The selection cutting management plan of natural cool-temperate and boreal forests : The decision method of allowable cut volume and operation methods of each forest type(SUMMARY OF KUROIWA MEMORIAL AWARD FOR ENCOURAGEMENT OF RESEARCH)

Abstract. Forest fires are assumed as one of the key natural hazards in the globe since it causes great losses in ecology, economy, and human lives; recent fire cases in US and their vast damages are vivid reasons to study the wildfires more deeply One of the basic requirements to manage the threats and protect wildlife is the ability to predict wildfire spots which is necessary to prioritize forest management. In this study, a 25-year period natural wildfire database and a wide array of environmental variables are used to develop an artificial neural network model with the aim of predicting potential fire spots. This study focuses on non-human reasons of wildfires (natural) to compute global warming effects on wildfires. Among the environmental variables, this study shows the significance of temperature for predicting wildfire cases while other parameters are presented in the next study. The study area of this study includes all forest fire cases in united states from 1992 to 2015 excluding tropical forests. The data of eight days including the day fire occurred and 7 previous days are used as input to the model to forecast fire occurrence probability of that day. The climatic inputs are extracted from ECMWF. The inputs of the model are temperature at 2 meter above surface, relative humidity, Total pressure, evaporation, volumetric soil water layer 1, snow melt, Keetch–Byram drought index, total precipitation, wind speed (along U and V direction), and NDVI. The results show there is a transient temperature span for each forest type which acts like a threshold to predict fire occurrence. In Temperate forests, A 0.1-degree Celsius increase in temperature relative to 7-day average temperature before a fire occurrence results in prediction model output of greater than 0.8 for 4.75 % of fire forest cases. In Boreal forests, the model output for temperature increase of less than 1 degree relative to past 7-day average temperature represents no chance of wildfire. But the non-zero fire forest starts at 2 degrees increase of temperature which ends to 2.62 % of fire forest cases with model output of larger than 0.8. It is concluded that other variables except temperature are more determinant to predict wildfires in temperate forests rather than in boreal forests.

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Diversity of Understory Communities in Boreal Forests: Influences of Forest Type, Latitude, and Spatial Scale

Forests ◽

10.3390/f10111003 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (11) ◽

pp. 1003

Author(s):

Yu-Song Jin ◽

Yu-Kun Hu ◽

Jing Wang ◽

Dan-Dan Liu ◽

Ying-Hua Lin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Beta Diversity ◽

Boreal Forests ◽

Forest Type ◽

Critical Role ◽

Understory Vegetation ◽

Coniferous Forests ◽

Lower Latitude ◽

Forest Types ◽

Vegetation Diversity ◽

Alpha And Beta Diversity

Understory vegetation hosts high biodiversity and plays a critical role in the ecosystem processes of boreal forests. However, the drivers of understory plant diversity in this high-latitude ecosystem remain uncertain. To investigate the influences of forest type and latitude on understory beta diversity at different scales, we quantified the species composition of Vaccinium uliginosum Linnaeus communities under broadleaf and coniferous forests at two latitudes at the quadrat (2 × 2 m) and plot (10 × 10 m) scales in the Greater Xing’an Mountains, NE China. At the quadrat scale, species alpha diversity of V. uliginosum communities was higher in broadleaf forests than that in coniferous forests at both latitudes. The differences in species beta diversity (the Sørensen’s dissimilarity) in two forest types depended on the latitude: beta diversity in broadleaf forests was higher than that in coniferous forests at the higher latitude, while beta diversity in coniferous forests was higher at the lower latitude. At the plot scale, alpha and beta diversity of V. uliginosum communities decreased from broadleaf forests to coniferous forests at the higher latitude, and they did not show significant differences between forest types at the lower latitude. These results indicate the interactive effects of forest type and latitude on beta diversity of understory vegetation. Moreover, the influences of forest type and latitude on species alpha and beta diversity were different across the two spatial scales, suggesting that the assembly mechanisms underlying species diversity may be different at different scales. Understanding the maintenance of understory vegetation diversity will benefit the conservation and management of boreal forests.

