Some hydrological effects of peatland drainage in Alberta's boreal forest

1992 ◽  
Vol 22 (11) ◽  
pp. 1588-1596 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.R. Hillman
Keyword(s):  
Water Table ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Site Factors ◽  
North Central ◽  
Source Areas ◽  
Flood Duration ◽  
Average Water ◽  
Hydrological Effects ◽  
Hydrologic Conditions ◽  
Average Drop

Ninety hectares in a treed fen in north central Alberta were drained to improve growth of stagnant black spruce (Piceamariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) and tamarack (Larixlaricina (Du Roi) K. Koch) stands. Installation of 30-, 40-, 50-, and 60-m ditch spacings resulted in a lowering of the average water table by 79, 66, 56, and 73 cm, respectively. The results and the groundwater level criteria used (drainage norm, 40 cm; flood duration limit, 14 days) indicated that the 50-m ditch spacing was hydrologically the most appropriate one for this area. Given the relatively high hydraulic conductivity of the area, it is believed the 30-m spacing was too narrow and resulted in an excessively low average water table. The 60-m spacing was also overeffective, but in this case, overeffectiveness was attributed more to "edge effects" i.e., to site factors such as the proximity to uplands and the small size of upstream source areas, than to the distance between ditches. The results illustrate the importance, for ditch network design purposes, of taking into account hydrologic conditions both within and well beyond the boundaries of an area proposed to be drained. Peat subsidence after drainage appeared to be related to the average drop in water table level and amounted to about 5 cm•a−1.

Effects of drainage on substrate temperature and phenology of some trees and shrubs in an Alberta peatland

1987 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. J. Lieffers ◽  
R. L. Rothwell
Keyword(s):  
Water Table ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
North Central ◽  
Air Temperatures ◽  
Dwarf Birch ◽  
Summer Temperatures ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Individual Trees ◽  
Trees And Shrubs

A 50-ha portion of an intermediate fen in north central Alberta was drained in 1984. Study sites were established in the drained area and in an adjacent undrained area. In each site, seasonal water table depth and substrate and air temperatures were monitored. The drainage lowered the water table from 20 to 50 cm compared with the adjacent undrained site. Substrate of the drained area warmed above 0 °C slightly later than the undrained area but maximum summer temperatures were higher in the drained site. Temperatures in 1985 at the 10-cm depth of the drained site peaked in early August at 15–16 °C, 3–4 °C higher than the undrained site. Forty-five black spruce (Piceamariana (Mill.) B.S.P.), 45 tamarack (Larixlaricina (Du Roi) K. Koch), and 25 dwarf birch (Betulapumila L.) were tagged and examined twice weekly. For tamarack and dwarf birch, flowering and bud flush were significantly earlier by 2–6 days in the drained site. For black spruce, flowering was earlier in the drained site; bud flush, however, was earlier in the undrained site in 1985 but there were no differences between sites in 1986. For both black spruce and tamarack, the mean date at which individual trees reached 50% of total leader elongation was earlier in the drained site in both 1984 and 1985.

Microrelief, Water Level Fluctuations, and Diameter Growth in Wet-site Stands of Red and Black Spruce in New Brunswick

1975 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 359-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. van Groenewoud
Keyword(s):  
Water Table ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Maximum Growth ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Water Level Fluctuations ◽  
Diameter Growth ◽  
Tree Diameter ◽  
Growing Seasons ◽  
Average Water ◽  
The Mean

Soil water levels, rainfall, and tree diameter increments were measured during four successive growing seasons. Microrelief data and depth of the fluctuating water tables were incorporated into a measure of mean soil depth.Water table fluctuations were closely linked to rainfall. Deviations from the mean tree diameter growth were related to deviations from the mean depth of the water table. Maximum growth took place at the mean depth of the water table, with decreases in growth at higher or lower than average water levels.

scholarly journals A Range Extension for the Rock Vole, Microtus chrotorrhinus, in Labrador

2005 ◽  
Vol 119 (3) ◽  
pp. 412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah W. Lansing
Keyword(s):  
Picea Mariana ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Range Extension ◽  
Southern Coast ◽  
Central Coast ◽  
North Central ◽  
The North ◽  
Southern Island

Rock Voles (Microtus chrotorrhinus) were previously documented only from the southern coast of Labrador and the Strait of Belle Isle south of Hamilton Inlet. During two field seasons in 2000 and 2001, both in July, six Rock Vole specimens were collected on Southern Island, off the north-central coast of Labrador, extending the range of the subspecies Microtus chrotorrhinus ravus approximately 250 km to the central Labrador coast north of Hamilton Inlet. Rock Voles were trapped primarily in stunted Black Spruce (Picea mariana) forest and areas associated with rocks, thick brush, and water.

