scholarly journals Seedling size and woody competition most important predictors of growth following free-to-grow assessments in four boreal forest plantations

2010 ◽  
Vol 86 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahadev Sharma ◽  
F. Wayne Bell ◽  
R. G. White ◽  
Andreé Morneault ◽  
William D. Towill
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Tree Growth ◽  
Pinus Banksiana ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Volume Growth ◽  
Competition Effect ◽  
Explanatory Variables ◽  
Seedling Size ◽  
Initiation Phase ◽  
Effectiveness Monitoring

Improvements to forest management decisions require accurate and quantifiable information. We examined the effects of various classes of competitors on crop tree growth in the context of free-to-grow standards using regression analysis. We found that seedling size accounted for most of the variation in height and volume growth of jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) and black spruce (Picea mariana [Mill.] BSP) plantations. Including herbaceous and woody competition as explanatory variables explained the additional variation on crop tree growth significantly. In the plantation initiation phase (years 2 to 6), the presence of herbaceous competitors generally reduced conifer growth but in the first part of the stem-exclusion phase (years 7 to 12) increased their growth. In all four boreal plantations in this study, woody competitors reduced conifer growth in both the initiation and stem-exclusion phases. These results have relevance to forest managers who develop and/or use free-to-grow surveys. Key words: vegetation management, silviculture, effectiveness monitoring, forest management, regeneration success, competition effect

Boreal mixedwood tree growth on contrasting soils and disturbance types

2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 986-995 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer L Martin ◽  
Stith T Gower
Keyword(s):  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
Tree Growth ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Pinus Banksiana ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Jack Pine ◽  
Soil Types ◽  
Radial Increment ◽  
Mixedwood Forests ◽  
Increment Growth

Mixedwood forests are an ecologically and economically important ecosystem in the boreal forest of northern Canada. The objectives of this study were to (i) compare the age–height relationships for dominant tree species growing on two contrasting soil types and originating from different disturbances (logging versus wildfire), and (ii) determine the influence of competition on tree growth. Eight stands were selected that encompassed two age-classes replicated on two soil types (clay loam and sand) in a split-plot design. Four of the eight stands originated from logging (21–26 years old), and <F"Times">the four others originated from wildfires (80 years old). Nonlinear age–height analyses were used to compare annual height and radial increment growth of black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP), jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.), and trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.). Species, soil type, and size class explained significant amounts of the measured variation in the age–height models. Aspen, black spruce, and jack pine were 16%, 27%, and 19% taller, respectively, on clay soils than on sandy soils at the burned stand. Tree heights did not differ significantly among species or between soil types in logged stands. Diameter growth decreased as competition increased for black spruce and jack pine in the burned stands. The results for these three important boreal tree species are discussed in the context of sustainable forestry for boreal mixedwood forests.

Vertical patterns in specific volume increment along stems of dominant jack pine (Pinus banksiana) and black spruce (Picea mariana) after thinning

2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 733-748 ◽  
Author(s):  
Venceslas Goudiaby ◽  
Suzanne Brais ◽  
Frank Berninger ◽  
Robert Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Picea Mariana ◽  
Specific Volume ◽  
Pinus Banksiana ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Mass Density ◽  
Volume Growth ◽  
Jack Pine ◽  
Stem Volume ◽  
Volume Increment ◽  
Foliage Density

Jack pine ( Pinus banksiana Lamb.) and black spruce ( Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) total stem volume increment and vertical growth distribution after thinning were quantified and related to foliage biomass, foliage density, and growth efficiency (GE) (stem to foliage biomass ratio). Significant positive stem volume increments were observed following thinning for jack pine (3 years after) and black spruce (4 years after). Both species reacted differently in terms of the distribution in specific volume increments (SVI) (annual stem volume increment to cambial surface ratio): (i) for jack pine, an increase in SVI was first observed at the base of the tree, with the increase moving upwards, showing that the taper was likely to increase following thinning and (ii) for black spruce, the vertical distribution of SVI was constant, leading to no modifications in stem taper. For jack pine, total stem volume growth was related to an increase in GE and a greater foliage biomass at midcrown, with foliage density staying constant. For black spruce, however, no changes in GE, foliage biomass, and foliage mass density were observed.

