scholarly journals The Difficulty of Predicting Eastern Spruce Dwarf Mistletoe in Lowland Black Spruce: Model Benchmarking in Northern Minnesota, USA

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 843
Author(s):  
Ella R. Gray ◽  
Matthew B. Russell ◽  
Marcella A. Windmuller-Campione
Keyword(s):  
Stand Structure ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Forest Health ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Predictive Performance ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Management Decisions ◽  
Dwarf Mistletoe ◽  
Growing Seasons ◽  
Model Interpretation

Insects, fungi, and diseases play an important role in forest stand development and subsequently, forest management decisions and treatments. As these disturbance agents commonly occur within and across landscapes, modeling has often been used to inform forest planning and management decisions. However, models are rarely benchmarked, leaving questions about their utility. Here, we assessed the predictive performance of a Bayesian hierarchical model through on–the-ground sampling to explore what features of stand structure or composition may be important factors related to eastern spruce dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium pusillum Peck) presence in lowland black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B. S. P.). Twenty-five state-owned stands included in the predictive model were sampled during the 2019 and 2020 growing seasons. Within each stand, data related to the presence of eastern spruce dwarf mistletoe, stand structure, and species composition were collected. The model accurately predicted eastern spruce dwarf mistletoe occurrence for 13 of the 25 stands. The amount of living and dead black spruce basal area differed significantly based on model prediction and observed infestation, but trees per hectare, total living basal area, diameter at breast height, stand age, and species richness were not significantly different. Our results highlight the benefits of model benchmarking to improve model interpretation as well as to inform our understanding of forest health problems across diverse stand conditions.

Short- and Long-Term Results of Alternative Silviculture in Peatland Black Spruce in Minnesota, USA

2019 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 256-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian D Anderson ◽  
Marcella A Windmuller-Campione ◽  
Matthew B Russell ◽  
Brian J Palik ◽  
Douglas N Kastendick
Keyword(s):  
Stand Structure ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Structural Complexity ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Long Term Results ◽  
Dwarf Mistletoe ◽  
Single Tree Selection ◽  
Alternative Silvicultural Systems ◽  
Compositional Diversity

Abstract Across the boreal forest in North America, the black spruce (Picea mariana) cover type is ecologically and economically important, occupying roughly 10 percent of Minnesota’s, USA 17.4 million acres (7.0 million hectares) of forestland. Traditionally managed through clearcut regeneration harvests, alternative silvicultural systems are being increasingly used in Canada. Here, we examine the 10- and 57-year effects of six silvicultural treatments (clearcut strips, clearcut patches, thinning, group selection, single-tree selection, shelterwood) on stand structure and dynamics in lowland black spruce. Treatments were installed in 1948 in northern Minnesota, and remeasured and re-treated 10 years later. A subset of the clearcut strips, clearcut patches, and shelterwood treatments were remeasured in 2017. After 10 years, diameter growth of residual stems varied by treatment, with the shelterwood experiencing the greatest growth, and basal area increased in all but the shelterwood treatment. Over the long term, the shelterwood exhibited larger diameters and heights and greater crown ratios, basal area, structural complexity, and compositional diversity than the clearcuts. Our results suggest that managers may consider using a shelterwood instead of traditional large clearcuts to achieve increased structural and compositional diversity, particularly when eastern spruce dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium pusillum) does not necessitate a traditional clearcut.

Root rot damage in naturally regenerated stands of spruce and balsam fir in Ontario

1989 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. D. Whitney
Keyword(s):  
Root Rot ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Tree Age ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Root Decay ◽  
Forest Region

In an 11-year study in northern Ontario, root rot damage was heaviest in balsam fir, intermediate in black spruce, and least in white spruce. As a result of root rot, 16, 11, and 6%, respectively, of dominant or codominant trees of the three species were killed or experienced premature windfall. Butt rot, which resulted from the upward extension of root rot into the boles of living trees, led to a scaled cull of 17, 12, and 10%, respectively, of gross merchantable volume of the remaining living trees in the three species. The total volume of wood lost to rot was, therefore, 33, 23, and 16%, respectively. Of 1108 living dominant and codominant balsam fir, 1243 black spruce, and 501 white spruce in 165 stands, 87, 68, and 63%, respectively, exhibited some degree of advanced root decay. Losses resulting from root rot increased with tree age. Significant amounts of root decay and stain (>30% of root volume) first occurred at 60 years of age in balsam fir and 80 years in black spruce and white spruce. For the three species together, the proportion of trees that were dead and windfallen as a result of root rot increased from an average of 3% at 41–50 years to 13% at 71–80 years and 26% at 101–110 years. The root rot index, based on the number of dead and windfallen trees and estimated loss of merchantable volume, also increased, from an average of 17 at 41–50 years to 40 at 71–80 years and 53 at 101–110 years. Death and windfall of balsam fir and black spruce were more common in northwestern Ontario than in northeastern Ontario. Damage to balsam fir was greater in the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Forest region than in the Boreal Forest region. In all three tree species, the degree of root rot (decay and stain) was highly correlated with the number of dead and windfallen trees, stand age, and root decay at ground level (as a percentage of basal area) for a 10-tree sample.

