◽  
Large Area ◽  
American Beech ◽  
Permanent Sample Plots

Recently, sugar maple ( Acer saccharum Marsh.) decline in northeastern North America has been regarded as a major factor structuring hardwood forests by favouring American beech ( Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) in the understory of maple-dominated stands. To determine whether soil fertility differences associated with sugar maple decline may have promoted the expansion of American beech, we explored the relationships between the soil base status and the sapling and tree strata density and composition, using data from 426 permanent sample plots distributed throughout Quebec. Our results indicate that American beech is currently expanding in the sugar maple range of Quebec. The abundance and proportion of American beech in the sapling stratum are mainly associated with the proportion of American beech in the tree stratum, the relative basal area of dead sugar maple trees, and the base status of soils. In accordance with the many studies reporting on the high sensitivity of sugar maple to the acid–base status of soils and the decline of the sugar maple population, this study supports the hypothesis that soil base cation depletion, caused in part by atmospheric acid deposition, is among the main factors involved in the present-day expansion of American beech over a large area in Quebec.

scholarly journals Tolerant hardwood natural regeneration 15 years after various silvicultural treatments on an industrial freehold of northwestern New Brunswick

2013 ◽  
Vol 89 (04) ◽  
pp. 512-524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Béland ◽  
Bruno Chicoine
Keyword(s):  
New Brunswick ◽  
Natural Regeneration ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Soil Disturbance ◽  
Betula Alleghaniensis ◽  
Yellow Birch ◽  
American Beech ◽  
Partial Cutting ◽  
Selection Cutting

We examined applicability of various partial cutting systems in order to regenerate tolerant hardwood stands dominated by sugar maple (Acer saccarhum), American beech (Fagus grandifolia) and yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis) on northern New Brunswick J.D. Irving Ltd. freehold land. Sampling of 1065 one-m2 plots in 31 stands managed by selection cutting, shelterwood method and strip or patch cutting and in six control stands allowed a 15-year retrospective study of natural regeneration in stands of low residual densities and with minimal soil disturbance and no control of competing vegetation. Beech regeneration was most abundant in the patch cuts, yellow birch in shelterwood stands and sugar maple in the selection system areas. Results suggest that initial stand conditions influence the composition of the regeneration more than the prescribed treatment. At the stand scale (a few hectares), sugar maple recruitment was positively influenced by its proportion in the initial stand, and negatively by the cover of herbs and shrubs. Yellow birch regeneration was mainly affected by shrub competition. At the plot (1 m2) scale, mineral soil and decayed wood substrates and ground-level transmitted light were determinant factors for yellow birch regeneration. Beech-dominated stands were likely to regenerate to beech. A dense beech sucker understory was promoted in harvested patches. Areas with dense understory of American beech, shrubs, or herbs require site preparation to reduce interference either before or at the time of partial cutting. Shelterwood seed cutting and selection cutting should leave a residual of 12 m2/ha and 17 m2/ha respectively in seed trees uniformly distributed.

Long-term impact of liming on growth and vigor of northern hardwoods

2011 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 1295-1307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert P. Long ◽  
Stephen B. Horsley ◽  
Thomas J. Hall
Keyword(s):  
Acer Saccharum ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Keystone Species ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Fagus Grandifolia ◽  
Northern Hardwood ◽  
Crown Health ◽  
Lime Application ◽  
Species Specific

Sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) is a keystone species in the northern hardwood forest, and decline episodes have negatively affected the growth and health of sugar maple in portions of its range over the past 50+ years. Crown health, growth, survival, and flower and seed production of sugar maple were negatively affected by a widespread decline event in the mid-1980s on the unglaciated Allegheny Plateau in northern Pennsylvania. A long-term liming study was initiated in 1985 to evaluate responses to a one-time application of 22.4 Mg·ha–1 of dolomitic limestone in four northern hardwood stands. Over the 23-year period ending in 2008, sugar maple basal area increment (BAINC) increased significantly (P ≤ 0.05) in limed plots from 1995 through 2008, whereas American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) BAINC was unaffected. For black cherry (Prunus serotina Ehrh.), the third principal overstory species, BAINC and survival were reduced in limed plots compared with unlimed plots. Foliar Ca and Mg remained significantly higher in sugar maple foliage sampled 21 years after lime application, showing persistence of the lime effect. These results show long-term species-specific responses to lime application.

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