Adapting forestry practices to address old-growth concerns in the Great Lakes–St.Lawrence forests of Ontario

2003 ◽  
Vol 79 (3) ◽  
pp. 613-620 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fred Pinto
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
Pinus Banksiana ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Red Pine ◽  
Forest Composition ◽  
White Birch ◽  
Site Factors ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Old Growth Forests

The Great Lakes–St. Lawrence forest, particularly the eastern white (Pinus strobus L.) and red pine (P. resinosa Ait.) forests around Temagami and Sault Ste. Marie, was the centre of controversy regarding the treatment of old-growth forests in Ontario in the 1980s and 1990s. The controversy stemmed from changes in forest composition and structure occurring in the forest. For example, the Ontario public was concerned with the obvious reduction in numbers of large eastern white and red pine trees and their replacement with small, often poor quality, white birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.), aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.), and jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) trees. Over the past two decades, changes in legislation, forest planning and stand prescriptions have been made in Ontario and practices at the forest and stand levels have also changed significantly. The new practices are based on linking forest activities to a better understanding of ecological processes in the forest; in particular, linking harvest and regeneration activities to our current understanding of natural disturbances and plant adaptations. These practices attempt to match more closely the conditions found in forests with a heritage of natural disturbance and reproduction, i.e., old-growth forests. For example, stand-initiating disturbances result in some trees being killed, some being damaged, and some surviving. The new harvest practices consider tree adaptations and site factors when deciding whether a tree will be cut or not. This paper provides examples of how this ecosystem-based forestry is being applied in Ontario. Key words: old growth in Ontario, conservation of old growth, application of old growth conservation practices, stand practices for old growth, landscape practices for old growth

Planting recommendations for blueberry — sweetfern sites in northern Ontario

1975 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-26
Author(s):  
R. E. Mullin
Keyword(s):  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
Pinus Banksiana ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
Common Species ◽  
Jack Pine ◽  
Red Pine ◽  
Average Height ◽  
White Birch ◽  
Northern Ontario ◽  
Local Conditions

This is an extension of a 1968 report on experiments established to study species, age-classes, and planting site treatments for blueberry-sweet-fern (Vaccinium-Comptonia) sites in northern Ontario. Red pine (3–0 and 2–2) and jack pine (2–0 and 2–1) were planted in scalped spots, in furrows, in herbicide-spray strips, in ground cover, and in bulldozed plots. This report is based on survival and height at 10 years after planting.The results suggest that jack pine is more satisfactory than red pine, producing much greater aggregate height (survival × average height). In both species transplants performed better than seedlings. Comparisons of site treatment and planting methods showed that furrowing and bulldozing were both satisfactory for 2–2 red pine, but that bulldozing was clearly the best method for jack pine.Reforestation of dry "blueberry-sweetfern" sites in north-central and northeastern Ontario has often been difficult. These plant associations occur on dry sands and gravels, usually following a fire, or a cutover and burn. The ground cover is Vaccinium spp. and Comptonia peregrina (L) Coult., with scattered herbs and grasses. There may also be light or open cover of trees, such as jack pine Pinus banksiana Lamb.), white birch (Betula payrifera Marsh) and trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.). Jack pine is the common species for planting but under some local conditions red pine (Pinus resinosa Ait.) may be preferred.In 1959 experimental plots were established in the forest districts of Chapleau, Swastika and North Bay, to examine some aspects of the planting requirements for these sites. This report is based on the tenth-year survival and height measurements at Swastika and North Bay. The Chapleau plots are not included because of uncertainty caused by invasion of natural seedlings. An earlier report (Mullin 1968a) was based on the Chapleau and Swastika plots to the fifth-year after planting.

Forest landscape change in the northwestern Wisconsin Pine Barrens from pre-European settlement to the present

1999 ◽  
Vol 29 (11) ◽  
pp. 1649-1659 ◽  
Author(s):  
Volker C Radeloff ◽  
David J Mladenoff ◽  
Hong S He ◽  
Mark S Boyce
Keyword(s):  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
Vegetation Cover ◽  
Pinus Banksiana ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Pine Barrens ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Forest Density ◽  
The North ◽  
European Settlement

Natural disturbance patterns can provide useful information for ecosystem management. Our objective was to provide a detailed spatial picture of the pre-European settlement vegetation cover for the northwestern Wisconsin Pine Barrens and to compare it with the present vegetation cover. We analyzed the presettlement conditions using an extensive data set comprised of U.S. General Land Office surveyor records from the mid-19th century and related it to the vegetation cover in 1987 as depicted in a Landsat satellite forest classification. Changes were quantified by calculating differences in abundance and relative importance of tree species at presettlement time and today. Our results revealed a strong decline of jack, red, and white pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb., Pinus resinosa Ait., and Pinus strobus L., respectively), accompanied by an increase of oak (Quercus spp.), trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.), and other hardwood species. Certain vegetation types, e.g., red pine and oak savannas, were removed from the landscape. The forest density gradient of the presettlement landscape with open savannas and woodlands in the South and denser forests in the North disappeared. These changes, especially the increase in forest cover, are ecologically significant because numerous species are adapted to open habitat, which was previously created by fire, and their populations are declining.

