Growth and yield comparisons for red pine, white spruce and black spruce plantations in northwestern Ontario

2011 ◽  
Vol 87 (04) ◽  
pp. 494-503 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krish Homagain ◽  
Chander Shahi ◽  
Willard Carmean ◽  
Mathew Leitch ◽  
Colin Bowling

Intensive forest management for wood production requires that we identify our most productive forest lands as well as the most productive and most commercially valuable tree species that should be managed on these lands. The Thunder Bay Spacing Trial established in 1950 provides growth and yield comparisons on a productive site for red pine, white spruce, and black spruce. Our analysis based on six remeasurements from 1983 to 2007 show that red pine has produced more than twice the volume of white spruce and about three times the volume of black spruce. The greater volume for red pine in comparison to the spruces is attributed to taller trees, larger average diameters and more basal area.

1989 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. D. Whitney

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.


1974 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-137
Author(s):  
S. Popovich

This paper presents a method of evaluating site productivity by volume per square foot of basal area, comparing it with the method of dominant height. Based on this method, this study also offers tables for estimating the production of plantations in relation to the average height, the average form quotient, and to the average basal area of the stand. Moreover, this study gives practical instructions about several factors influencing growth and yield of white spruce (Piceaglauca, Moench.) plantations in the province of Quebec.


1995 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. L. Fleming ◽  
D. S. Mossa

Temporal changes in black spruce (Picea mariana [Mill.] B.S.P.) seedbed coverage and seedbed receptivity were investigated on coarse-textured upland sites near Thunder Bay (48°25′N 89° 15′W), in northwestern Ontario. Sowing was completed in May for three consecutive years following summer scarification at each of 12 sites. Infilling by organic debris reduced the proportion of receptive soil strata three to five years after scarification by 50–95%. Receptive seedbed coverage declined more quickly on fresh Soil Moisture Regimes with a variety of deciduous trees and shrubs than on moist Soil Moisture Regimes dominated by eracaceous shrubs. Pioneer mosses, which are also good seedbeds, invaded moist sites more readily than fresh sites, and mitigated losses in seedbed coverage. Compact Sphagnum seedbeds in lowland depressions maintained good areal coverage much longer than did receptive upland soil strata. Seedling establishment ratios varied greatly among seeding years, seedbeds and sites, but there was an underlying trend of decreasing seedbed receptivity with time since scarification. Seedlings originating from the first seeding year were taller at age 7–10 than those originating from the second or third seeding years. Key words: direct seeding, seedbed coverage, seedbed receptivity, scarification, black spruce, Picea mariana


1983 ◽  
Vol 61 (6) ◽  
pp. 1573-1579 ◽  
Author(s):  
William H. Parker ◽  
P. Knowles ◽  
F. Bennett ◽  
A. Gray ◽  
T. Krickl

To determine whether local site differences corresponded to any morphological or chemical differentiation in Picea mariana, 10 cone-bearing trees were sampled from each of three semiadjacent stands near the Matawin River, Thunder Bay District, Ont.: (i) an upland forest on well-drained alluvial soil, (ii) an abandoned pasture on heavy soil, and (iii) a wet sphagnum bog. Nine cone characters and eight needle and twig characters were scored and analyzed. Differences among sites were generally small. Principal-components analysis demonstrated two major, independent trends of variation, one attributable mainly to cone characters and the other to needle characters. Bog trees tended to be more variable than the others with respect to cone characters but had similar levels of variation for needle and twig characters. Further comparisons were made based on foliar flavonoids of the 30 trees and isozyme characteristics of an expanded sampling of 60 trees. Flavonoid analysis indicated that a fraction of the bog trees possessed flavonoid diglycosides not present in the other trees. Five polymorphic enzyme systems were detected in electrophoretic analysis. Trees from the three sites had similar isozyme patterns with the exception of three bands that were unique to the bog site trees. Thus, the bog trees were more variable for cone, flavonoid, and isozyme characters but exhibited no greater variability for needle and twig characters. However, none of the data gave an indication of discrete ecotypes of black spruce corresponding to upland and lowland sites.


1989 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 183-185
Author(s):  
David I. Maass ◽  
Andrea N. Colgan ◽  
N. Lynn Cochran ◽  
Carl L. Haag ◽  
James A. Hatch

Abstract Long-term performance of container-grown seedlings in Maine was unknown in the late 1970s. A study was established to test the performance of five conifer species: Norway, white and black spruce, and red and jack pine, grown in four containers of similar volume: Can-Am Multipot #1, Multipot #2, Japanese Paperpot FH408, and Styroblock 4. Seven years after outplanting, stem heights of jack pine and red pine were significantly greater for trees started in Multipot #2 containers. Three spruce species with the greatest growth were started in Multipot #1 containers. Paperpot seedlings ranked second in height for pines, Norway spruce, and white spruce; Styroblock 4's ranked last for all species. North. J. Appl. For. 6:183-185, December 1989.