Alternate Strip Clearcutting in Upland Black Spruce: VIII. Shallow-soil Ecosystems and Their Classification

1988 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard A. Sims ◽  
William D. Towill
Keyword(s):  
Black Spruce ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Fragile Sites ◽  
Soil Types ◽  
Northern Ontario ◽  
North Central ◽  
The North ◽  
Shallow Soil ◽  
Soil Ecosystems ◽  
Shallow Soils

Shallow-soil sites in the Nipigon-Beardmore area of northern Ontario are widespread and pose unique operational problems for forest managers. Several working definitions of shallow soils are used in Ontario. More accurate regional definitions are required in order that silvicultural decisions for these sometimes fragile sites may be refined or new ones developed. Harvesting and silvicultural options for shallow-soil sites are limited in the North Central Region.A program of Forest Ecosystem Classification (FEC) for the North Central Region has been designed to provide better understanding of shallow sites and a framework of standardized definitions. The FEC describes several shallow-soil types that occur over boulder pavement or bedrock, and differentiates mainly on the basis of depth-to-rock contact, surface organic material thickness and texture of the primary mineral soil particles. Operational application of this classification may require identification of complexes of shallow-soil types.

Precipitation nutrients in the open and under two forests in Minnesota

1977 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 112-119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elon S. Verry ◽  
D. R. Timmons
Keyword(s):  
Forest Floor ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Inorganic Nitrogen ◽  
Annual Precipitation ◽  
Nutrient Inputs ◽  
Nutrient Input ◽  
Forest Canopies ◽  
North Central ◽  
Annual Amount ◽  
Total P

Concentrations of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, and Na were measured in rain and snow in the open, and in throughfall and stemflow under black spruce and aspen forests in north-central Minnesota. Concentrations of total P in rain and black spruce throughfall were inversely related to storm size. Annual precipitation nutrient inputs to the forest floor were calculated for each site. In general, nutrient contributions from snow were less than 10% of the annual nutrient input from precipitation at each site, and differences in snow nutrient input between sites were minimal. Rainfall nutrient input differed significantly between sites. Rain and snow passing through both forest canopies were enriched with nutrients except inorganic nitrogen. Total annual nutrients added to the forest floor under the black spruce stand averaged 1.7 times that added in the open; the annual amount added under the aspen stand averaged 5.2 times that added in the open.

Contrasting current and potential productivity and the influence of fire and species composition in the boreal forest: a case study in eastern Canada

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (5) ◽  
pp. 541-552 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rija Rapanoela ◽  
Frédéric Raulier ◽  
Sylvie Gauthier ◽  
Hakim Ouzennou ◽  
Jean-Pierre Saucier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Spruce ◽  
Relative Difference ◽  
Minimum Size ◽  
Forest Site ◽  
Productive Capacity ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Site Factors ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Potential Productivity ◽  
Forest Management Planning

The capacity of a forest stand to produce timber is related to the interactions that exist between its regeneration capacity, physical site characteristics (climate, surficial deposit, drainage), and disturbances. Minimally, to be sustainably managed, a forest needs to be sufficiently productive and able to regenerate after a disturbance so that its productive capacity is maintained or enhanced. To this effect, we evaluated timber productivity over a large area (175 000 km2) covering the latitudinal extent of closed-canopy black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P) forest. Site index and relative density index were used to identify stands that cannot reach a minimum volume of trees of minimum size over one rotation. A nonparametric method was used to estimate their values for all stands within the study area. This imputation used either physical site attributes alone to assess potential productivity independent of stand history or physical and vegetation site attributes to assess current productivity. The proportion of productive stands was then estimated at the scale of landscapes ranging from 39 to 2491 km2. Physical site factors alone explain 84% of the variability in the percentage of potentially productive stands (78% for currently productive stands); their combination resulted in an abrupt transition in productivity over the study area. However, burn rate alone also explains 63% of variation in the proportion of currently productive stands and 41% of the relative difference between percentages of potentially or currently productive stands. These results have implications for strategic forest management planning at land classification stage, as timber production area is assumed to remain stable through time, whereas it is apparently related to the disturbance rate.

scholarly journals Effect of Water Table Depth on Soybean Water Use, Growth, and Yield Parameters

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 931 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yavuz F. Fidantemiz ◽  
Xinhua Jia ◽  
Aaron L.M. Daigh ◽  
Harlene Hatterman-Valenti ◽  
Dean D. Steele ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Use ◽  
Water Table ◽  
Root Distribution ◽  
Growth Parameters ◽  
Soil Layer ◽  
Growth And Yield ◽  
Root Mass ◽  
Plant Water Use ◽  
Average Water ◽  
Use Efficiency

Water table contribution to plant water use is a significant element in improving water use efficiency (WUE) for agricultural water management. In this study, lysimeter experiments were conducted in a controlled greenhouse environment to investigate the response of soybean water uptake and growth parameters under four different water table depths (WTD) (30, 50, 70, and 90 cm). Soybean crop water use, WUE, and root distribution under the different WTD were examined. For 30, 50, 70, and 90 cm of WTD treatments, the average water table contributions were 89, 83, 79, and 72%; the grain yields were 15.1, 10.5, 14.1, and 17.2 g/lys.; and the WUEs were 0.22, 0.18, 0.25, and 0.31 g/lys./cm, respectively. Further analysis of the root mass and proportional distribution among the different soil layers illustrated that the lysimeters with 70 and 90 cm WTD had greater root mass with higher root distribution at 40–75 cm of the soil layer. The results indicated that 70 and 90 cm of constant WTD can yield higher grain yield and biomasses with greater WUE and better root distribution than the irrigated or shallow WTD treatments.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document