Factors controlling epiphytic lichen biomass during postfire succession in black spruce boreal forests

2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (11) ◽  
pp. 2168-2179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Boudreault ◽  
Yves Bergeron ◽  
Darwyn Coxson
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Stand Structure ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Tree Age ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Epiphytic Lichens ◽  
Dominant Group ◽  
Epiphytic Lichen ◽  
Structure Tree ◽  
Species Groups

Alectorioid lichens are the dominant group of epiphytic lichens in boreal forests. Epiphytic lichen richness and abundance generally increase with stand age and within-stand heterogeneity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the importance of time elapsed since the last fire, stand structure, tree size, tree age, and branch height for epiphytic lichen biomass of the boreal forest of western Quebec. We sampled 12 sites belonging to four forest age classes (from 50 to >200 years). We assessed epiphytic lichen biomass of three species groups ( Bryoria , Evernia , and Usnea ) on 12 trees in each site. Our results showed that biomass of Bryoria and Usnea was higher in intermediate stages (between 101 and 200 years) compared with younger (50–100 years) and older (>200 years) stages. Biomass of the three species groups was greater on larger diameter trees (>16 cm) compared with smaller ones (<16 cm). These results indicate that the protection of postfire stands aged between 101 and 200 year should be prioritized to maintain the functional role of epiphytic lichens in managed landscapes.

Reduction of black spruce seed bank by spruce budworm infestation compromises postfire stand regeneration

2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (7) ◽  
pp. 1686-1696 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Simard ◽  
Serge Payette
Keyword(s):  
Seed Bank ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Reproductive Potential ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Spruce Budworm ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Viable Seed ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Postfire Regeneration ◽  
Fire Disturbances

In the southern boreal forest of eastern Canada, black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) is subjected to both defoliating insect and fire disturbances. As black spruce depends on its aerial seed bank for postfire regeneration, reduction of cone crop during a spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.)) outbreak opens a vulnerability window during which stand regeneration could be hindered in the event of a fire. To assess the long-term effect of spruce budworm outbreak on black spruce reproductive potential, cone production and viable seed bank were estimated using cone crop surveys and germination trials in black spruce – lichen woodland stands that sustained different levels of defoliation during the 1980s. Black spruce cone crop was significantly related to the defoliation history of the stands (R2 = 0.89), but not to stand age, basal area, or tree density. Black spruce stands damaged by severe defoliation showed a smaller number of cones, a higher incidence of insect-damaged cones, and a viable seed bank 3 to 17 times smaller than a lightly defoliated stand. The vulnerability window for black spruce regeneration following a spruce budworm outbreak may be as long as 20 years in the study area because black spruce seed bank in heavily defoliated stands has not yet replenished. Our work supports conclusions from stand reconstruction studies that suggest closed-crown spruce–moss stands convert to open lichen woodlands as a result of weak postfire regeneration caused by successive insect and fire disturbances.

scholarly journals Response of Black Spruce to Thinning and Fertilization in a Drained Swamp

1998 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 98-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham R. Hillman ◽  
Sam K. Takyi
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Volume Growth ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Design Experiment ◽  
Growing Seasons ◽  
Experimental Project ◽  
Four Blocks ◽  
Plot Design ◽  
Area And Volume