Spatially random mortality in old-growth red pine forests of northern Minnesota

2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 899-907 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tuomas Aakala ◽  
Shawn Fraver ◽  
Brian J. Palik ◽  
Anthony W. D’Amato
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Distribution ◽  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Pair Correlation ◽  
Growth Conditions ◽  
Initial Distribution ◽  
Red Pine ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Dead Trees ◽  
Old Growth Forests

Characterizing the spatial distribution of tree mortality is critical to understanding forest dynamics, but empirical studies on these patterns under old-growth conditions are rare. This rarity is due in part to low mortality rates in old-growth forests, the study of which necessitates long observation periods, and the confounding influence of tree in-growth during such time spans. Here, we studied mortality of red pine ( Pinus resinosa Ait.) in five old-growth stands in Minnesota, USA, demonstrating the use of preexisting information of cohort age structures to account for in-growth after the most recent cohort establishment. Analyses of spatial point patterns, using both Ripley’s K-function and the pair correlation function, showed that tree mortality was essentially a random process, without evidence of contagious mortality patterns that are often expected for old-growth forests. Our analyses further demonstrated in practice that the distribution of dead trees may differ from that of the tree mortality events, which are constrained to occur within the initial distribution, and how mortality patterns can shape the spatial distribution of mature living trees, often attributed to aggregated regeneration patterns. These findings emphasize the need to disentangle the influence of the initial distribution of trees from that of actual tree mortality events.

Chromated Copper Arsenate Preservative Treatment of North American Hardwoods. Part 1. CCA Fixation Performance

Holzforschung ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 54 (6) ◽  
pp. 577-584 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Stevanovic Janezic ◽  
P.A. Cooper ◽  
Y.T. Ung
Keyword(s):  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
North American ◽  
Acer Rubrum ◽  
Chromated Copper Arsenate ◽  
Red Pine ◽  
Red Oak ◽  
Red Maple ◽  
White Birch ◽  
Yellow Poplar ◽  
Copper Arsenate

Summary We have examined chromated copper arsenate (CCA) wood preservative fixation at two selected temperatures in seven common North American hardwood species: red maple (Acer rubrum L.), white birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.), yellow poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera L.), trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.), red oak (Quercus rubra L.), basswood (Tilia americana L.) and American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.). The softwood red pine (Pinus resinosa Ait.) was included for comparison. CCA component fixation was monitored by the expressate method at both 21°C and 50°C under non-drying conditions. Hexavalent chromium (CrVI) and total Cr, Cu and As contents of the expressate were determined at different times during fixation. Based on CCA fixation results it was possible to divide the examined hardwoods into a fast fixing group (beech, red oak and red maple), intermediate group (white birch and red pine) and slow fixing group (aspen, yellow poplar and basswood). The variable fixation rates for the different species could not be directly related to different anatomical and chemical attributes of the studied hardwoods, although there was an apparent relationship with density with more dense species fixing faster than low density species. However, the species differences appeared to be mainly influenced by types and amounts of extractives in the woods. In red maple, extraction resulted in a slowing of the fixation rate, while the opposite effect was seen in red oak.

Are the old-growth forests of the Clay Belt part of a fire-regulated mosaic?

2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominic Cyr ◽  
Yves Bergeron ◽  
Sylvie Gauthier ◽  
Alayn C Larouche
Keyword(s):  
Fire Hazard ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Great Variability ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Fire Cycle ◽  
Old Growth Forests ◽  
Ring Method ◽  
Forest Mosaic ◽  
Macroscopic Charcoal

Old-growth forests make up a substantial proportion of the forest mosaic in the Clay Belt region of Ontario and Quebec, Canada, despite fire cycles that are presumed to be relatively short. Two hypotheses have been suggested as explanations for this phenomenon: (1) the old-growth forests in question are located on sites that are protected from fire or (2) the fire hazard is just as great there as elsewhere, and that part of the mosaic is simply the tail of the distribution, having been spared from fire merely by chance. The tree-ring method has proven inadequate as a means of determining the date of the most recent fire in these old-growth forests, as the time that has elapsed since that date probably exceeds the age of the oldest trees. Accordingly, a paleoecological study was conducted with a view to determining the date of the last fire in these forests. Charcoal horizons were located and radiocarbon dated in six old-growth forests. The possibility that these forests have never burned at all is ruled out by the fact that macroscopic charcoal fragments were found at all sites. The proximity of potential firebreaks has a significant influence in the survival model, suggesting fire-cycle heterogeneity throughout the landscape. However, the proportion of old-growth forests observed is in agreement with what would be expected assuming that fire hazard is independent of stand age. Old-growth stands could thus be incorporated into natural disturbance based management, although the great variability of the intervals between catastrophic disturbances should be carefully considered.

