scholarly journals Balsam Fir and American Beech Influence Soil Respiration Rates in Opposite Directions in a Sugar Maple Forest Near Its Northern Range Limit

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Bélanger ◽  
Alexandre Collin ◽  
Rim Khlifa ◽  
Simon Lebel-Desrosiers
Keyword(s):  
Soil Respiration ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Soil Temperature ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Range Limit ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
American Beech ◽  
Southern Limit ◽  
Northern Range Limit

Conifers and deciduous trees greatly differ in regard to their phylogenetics and physiology as well as their influence on soil microclimate and chemical properties. Soil respiration (Rs) in forests can therefore differ depending on tree species composition, and assessments of the variation in Rs in various forest types will lead to a more thorough understanding of the carbon cycle and more robust long-term simulations of soil carbon. We measured Rs in 2019 and 2020 in stands of various species composition in a sugar maple forest near the northern range limit of temperate deciduous forests in Quebec, Canada. Seasonal variations in soil temperature had the largest influence on Rs, but conditions created by the stands also exerted a significant effect. Relative to the typical sugar maple-yellow birch forest (hardwoods), Rs in stands with >20% of basal area from balsam fir (mixedwoods) was increased by 21%. Whilst, when American beech contributed >20% of litterfall mass (hardwood-beech stands), Rs was decreased by 11 and 36% relative to hardwoods and mixedwoods, respectively. As a whole, Rs was significantly higher in mixedwoods than in other forest types, and Rs was significantly higher in hardwoods than in hardwood-beech stands. Sugar maple and American beech at the study site are near their northern range limit, whereas balsam fir is near its southern limit. Rs in mixedwoods was therefore higher than in hardwoods and hardwood-beech stands due to high root activity in the presence of fir, despite colder and drier soils. We estimated that root respiration in mixedwoods was more than threefold that in hardwoods and hardwood-beech stands. The lower Rs in hardwood-beech stands compared to hardwoods points to the lower soil temperature as well as the poor quality of beech litter (low decomposability) as indicated by a generally lower heterotrophic respiration. Other than soil temperature, regression models identified mixedwoods, soil water potential and Mg2+ activity in the soil solution as important predictor variables of Rs with about 90% of its variation explained. Our study shows the benefits of combining forest-specific properties to climatic data for more robust predictions of Rs.

Species Composition and Development of Second-Growth Hardwood Stands in Quebec

1968 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 31-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl H. Winget
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
Dominant Species ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Woody Species ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Black Cherry ◽  
Minor Components ◽  
White Ash ◽  
Second Growth ◽  
Cutting Intensity

Second-growth, tolerant hardwood stands developed rapidly and, almost entirely from shade-tolerant advance growth, regardless of cutting intensity. Non-commercial woody species were seldom important competitors. Sugar maple, associated with beech on upland and balsam fir on lowland sites, was the dominant species. Yellow birch, basswood and hemlock, important contributors to wood volumes harvested, were minor components of second-growth stands. Valuable minor species such as red oak, white ash, and black cherry had practically disappeared. The application of known techniques for regenerating disturbance-dependent species is urgently required.

Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) forests at their northern distribution limit are recurrently impacted by fire

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 452-462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Pilon ◽  
Serge Payette
Keyword(s):  
Acer Saccharum ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Range Limit ◽  
Fire Dynamics ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Growth Status ◽  
Northern Range Limit ◽  
Recent Origin

The sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) forest is a widespread temperate forest prevailing south of 48°N in Quebec. Windthrows are the principal disturbance maintaining the old-growth status of the forest supposedly since its postglacial establishment. Nonetheless, the presence of wood charcoal buried in several sugar maple forest soils attests to the occurrence of fire during the Holocene. In this study, we aimed to elucidate the long-term fire dynamics and species composition of three sites (Témiscamingue, Saguenay, and Gaspé peninsula) currently dominated by sugar maple situated at its northern range limit. The botanical identification and 14C dating of charcoal fragments extracted from the soil surface and the mineral soil indicate that the development of the sugar maple sites was influenced by recurrent fires at least over the last 1000 to 3500 years. Two of the studied sugar maple stands are of recent origin, with the Témiscamingue forest being established after the most recent fire in the late 18th to early 19th centuries. Our data highlight the resilience of sugar maple forests in a disturbance regime dominated by frequent fires and suggest that the northernmost sugar maple forests are young ecosystems at the Holocene timescale.

scholarly journals Variations in Soil Respiration at Different Soil Depths and Its Influencing Factors in Forest Ecosystems in the Mountainous Area of North China

Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1081
Author(s):  
Dandan Wang ◽  
Xinxiao Yu ◽  
Guodong Jia ◽  
Wei Qin ◽  
Zhijie Shan
Keyword(s):  
Seasonal Variation ◽  
Soil Respiration ◽  
Soil Temperature ◽  
Water Content ◽  
Soil Water Content ◽  
North China ◽  
Forest Ecosystems ◽  
Mountainous Area ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
Root Cutting

An in-depth understanding of the dominant factors controlling soil respiration is important to accurately estimate carbon cycling in forest ecosystems. However, information on variations in soil respiration at different soil depths and the influencing factors in forest is limited. This study examined the variations in soil respiration at two soil depths (0–10 and 10–20 cm) as well as the effects of soil temperature, soil water content, litter removal, and root cutting on soil respiration in three typical forest types (i.e., Pinus tabulaeformis Carrière, Platycladus orientalis (L.) Franco, and Quercus variabilis Bl.) in the mountainous area of north China from March 2013 to October 2014. The obtained results show that soil respiration exhibited strong seasonal variation and decreased with soil depth. Soil respiration was exponentially correlated to soil temperature, and soil respiration increased with soil water content until reaching threshold values (19.97% for P. tabulaeformis, 16.65% for P. orientalis, and 16.90% for Q. variabilis), followed by a decrease. Furthermore, interactions of soil temperature and water content significantly affected soil respiration at different soil depths of forest types, accounting for 68.9% to 82.6% of the seasonal variation in soil respiration. In addition to soil temperature and water content, aboveground litter and plant roots affected soil respiration differently. In the three forest types, soil respiration at two soil depths decreased by 22.97% to 29.76% after litter removal, and by 44.84% to 53.76% after root cutting. The differences in soil respiration reduction between the two soil depths are largely attributed to variations in substrate availability (e.g., soil organic content) and soil carbon input (e.g., litter and fine root biomass). The obtained findings indicate that soil respiration varies at different soil depths, and suggest that in addition to soil temperature and water content, soil carbon input and dissolved organic substances may exert a strong effect on forest soil respiration.

Harvesting and slash piling affects soil respiration, soil temperature, and soil moisture regimes in Newfoundland boreal forests

2009 ◽  
Vol 89 (3) ◽  
pp. 343-355 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. T. Moroni ◽  
P. Q. Carter ◽  
D. A.J. Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Soil Respiration ◽  
Soil Temperature ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Abies Balsamea ◽  
Forest Harvesting ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
Respiration Rates ◽  
A Minor