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INFLUENCE OF LOGGING, FIRE, AND FOREST TYPE ON BIODIVERSITY AND PRODUCTIVITY IN SOUTHERN BOREAL FORESTS

Ecology ◽

10.1890/0012-9658(2001)082[2731:iolfaf]2.0.co;2 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 82 (10) ◽

pp. 2731-2748 ◽

Cited By ~ 118

Author(s):

Peter B. Reich ◽

Peter Bakken ◽

Daren Carlson ◽

Lee E. Frelich ◽

Steve K. Friedman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Boreal Forests ◽

Forest Type

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The effects of selection cutting on regeneration of Picea jezoensis and Abies sachalinensis in the sub-boreal forests of Hokkaido, northern Japan

Forest Ecology and Management ◽

10.1016/s0378-1127(00)00445-x ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 146 (1-3) ◽

pp. 15-23 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Masahiko Nakagawa ◽

Akio Kurahashi ◽

Mikio Kaji ◽

Taizo Hogetsu

Keyword(s):

Boreal Forests ◽

Abies Sachalinensis ◽

Picea Jezoensis ◽

Selection Cutting ◽

Northern Japan

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Overstory influences on light attenuation patterns and understory plant community diversity and composition in southern boreal forests of Quebec

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/x06-088 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 36 (9) ◽

pp. 2065-2079 ◽

Cited By ~ 81

Author(s):

Paula Bartemucci ◽

Christian Messier ◽

Charles D Canham

Keyword(s):

Plant Community ◽

Plant Communities ◽

Boreal Forests ◽

Forest Floor ◽

Light Transmission ◽

Forest Type ◽

Light Attenuation ◽

Understory Vegetation ◽

Light Levels ◽

Understory Plant

We have characterized overstory light transmission, understory light levels, and plant communities in mixed wood boreal forests of northwestern Quebec with the objective of understanding how overstory light transmission interacts with composition and time since disturbance to influence the diversity and composition of understory vegetation, and, in turn, the further attenuation of light to the forest floor by the understory. Overstory light transmission differed among three forest types (aspen, mixed deciduous–conifer, and old cedar-dominated), with old forests having higher proportions of high light levels than aspen and mixed forests, which were characterized by intermediate light levels. The composition of the understory plant communities in old forests showed the weakest correlation to overstory light transmission, although those forests had the largest range of light transmission. The strongest correlation between characteristics of overstory light transmission and understory communities was found in aspen forests. Species diversity indices were consistently higher in aspen forests but showed weak relationships with overstory light transmission. Light attenuation by the understory vegetation and total height of the understory vegetation were strongly and positively related to overstory light transmission but not forest type. Therefore, light transmission through the overstory influenced the structure and function of understory plants more than their diversity and composition. This is likely due to the strong effect of the upper understory layers, which tend to homogenize light levels at the forest floor regardless of forest type. The understory plant community acts as a filter, thereby reducing light levels at the forest floor to uniformly low levels.

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SEASONAL FEATURES OF METABOLISM OF WOODY GREENERY OF THE SHRUB LAYER BOREAL FORESTS

chemistry of plant raw material ◽

10.14258/jcprm.2019024142 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 145-151

Author(s):

Ivan Nikolaevich Zubov ◽

Svetlana Borisovna Selyanina ◽

Natal'ia Alekseevna Kutakova ◽

Natal'ia Vladimirovna Selivanova

Keyword(s):