1994 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 141-145
Author(s):  
Carol A. Hyldahl ◽  
Gerald H. Grossman

Abstract RPGrow$ is a spreadsheet that interactively projects standlevel growth and yield with financial analysis of red pine plantations in the Lake States. Three types of commonly found conditions related to red pine management can be analyzed: (1) an entire rotation from initial planting to final harvest; (2) an existing stand from any point in time until final harvest; and (3) conversion of an existing stand to red pine (marginal analysis). Stand growth projections are for 70 yr. User input includes site index, stand age, initial basal area, trees per acre, thinning regime, costs associated with establishment and culture, tax rates, inflation rate, and discount rate. RPGrow$ calculates and values pulpwood and sawtimber volumes from user-defined stumpage prices. The financial analysis uses discounted cash flow methods to calculate results both with and without tax effects. Different stand management scenarios and economic factors can be compared easily through sensitivity analysis. North. J. Appl. For. 11(4):141-145.


1959 ◽  
Vol 91 (10) ◽  
pp. 670-671 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. A. Bradley

While working at Cedar Lake in Northwestern Ontario in the summers of 1957 and 1958 the author was able to observe the feeding sites of various species of Cinara. Most of the observations were made within an area of a few square miles on either side of Highway 105, between Red Lake Road and Ear Falls, Ontario. This area is fairly typical of the Laurentian Shield, with numerous lakes, rocky ridges, sandy patches, and small bogs. The principal coniferous trees in this locality are black spruce, jack pine, and balsam fir. White spruce, white cedar, white pine, red pine, and common juniper are also present.


2006 ◽  
Vol 82 (4) ◽  
pp. 572-578 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristian Morgenstern ◽  
Margaret Penner

Twenty-five provenances of white spruce were planted in 1963 in 144-tree plots and three replications as part of a provenance test series for eastern Canada. The experiment was well maintained and thinned to 50% of its original stocking in 1986 (age 26 years from seed).Measurements at age 44 were subjected to analyses of variance and correlation and compared with height and survival at age 15. The results demonstrated that at age 15, identification of the best provenances is ineffective because of changes in rank and the late expression of survival differences. At age 44, significant differences among provenances were observed for survival, mean height, diameter, basal area, and volume. The greatest volume was produced by a provenance from Cushing in the Ottawa Valley in Quebec, 287 m3 per ha, which was 11% greater than the volume of the local provenance, Chalk River, Ontario. When ranked on the basis of survival and volume, the best eight provenances included five from Quebec, and one each from New Brunswick, Ontario, and Wisconsin. The experiment shows that at the appropriate stage in a selection program, large plots can yield significant results, which has important implications for the design of experiments. Key words: provenance tests, jack pine, experimental design, growth and yield


2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (9) ◽  
pp. 2268-2280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaolu Zhou ◽  
Changhui Peng ◽  
Qing-Lai Dang ◽  
Jiaxin Chen ◽  
Sue Parton

Process-based carbon dynamic models are rarely validated against traditional forest growth and yield data and are difficult to use as a practical tool for forest management. To bridge the gap between empirical and process-based models, a simulation using a hybrid model of TRIPLEX1.0 was performed for the forest growth and yield of the boreal forest ecosystem in the Lake Abitibi Model Forest in northeastern Ontario. The model was tested using field measurements, forest inventory data, and the normal yield table. The model simulations of tree height and diameter at breast height (DBH) showed a good agreement with measurements for black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP), jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.), and trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.). The coefficients of determination (R2) between simulated values and permanent sample plot measurements were 0.92 for height and 0.95 for DBH. At the landscape scale, model predictions were compared with forest inventory data and the normal yield table. The R2 ranged from 0.73 to 0.89 for tree height and from 0.72 to 0.85 for DBH. The simulated basal area is consistent with the normal yield table. The R2 for basal area ranged from 0.82 to 0.96 for black spruce, jack pine, and trembling aspen for each site class. This study demonstrated the feasibility of testing the performance of the process-based carbon dynamic model using traditional forest growth and yield data and the ability of the TRIPLEX1.0 model for predicting growth and yield variables. The current work also introduces a means to test model accuracy and its prediction of forest stand variables to provide a complement to empirical growth and yield models for forest management practices, as well as for investigating climate change impacts on forest growth and yield in regions without sufficient established permanent sample plots and remote areas without suitable field measurements.


1998 ◽  
Vol 28 (10) ◽  
pp. 1579-1585 ◽  
Author(s):  
F M Moola ◽  
A U Mallik

This study reports on the phenology of 180 vegetative and 180 reproductive shoots of lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Ait.) and velvet leaf blueberry (Vaccinium myrtilloides Michx.) in a young black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) plantation near Thunder Bay, northwestern Ontario. Leaves of both species emerged in mid-May and remained uniformly green until mid-August. By late August, the majority of tagged shoots had turned red and were beginning to deteriorate. Approximately 30% of tagged shoots lost their leaves by 25 September in both V. angustifolium and V. myrtilloides. Patterns of leaf development in V. angustifolium and V. myrtilloides suggest that Vaccinium spp. may be less susceptible to foliar-applied herbicides if applications are made during or following the period of leaf senescence (i.e., between late August and late September). However, delayed treatment may be impractical in conifer plantations, since the time of leaf senescence and abscission of blueberry coincides with that of many target species.


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