Effects of experimental harvesting on spider (Araneae) assemblages in boreal deciduous forests

2008 ◽  
Vol 140 (4) ◽  
pp. 437-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher M. Buddle ◽  
David P. Shorthouse
Keyword(s):  
Indicator Species ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Wolf Spider ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Partial Cutting ◽  
Clear Cutting ◽  
Old Growth Forests ◽  
Geographic Separation

AbstractTwo large-scale forestry experiments, in Quebec (Sylviculture et aménagement forestiers écosystémique (SAFE)) and Alberta (Ecosystem Management by Emulating Natural Disturbance (EMEND)), were established in the late 1990s to test the effects of alternative silvicultural strategies (e.g., partial cutting) on biodiversity in northern boreal forests. We collected spiders in pitfall traps 2 years after the application of partial-cutting treatments in deciduous stands at EMEND and 6 years after similar treatments in deciduous stands at SAFE. Although we are aware of the challenges imposed by disparate locations and whole-scale experimental methods, our objective was to compare the effects of partial cutting on spider assemblages (diversity and community composition), and in doing so, to formulate a few general statements. Overall, 98 species (6107 individuals) were collected from Alberta and 86 species (3414 individuals) from Quebec. Of these, 44 species were common to both regions. Ordination and indicator-species analyses revealed a distinct effect of geographic separation: the spider assemblages in deciduous stands within the boreal plains ecoregion of Alberta and the boreal shield in Quebec were distinct. However, the effects of partial cutting on spider assemblages within each project were similar: removal of 25%–33% of trees shifted a characteristic old-growth fauna toward one more typical of clearcuts. Indicator-species analysis also revealed the dominance of wolf spider (Lycosidae) species in clearcuts within both experiments and we present evidence that clear-cutting homogenizes spider assemblages. Old-growth forests contain spider faunas that are easily disrupted by moderate partial cutting. In the face of intense harvesting practices, managing for the maintenance of biodiversity and conservation of spider faunas in northern forests will require retention of old-growth forests.

Tree bole mineralization rates of four species of the Canadian eastern boreal forest: implications for nutrient dynamics following stand-replacing disturbances

2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (9) ◽  
pp. 2331-2340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne Brais ◽  
David Paré ◽  
Cédric Lierman
Keyword(s):  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Pinus Banksiana ◽  
Nutrient Dynamics ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Jack Pine ◽  
Trembling Aspen ◽  
Tree Biomass ◽  
White Birch ◽  
Nutrient Immobilization

To assess nutrient dynamics in decomposing logs of trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.), white birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.), white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss), and jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.), we monitored mass losses and changes in N and P contents in dead boles from a chronosequence of sites following stand-replacing disturbances. To assess the importance of wood decomposition to nutrient cycling, we compared net estimates of nutrient release from logs with net nutrient immobilization in live-tree biomass of stands as a function of time since disturbance. Mineralization rates were 0.060, 0.053, 0.038, and 0.020·year–1 for trembling aspen, white birch, white spruce, and jack pine logs, respectively. Trembling aspen boles released large quantities of N and P during the first year of decomposition (51 kg·ha–1 of N and 7 kg·ha–1 of P, assuming a bole volume of 150 m3·ha–1). White birch boles acted initially as a nutrient sink and delayed the release of immobilized nutrients until a period when the stand's net nutrient immobilization rates were highest. Jack pine boles appeared to be intermediate in terms of their contribution as a sink or a source of nutrients but, in mature stands, provided up to 40% of N and 26% of P immobilized annually in tree biomass. As pure stands of white spruce are rare in boreal Quebec, information on nutrient accumulation in white spruce stands was not available.