Fatty Acids ◽

Seasonal Dynamics ◽

Boreal Forests ◽

Forest Type ◽

Sharp Decrease ◽

Main Group ◽

Water Soluble ◽

Shrub Layer ◽

Extractive Substances ◽

Soluble Components

A common juniper (Juniperus Communis L.) is a representative of shrub layer of boreal forests. In this work seasonal dynamics of quantitative content of main group of juniper woody greenery extractive substances is considered. Sampling was carried out during the spring-summer-autumn period in the Arkhangelsk region outside the zone of anthropogenic impact. Forest type – blueberry, mixed spruce-pine forest stand, class of Bonita-IV. In study samples content of mineral, water-soluble, alcohol-soluble and removing by steam distillation compounds and lipids content have been determined. According to these data, content of alcohol-soluble components is from 27.1 to 33.3%. It has maximum in April which is the last month of subarctic plants resting phase. The start of growth season in May is followed by sharp decrease of alcohol-soluble components content till it is the least value. Part of the components of alcohol extracts is precipitated when cooled in the form of wax (esters of fatty acids and alcohols or sterols with an admixture of fatty acids, hydrocarbons, pigments). The maximum content (4.3%) of wax substances falls on April, the minimum (1.4%) was detected in May. Lipids content ranges from 8.6 to 12.2%. This is somewhat below in comparison with pine tree, fir and other coniferous species. The three minimums of lipids content (in May, August and December), which were extracted with petroleum ether, in juniper woody greenery are observed in annual dynamic, and one maximum (July). The content of essential oil varies slightly by season and the number (2.4–2.8%) is second only to the DZ of fir. In the group of water-soluble substances there are two highs (June and November) and a low of August. The first maximum is associated with the flow of aqueous solutions from the soil, the second corresponds to the period of phenol accumulation. The minimum is explained by the slowing down of the aspiration current through the water supply channels at the end of the summer. It has been established that seasonal dynamics of main group of extractive substances content of juniper woody greenery as a whole is correspond to phenological cycle.

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Changes in bird communities throughout succession following fire and harvest in boreal forests of western North America: literature review and meta-analyses

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/x06-017 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 36 (5) ◽

pp. 1299-1318 ◽

Cited By ~ 86

Author(s):

Jim Schieck ◽

Samantha J Song

Keyword(s):

North America ◽

Populus Tremuloides ◽

Boreal Forests ◽

Large Scale ◽

Forest Type ◽

Bird Species ◽

Bird Communities ◽

Forest Birds ◽

Western North America ◽

Meta Analyses

Within boreal forests of western North America, the dominant large-scale natural disturbance is wildfire. Thus, harvesting that is as similar as possible to fire is expected to best maintain natural bird communities. We reviewed studies of birds (mainly grouse, woodpeckers, and songbirds) from boreal forests of western North America and conducted meta-analyses to compare the similarity of bird communities occurring postfire versus postharvest. We compared the bird communities at five seral stages and also summarized the effects of retaining large live trees at harvest. Bird communities immediately postharvest differed greatly from those postfire. Differences between disturbance types disappeared as the forest regenerated, and both disturbance types became dominated by relatively few bird species in 31- to 75-year-old forests. During the period 76125 years postdisturbance, old-forest birds became present and bird species richness increased. However, the trajectory of forest succession during this period influenced bird communities; old aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.), old mixedwood, and old white spruce (Picea glauca Moench (Voss)) forests all had different bird communities. Retention of large live trees in cutblocks resulted in their use by many old-forest birds, but results were not consistent among studies. Although most bird species had clear peaks in abundance in a specific forest type, no species with more than five detections was limited to a single forest type.

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Unique songbird communities in mature riparian spruce forest compared with upland forest in southern Yukon

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/cjfr-2018-0381 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 50 (5) ◽

pp. 473-486

Author(s):

Hilary A. Cooke ◽

Lila M. Tauzer

Keyword(s):

Picea Glauca ◽

Boreal Forests ◽

Forest Type ◽

Riparian Forest ◽

Open Water ◽

Timber Harvest ◽

Forest Edge ◽

Habitat Characteristics ◽

Upland Forest ◽

Mature Forest

There has been limited study of songbird communities in different habitats of the lowland boreal forests of southern Yukon, including the mature forest valued for timber harvest. Our goal was to describe the songbird community during the breeding season in a mature (≥80 years since wildfire) forest dominated by white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) adjacent to streams (n = 23) and wetlands (n = 15) compared with a nearby upland forest. Based on point count surveys, songbird communities were unique in the mature forest in the riparian forest edge position, including greater species richness and four significant riparian indicator species. Songbird communities were also unique in the forest adjacent to streams versus wetlands. We mapped species observations along 300 m transects from riparian to upland forests and identified nine species with greater abundance closer to the riparian forest edge. Many of these species are typically associated with riparian and wetland habitats for breeding. Most of the variability in the songbird community was explained by study site, likely related to high variability in forest type and amount of wetland and open water but also to unmeasured habitat characteristics. Our results increase the knowledge of songbird communities in this unique boreal region and suggest that riparian reserve zones in forest management may be useful for protecting songbird habitat.

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