The effect of harvesting and slash piling on soil respiration, temperature and moisture was examined in a balsam fir (Abies balsamea) and a black spruce (Picea marinara) forest located in western Newfoundland, Canada, 2 mo to 2.5 yr following harvesting. Within 4 mo of harvesting, soil temperature, moisture, and soil respiration rates were affected by harvesting and slash piling. Clearcut areas without slash (CC-S) had significantly lower soil respiration rates than uncut forests (F). However, clearcut areas with slash cover (CC+S) had significantly higher soil respiration rates than CC-S. When harvested areas with and without slash were combined, harvesting decreased soil respiration in the black spruce forest but had no effect on soil respiration in the balsam fir forest. Harvesting increased soil temperatures at 10 cm, however CC+S temperatures were cooler than CC-S temperatures. Harvested areas tended to dry faster than F, although soil moisture levels at >3.5 cm were not significantly depleted. However, there was evidence of soil drying at <3.5 cm. Soil temperature (at 10 cm) at the time of measurement was most strongly correlated to rates of soil respiration. Temporal variability and treatment effects (harvesting and slash piling) played a minor role in explaining soil respiration rates when variations in soil respiration were adjusted for 10-cm soil temperature,. Soil moisture levels (3.5-9.5 cm depth), which did not vary widely, also played a minor role in explaining soil respiration rates.Key words: Clearcut, Abies balsamea, Picea marinara, carbon dioxide, greenhouse gas

The Acadian forest: Historical condition and human impacts

2003 ◽  
Vol 79 (3) ◽  
pp. 462-474 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Loo ◽  
N. Ives
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
The South ◽  
Yellow Birch ◽  
Maritime Provinces ◽  
Forest Region ◽  
Acadian Forest

The Acadian Forest Region comprises the three Maritime Provinces of Canada, each of which has a distinct history resulting in different patterns of land ownership, land use, and impacts on the forest. The region encompasses a high degree of physiographic and biological diversity, being situated where the warm, moist influence of the Gulf Stream from the south collides with the cold Labrador Current and the boreal forest gradually gives way to mostly deciduous forest. Natural forest types in the Acadian Forest Region include rich tolerant hardwood, similar to the deciduous forests to the south; spruce-fir forest, similar to boreal forest to the north; and an array of coniferous, deciduous, and mixed intermediate types. Red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.), yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britt.), sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) and balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) are considered characteristic of the Acadian Forest Region. Except for one quantitative study in one county of New Brunswick, and another study on Prince Edward Island, most knowledge of the historical forest condition has been gleaned from early descriptions by explorers, surveyors, and settlers of the Maritimes region. Although some regions have been affected much more than others, little, if any forested area has escaped human influence over the past four centuries. A general result of human activities has been a shift in successional status and age distribution, with increased frequency of relatively young, often even-aged, early successional forest types including balsam fir, white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss), red maple (Acer rubrum L.), white birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.), and trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.). Both the abundance and age of late-successional species such as sugar maple, red spruce, eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis L. Carrière), yellow birch, cedar (Thuja occidentalis L.), and beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) have declined. Key words: pre-European forest, Maritime Provinces, historical ecology, witness trees, Acadian forest types, natural disturbance

Activity of flying beetles (Coleoptera) at two heights in canopy gaps and intact forests in a hardwood forest in Quebec

2009 ◽  
Vol 141 (5) ◽  
pp. 515-520 ◽  
Author(s):  
Briana Schroeder ◽  
Christopher M. Buddle ◽  
Michel Saint-Germain
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Acer Saccharum ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Fagus Grandifolia ◽  
Hardwood Forest ◽  
Forest Gap ◽  
American Beech ◽  
Forest Gaps ◽  
Closed Canopy

AbstractWe studied the effects of forest height and forest gap on assemblages of flying beetles in an American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh. (Fagaceae) – sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh. (Aceraceae)) forest in Quebec. From June until August of 2005, beetles were collected in Lindgren funnel traps placed in the canopy (20–25 m height) and upper understorey (3–5 m height) in proximity to five forest gaps (15–30 m in diameter) (at the edge of the forest opening or within the closed-canopy forest). We collected 1852 beetles representing 38 families and 172 species. Based on rarefaction curves, species richness was significantly higher in the canopy than in the upper understorey. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling ordination revealed a change in species composition in relation to vertical stratification but not to the forest gaps. Our findings confirmed the importance of the vertical forest gradient to overall diversity of forest coleopterans.

scholarly journals Vascular flora of the Outer Banks, North Carolina, U.S.A.