Spotgun-Applied Hexazinone: Release of Red Pine (Pinus resinosa) from Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides) Competition and Residue Persistence in Soil

1990 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 371-375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raj Prasad ◽  
Joseph C. Feng
Keyword(s):  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
Sandy Loam ◽  
Pinus Resinosa ◽  
Red Pine ◽  
Quaking Aspen ◽  
Lateral Movement ◽  
White Birch ◽  
Grid Pattern ◽  
Northern Ontario ◽  
Loam Soil

Weed control and red pine release by spotgun-applied hexazinone in a northern Ontario plantation were evaluated 3 yr after treatment, while hexazinone residues and lateral movement in the sandy loam soil were determined 1 yr after treatment. Hexazinone, grid pattern spot applied at 480 mg ai/spot, approximating 1.6 kg ai/ha, resulted in 88% quaking aspen stem dieback and variable suppression of white birch and pin cherry. The height and basal diam of treated red pine were 131 and 150% of control, respectively, after 3 yr. Hexazinone residues were reduced to 1% at the treated spot and did not move laterally beyond 0.5 m, 1 yr after treatment. Detection of small amounts of metabolites A and B (0.2 and 0.3%) indicated the non-cumulative degradation of hexazinone in soils.

Bryophyte and lichen communities in mature to old-growth stands in eastern boreal forests of Canada

2002 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 1080-1093 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Boudreault ◽  
Yves Bergeron ◽  
Sylvie Gauthier ◽  
Pierre Drapeau
Keyword(s):  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Pinus Banksiana ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Structural Diversity ◽  
Tree Age ◽  
Pleurozium Schreberi ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Site Characteristics ◽  
Successional Stages

We sampled 22 black spruce (Picea mariana) - feathermoss (Pleurozium schreberi) sites (80 to >200 years) to describe and assess the diversity of bryophyte and lichen communities as a function of time since fire and site characteristics. Old growth had no more species than younger forests. We think that this result might be explained by the phenomenon of paludification, which is a major process in this region. Axis 1 of a nonmetric multidimensional scaling ordination (NMS) of terricolous species was interpreted as a paludification gradient. Mature forests were characterized by Pleurozium schreberi, Ptilium crista-castrensis, Polytrichum commune, and Dicranum polysetum, and older sites by a greater abundance of Sphagnum. Axis 1 of epiphytic species ordination (NMS) was interpreted as a gradient of time since the last fire. Abundance of Tuckermannopsis americana, Hypogymnia physodes, and Bryoria furcellata was greater in mature forests. In contrast, Mycoblastus sanguinarius, Bryoria trichodes, and Usnea spp. were more abundant in older forests. The abundance of epiphytic lichens increased with tree age, whereas their richness was higher in sites where trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) and jack pine (Pinus banksiana) were present. Since species composition varied with time since the last fire, it is important to preserve the diversity of successional stages at the landscape level and the structural diversity at the stand level to maintain the bryophyte and lichen communities.

Perspectives on development of definitions and values related to old-growth forests

2003 ◽  
Vol 11 (S1) ◽  
pp. S9-S22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee E Frelich ◽  
Peter B Reich
Keyword(s):  
Tree Height ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Primary Forest ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Biological Resources ◽  
Stage Of Development ◽  
Second Growth ◽  
Old Growth Forests ◽  
Primary Forests

Old-growth forests are those that meet some threshold(s) determined by a scientific and political process. The main issue is what criteria to use to determine these thresholds; they must be practical enough to allow managers to delimit and manage old-growth stands in the field. People value forests with old and (or) big trees and primary forests that have a continuous heritage of natural disturbance and regeneration, even though the latter may include all stages of stand development and succession. We advocate uniting these two and using "primary forest", also called "natural heritage forest", as the criterion for delimiting old growth in regions where primary forest still exists. This criterion recognizes that the stage of development with big, old trees is part of a cycle of development, and it is necessary to have all the parts to continue to produce new examples of the older stages. The best available second-growth stands can be used in regions where primary forests are not available. Alternatively, threshold criteria for delimiting old growth can be based on tree size and age, but arbitrary criteria based on human size and age scales should be avoided in favour of criteria that specify stands dominated by trees relatively large and old for the species and site. Such criteria allow for old growth to occur across a variety of levels of site productivity, with trees of widely varying stature and with varying life-history characteristics, such as longevity, shade tolerance, and successional status. In any case, managers and scientists should work together to make sure that definitions work in the field but also include the ecological processes necessary to maintain the unique biological resources of old growth. The biological resources present in old growth may help to restore the second-growth landscape and allow reconstitution of forests in new places after global warming. Old-growth forests provide a baseline for comparison of effects of logging and natural disturbance, with respect to resilience to climatic change and disturbance, maintenance of species richness, and natural genetic structure of tree populations, which respond to different selective regimes in old growth and harvested forests. The species in old-growth remnants, their interactions and the resilience of the system after disturbance are as important or perhaps more so than the age and size of the trees at a given point in time. Key words: dwarf forest, Minnesota, old-growth processes, tree height.

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