Abstract A split-plot design experiment replicated in four blocks was established to determine the effects of thinning (main plots) and fertilization (subplots) on growth of a 50- to 60-yr-old stagnant stand of black spruce on a shallow peatland (swamp) in Alberta drained in the previous year in a large-scale experimental project to convert it to a future merchantable stand. The thinning treatments were selective hand-spacing to 1600 trees ha-1 and no thinning. The hand-broadcast fertilizer treatments were: no fertilizer, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), NP, PK, NK, and NPK. Nitrogen as NH4NO3 was applied at 200 kg ha-1, P as triplesuperphosphate at 100 kg ha-1, and K as potassium chloride at 100 kg ha-1. After six growing seasons, diameter at breast height, basal area, and volume growth were significantly greater in the thinned treatment than for the same number of large (dominant and codominant) trees in the unthinned treatment. Thinning had no significant effect on height growth. Nitrogen significantly increased dbh, height, basal area, and volume growth, and NP increased the basal area and volume growth. P, K, and PK treatments showed little effects on growth, and P applied alone tended to reduce growth. The results indicated it will be beneficial to supplement drainage with thinning or fertilization with N and N-containing fertilizers or with both shortly after drainage, particularly when other researchers have indicated black spruce may take several years to respond to drainage. North. J. Appl. For. 15(2):98-105.

Overstory density, short growing seasons, and moisture limit Engelmann spruce establishment over time in high-elevation managed stands

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward Hill ◽  
Seth Ex ◽  
Cameron Aldridge ◽  
Curtis Prolic
Keyword(s):  
Stand Structure ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Life Stages ◽  
Growing Season Length ◽  
Engelmann Spruce ◽  
Growing Seasons ◽  
Spruce Stands ◽  
Frost Free Period ◽  
Over Time

For tree species with narrow ranges of climate suitability for regeneration such as Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii Parry ex Engelm.), understanding biophysical influences on juvenile establishment over time is crucial for supporting silvicultural practices responsive to climate change. We developed count-based models to identify abiotic and biotic variables explaining annual spruce establishment over 20–30 years following silvicultural regeneration treatments across 24 spruce stands in Colorado. Covariates retained in our final model encompassed information on climate, physiography, stand structure, and time. Establishment was positively related to germination- and second-year frost-free period beginning dates, indicating that moisture limitations at early life stages may be alleviated by longer retention of snowpack. Yet, recruits were positively influenced by both lengthier frost-free periods and lower heat–moisture indices, suggesting a tension between growing-season length and moisture limitations for physiological maturation, lasting 5 years after germination. Establishment was also limited by higher elevations and lower solar radiation, further suggesting cold limitations in these stands. Moreover, overstory basal area negatively influenced recruitment, suggesting an inhibitive effect on light and precipitation availability for seedlings. Our findings extend similar conclusions from harsher treeline environments to high-elevation managed stands but illustrate stronger relative effects of overstory density and cold-related limitations and suggest transitions in climate effects with life stages.

scholarly journals Multi-cohort stand structure in boreal forests of northeastern Ontario: Relationships with forest age, disturbance history, and deadwood features

2013 ◽  
Vol 89 (03) ◽  
pp. 290-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ben Kuttner ◽  
Jay R. Malcolm ◽  
Sandy M. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Stand Structure ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
Natural Origin ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Live Tree

Multi-cohort forest management (MFM) is a natural disturbance emulation strategy for boreal forests that recommends a diversification of silvicultural techniques to emulate three broad successive phases of post-fire development, termed “cohort classes”. Here, for boreal mixedwood (n = 308) and black spruce (n = 108) stands of northeastern Ontario, we: 1) present a multivariate approach to classify the three cohort classes based on a broad set of stand structural variables related to live-tree diameters, densities, and measures of canopy stratification and 2) investigate variation in stand age, mode of stand origin (including horse- and mechanically logged and natural-origin stands), and deadwood features among the cohort classes. In both forest types, average stem diameter distributions in cohort class 1 were normally distributed, those in class 2 showed broader normal distributions, and those in class 3 showed inverse-J distributions. Mean stand age increased with cohort class, and was positively correlated with cohort class in both forest types. Overall, variation in age and deadwood features as a function of cohort class in both forest types provided strong support for developmental aspects of our cohort classifications. Previously logged stands were primarily associated with lower cohort classes, whereas natural-origin stands were strongly associated with complex cohort class 3 stand structures, especially in mixedwoods. As it is primarily the silvicultural manipulation of stand structure that has been proposed to emulate age-related multi-cohort development, our structural cohort classification approach is particularly relevant to the application of MFM in Ontario.