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 607-710
Author(s):  
Bruce A. Sorrie
Keyword(s):  
North Carolina ◽  
Range Limit ◽  
Southern Limit ◽  
Vascular Flora ◽  
Outer Banks ◽  
The North ◽  
Northern Range Limit ◽  
Voucher Specimens ◽  
Botanical Research ◽  
Complete Catalogue

A complete catalogue of the vascular flora of the North Carolina Outer Banks is presented. Rarity, habitat, distribution within the Outer Banks, and earliest and latest specimens are given for each taxon. The flora contains 1020 species and infraspecific taxa, plus an additional 80 taxa that lack voucher specimens. Some 770 taxa are considered native; 250 non-native. Fifty-one taxa reach their northern range limit on the Outer Banks; 11 their southern limit. Fifty-five taxa are listed as rare in North Carolina; one of them also listed Threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Twenty-four natural communities are described and assessed for vulnerabil-ity to sea level rise. Prior botanical research is listed chronologically.

Logging-induced change (1930-2002) of a preindustrial landscape at the northern range limit of northern hardwoods, eastern Canada

2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 505-517 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Boucher ◽  
Dominique Arseneault ◽  
Luc Sirois
Keyword(s):  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Mixed Forest ◽  
Abies Balsamea ◽  
Acer Rubrum ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Landscape Patterns ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Range Limit ◽  
Mixed Stands

Logging-induced changes from preindustrial (1930) to current conditions (2002) were studied in a landscape covering 13 550 ha in eastern Quebec. Age and types of forest cover were compared between 1930 and 2002 forest maps. In addition, we compared relative species abundance between living stems and coarse woody debris to study these changes at the stand scale. More than 90% of the 1930 preindustrial landscape was composed of forest stands older than 100 years. A balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) – white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) dominated conifer cover (77% of the landscape area) formed the landscape matrix across the lowlands and was intermingled with mixed stands of sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) and conifers on the highlands. As a result of recurrent logging, stands less than 70 years old accounted for 93% of the 2002 landscape. From 1930 to 2002, 37% of the landscape was converted from coniferous to mixed forest, and 19% evolved towards a deciduous cover. The total number of cover patches doubled to 193, whereas mean patch size decreased twofold to 65 ha. Sugar maple, red maple (Acer rubrum L.), striped maple (Acer pennsylvanicum L.), and white birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.) probably experienced a greater increase in abundance, whereas balsam fir, white spruce, and eastern white-cedar (Thuja occidentalis L.) experienced a more pronounced decrease. Because it does not consider preindustrial landscape patterns, the system of ecological land classification currently in use in this area suggests that potential late-successional cover types should be more similar to present-day than to preindustrial conditions.

Fifty years of compositional change in deciduous and coniferous forest types in New Hampshire

1987 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 388-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
William B. Leak
Keyword(s):  
New Hampshire ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Coniferous Forest ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Eastern Hemlock ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
American Beech ◽  
Canopy Disturbance ◽  
Bartlett Experimental Forest ◽  
Basal Till

Fifty-year records (52–53 years) from 29 cruise plots on the Bartlett Experimental Forest, New Hampshire, indicated that composition is moving toward a predominance of one or two tolerant species in response to soils (habitat) and, to a lesser extent, elevation. Plots on fine till are moving toward American beech (Fagusgrandifolia Ehrh.) and sugar maple (Acersaccharum Marsh.), with some indication that perpetuation of sugar maple in this region of granitic soils depends upon canopy disturbance. Stands on coarse washed (sandy) till are moving toward beech, with some representation of tolerant conifers. Plots with shallow basal till (well drained to poorly drained), shallow bedrock, or ice-contact gravel are moving toward eastern hemlock (Tsugacanadensis (L.) Carr.) and (or) red spruce (Picearubens Sarg.). Eastern hemlock is successful below elevations of 500–550 m, while red spruce is successful at higher elevations.

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