Causes of variation in wood-boring beetle damage in fire-killed black spruce (Picea mariana) forests in the central boreal forest of Quebec

Ecoscience ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 398-403 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Gervais ◽  
David F. Greene ◽  
Timothy T. Work
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Picea Mariana ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Beetle Damage ◽  
In Fire ◽  
Wood Boring

scholarly journals Splitting in Fire-Killed Trees in the Boreal Forest of Alberta

2003 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 167-174
Author(s):  
Nobutaka Nakamura ◽  
Paul M. Woodard ◽  
Lars Bach
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Lodgepole Pine ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Crown Fire ◽  
In Fire ◽  
Solar Angle

Abstract Tree boles in the boreal forests of Alberta, Canada will split once killed by a stand-replacing crown fire. A total of 1,485 fire-killed trees were sampled, 1 yr after burning, in 23 plots in 14 widely separated stands within a 370,000 ha fire. Sampling occurred in the Upper and Lower Foothills natural subregions. The frequency of splitting varied by species but averaged 41% for all species. The order in the frequency of splitting was balsam fir, black spruce, white spruce and lodgepole pine. The type of splitting (straight, spiral, or multiple) varied by species, as did the position of the split on the tree bole. Aspect or solar angle was not statistically related to the type or occurrence of splitting.

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.

Structure, composition, and diversity of old-growth black spruce boreal forest of the Clay Belt region in Quebec and Ontario

2003 ◽  
Vol 11 (S1) ◽  
pp. S79-S98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Harper ◽  
Catherine Boudreault ◽  
Louis DeGrandpré ◽  
Pierre Drapeau ◽  
Sylvie Gauthier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Picea Mariana ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Structural Development ◽  
Spruce Forest ◽  
Forest Stands ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Old Growth Forest ◽  
Old Growth Forests

Old-growth black spruce (Picea mariana) boreal forest in the Clay Belt region of Ontario and Quebec is an open forest with a low canopy, quite different from what many consider to be "old growth". Here, we provide an overview of the characteristics of old-growth black spruce forest for three different site types on organic, clay, and coarse deposits. Our objectives were (1) to identify the extent of older forests; (2) to describe the structure, composition, and diversity in different age classes; and (3) to identify key processes in old-growth black spruce forest. We sampled canopy composition, deadwood abundance, understorey composition, and nonvascular plant species in 91 forest stands along a chronosequence that extended from 20 to more than 250 years after fire. We used a peak in tree basal area, which occurred at 100 years on clay and coarse sites and at 200 years on organic sites, as a process-based means of defining the start of old-growth forest. Old-growth forests are extensive in the Clay Belt, covering 30–50% of the forested landscape. Black spruce was dominant on all organic sites, and in all older stands. Although there were fewer understorey species and none exclusive to old-growth, these forests were structurally diverse and had greater abundance of Sphagnum, epiphytic lichens, and ericaceous species. Paludification, a process characteristic of old-growth forest stands on clay deposits in this region, causes decreases in tree and deadwood abundance. Old-growth black spruce forests, therefore, lack the large trees and snags that are characteristic of other old-growth forests. Small-scale disturbances such as spruce budworm and windthrow are common, creating numerous gaps. Landscape and stand level management strategies could minimize structural changes caused by harvesting, but unmanaged forest in all stages of development must be preserved in order to conserve all the attributes of old-growth black spruce forest. Key words: boreal forest, old growth, paludification, Picea mariana, structural development, succession.

Croissance et statut nutritif de marcottes, de semis naturels et de plants d'épinette noire à la suite du scarifiage : résultats de 10 ans

2003 ◽  
Vol 33 (11) ◽  
pp. 2097-2107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcel Prévost ◽  
Daniel Dumais
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Picea Mariana ◽  
Natural Regeneration ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Nutrient Status ◽  
Height Growth ◽  
Site Preparation ◽  
Tree Planting ◽  
Initial Growth ◽  
Artificial Regeneration

Careful logging around advance growth (CLAAG) and tree planting following site preparation or not (fill planting) are widely used to regenerate black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) stands in the boreal forest of Quebec, Canada. However, few mid-term studies have compared these different regeneration modes. In this study, we examined height growth and nutrient status of black spruce layers, natural seedlings, and planted seedlings over a 10-year period, in an experimental design combining CLAAG, natural seeding, planting, and two types of scarification (cones and disks). Without scarification, growth of planted seedlings (5.8 cm·year–1) was slightly greater than that of layers (4.4 cm·year–1) and natural seedlings (4.1 cm·year–1). Scarification improved growth of the three types of regeneration, but the treatment was more beneficial for planted seedlings (+7.1 cm·year–1) than for natural seedlings (+1.6 cm·year–1) and layers (+1,0 cm·year–1). Five years after treatment, scarification had increased the current-year needle N concentration of the three types of regeneration, but this beneficial effect on N was still detectable only in foliage of layers after 10 years. The effect of the treatment was variable for P and K contents, for which natural regeneration seems to have taken advantage more than plants. Our results indicate that scarification can improve the initial growth and nutrient status of both natural and artificial regeneration of black spruce and thus accelerate site recovery after cutting in the boreal forest. Furthermore, fill planting without site preparation appeared to be clearly less efficient than planting combined with scarification.

scholarly journals Snag use by Foraging Black-Backed Woodpeckers (Picoides Arcticus) in a Recently Burned Eastern Boreal Forest

The Auk ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 120 (2) ◽  
pp. 505-511 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoine Nappi ◽  
Pierre Drapeau ◽  
Jean-François Giroux ◽  
Jean-Pierre L. Savard
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Salvage Logging ◽  
Northeastern North America ◽  
Picoides Arcticus ◽  
One Year ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Wood Boring

Abstract We studied snag use for foraging by Black-backed Woodpeckers (Picoides arcticus) one year after a fire in an eastern black spruce (Picea mariana) boreal forest in Quebec, Canada. We searched for signs of foraging (bark flaking and excavation holes) by Black-backed Woodpeckers on 6,536 snags sampled in 56 plots located in portions of the burned forest that had not been salvage logged. A logistic regression model was developed based on the presence or absence of foraging signs. Results showed that Black-backed Woodpeckers used larger snags that were less deteriorated by fire (qualified as high-quality snags). Direct field observations of individuals foraging on 119 snags also indicated that used snags corresponded to those of high predicted quality. Finally, we assessed the relationship between food availability and snag characteristics by measuring the density of wood-boring beetle larvae holes on 30 snags of different size and deterioration classes. High-quality snags contained higher prey densities (wood-boring beetle holes) than smaller and more deteriorated snags. We recommend that forest blocks characterized by large and less deteriorated trees be preserved from salvage logging in recently burned boreal forests in northeastern North America.

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