Age and size effects on seed productivity of northern black spruce

2013 ◽  
Vol 43 (6) ◽  
pp. 534-543 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jayme N. Viglas ◽  
Carissa D. Brown ◽  
Jill F. Johnstone
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Seed Production ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Seed Viability ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Yukon Territory ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Seed Productivity ◽  
Cone Production

Slow-growing conifers of the northern boreal forest may require several decades to reach reproductive maturity, making them vulnerable to increases in disturbance frequency. Here, we examine the relationship between stand age and seed productivity of black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) Britton, Sterns & Poggenb.) in Yukon Territory and Alaska. Black spruce trees were aged and surveyed for cone production and seed viability across 30 even-aged stands ranging from 12 to 197 years old. Logistic regression indicated that individual trees had a ∼50% probability of producing cones by age 30 years, which increased to 90% by age 100 years. Cone and seed production increased steadily with age or basal area at both the tree and stand level, with no evidence of declining seed production in trees older than 150 years. Using published seed:seedling ratios, we estimated that postfire recruitment will be limited by seed availability in stands for up to 50 years (on high-quality seedbeds) to 150 years (low-quality seedbeds) after fire. By quantifying these age and seed productivity relationships, we can improve our ability to predict the sensitivity of conifer seed production to a range of disturbance frequencies and thus anticipate changes in boreal forest resilience to altered fire regime.

Long-term black spruce plantation growth and structure after release and juvenile cleaning: A 24-year study

2009 ◽  
Vol 85 (3) ◽  
pp. 417-426 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillaume Cyr ◽  
Nelson Thiffaul
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Forest Management ◽  
Stand Structure ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Vegetation Management ◽  
Growth And Yield ◽  
Long Term Study ◽  
Conifer Plantations ◽  
Mechanical Release

Vegetation management is crucial to meet growth and yield objectives in conifer plantations. But, the combined and longterm effects of mechanical release and juvenile cleaning on growth and stand structure have yet to be documented in black spruce plantations. A long-term study was carried out in Quebec (Canada) to evaluate the interactions between initial mechanical release at age 2 years and juvenile cleaning at age 14 years (i.e., a second release treatment) on planted black spruce survival and dimensions at age 24 years. Population structure and stand species composition were also assessed. Results showed that release and juvenile cleaning had an additive, positive effect on survival, diameter at breast height (DBH), height, crown width, crown length, and the last 5-year DBH and height increments. Juvenile cleaning effects were of higher magnitude than release effects, especially on 5-year DBH increment. Combination of both treatments reduced DBH and height variability of saplings, whereas juvenile cleaning alone resulted in a higher proportion of saplings occupying higher height classes. Total merchantable basal area was constant among treatments. But, without juvenile cleaning, hardwoods occupied a higher proportion of the basal area and were taller than spruces. In a context of sustainable forest management, in which conifer plantations are expected to offer high wood yield, our results demonstrate the importance of juvenile cleaning following initial mechanical release to promote crop tree growth and yield. Key words: plantation, vegetation management, black spruce, growth, stand development

Impacts of lodgepole pine dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium americanum) infestation on stand structure and fuel load in lodgepole pine dominated forests in central Colorado

Botany ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 95 (3) ◽  
pp. 307-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott M. Ritter ◽  
Chad M. Hoffman ◽  
Seth A. Ex ◽  
Jane E. Stewart
Keyword(s):  
Stand Structure ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Lodgepole Pine ◽  
Fire Behavior ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Fuel Load ◽  
Fuel Loading ◽  
Dwarf Mistletoe ◽  
Individual Host ◽  
Live Tree

Parasitic plants are capable of causing substantial alterations to plant communities through impacts on individual host plants. Lodgepole pine dwarf mistletoe is an important parasite in forests of the western USA that causes reductions to productivity and is thought to alter wildland fuel complexes. These impacts are hypothesized to vary with infestation severity. To test this, we used a linear mixed modeling approach to evaluate the relationship between dwarf mistletoe infestation severity and parameters representing stand structure and surface and canopy fuels in infested lodgepole pine stands in central Colorado. Infestation severity was negatively related to live basal area, average tree size, canopy base height, canopy fuel load, and canopy bulk density, and was positively related to the loading of woody surfaces fuels greater than 0.64 cm in diameter. No relationship was detected between infestation severity and live tree density, or live crown ratio. These results confirm the long-held assumption that dwarf mistletoe increases surface fuel loading in lodgepole pine communities, but also suggest that infested stands have reduced amounts of available canopy fuel. These findings have implications for potential fire behavior and highlight the importance of dwarf mistletoe in predicting the spatial and temporal dynamics of wildland fuels.

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