scholarly journals Effects of timing of glyphosate application on jack pine, black spruce, and white spruce plantations in northern Manitoba

2008 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Songling Fu ◽  
Han Y.H. Chen ◽  
F. Wayne Bell ◽  
Mahadev Sharma ◽  
Jeff R Delaney ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Banksiana ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Volume Growth ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Jack Pine ◽  
Repeated Measurements ◽  
Stand Volume ◽  
Root Collar Diameter ◽  
Collar Diameter ◽  
Root Collar

Deferring conifer release treatments is sometimes necessary, but its effects on crop tree performance are not well understood. We investigated the effects of deferring glyphosate applications on jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.), black spruce (Picea mariana [Mill.] BSP), and white spruce (Picea glauca [Moench.] Voss.) plantations established on a dry site with moderate competition and a moist site with heavier competition in The Pas, northern Manitoba. At each site, experimental treatments included no herbicide and one glyphosate (formulated as Vision®) at 1.42 kg acid equivalent glyphosate ha-1 application between one and five years after planting with three replications. Survival, root collar diameter, and height of the three conifers were repeatedly measured for ten consecutive years following planting. Survival of the three conifers was not affected by glyphosate application. For all the three species, root collar diameter and stand volume of crop trees increased significantly in glyphosate-treated plots, compared to control plots. Varying the timing of glyphosate application between year 1 and 5 resulted in a similar conifer dimensions. Glyphosate application significantly improved height growth of black spruce and marginally white spruce, but not jack pine. On these sites, glyphosate reduced the cover of woody species, but grass, forbs and shrubs rapidly captured the newly available growing space. A two variable regression analysis revealed that grass cover negatively affected stand volume of all three conifer species. Cover of tall shrub, forbs, and interaction of cover and height of tall shrubs were the next most important variables to explain jack pine, black spruce, and white spruce volume growth, respectively. Key words: vegetation management, forest herbicides, survival, growth, stand volume, long-term repeated measurements

Modelling knot morphology as a function of external tree and branch attributes

2013 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 266-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Duchateau ◽  
F. Longuetaud ◽  
F. Mothe ◽  
C. Ung ◽  
D. Auty ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tree Growth ◽  
Pinus Banksiana ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Tree Height ◽  
Jack Pine ◽  
Weibull Function ◽  
Data Set ◽  
External Branch ◽  
Tree Characteristics

Existing models for describing knot morphology are typically based on polynomial functions with parameters that are often not biologically interpretable. Hence, they are difficult to integrate into tree growth simulators due to the limited possibilities for linking knot shape to external branch and tree characteristics. X-ray computed tomography (CT) images taken along the stems of 16 jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) trees and 32 black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) trees were used to extract the three-dimensional shape of 3450 and 11 276 knots from each species, respectively. Using a nonlinear approach, we firstly fitted a model of knot geometry adapted from a Weibull function. Separate equations were used to describe both the curvature and the diameter of the knot along its pith. Combining these two equations gave an accurate representation of knot shape using only five parameters. Secondly, to facilitate the integration of the resulting model into a tree growth simulator, we extracted the parameters obtained for each knot and modelled them as functions of external branch and tree characteristics (e.g., branch diameter, insertion angle, position in the stem, tree height, and stem diameter). When fitted to a separate data set, the model residuals of the black spruce knot curvature equation were less than 2.9 mm in any part of the knot profile for 75% of the observations. The corresponding value from the diameter equation was 2.8 mm. In jack pine, these statistics increased to 5.4 mm and 3.2 mm, respectively. Overall, the ability to predict knot attributes from external tree- and branch-level variables has the potential to improve the simulation of internal stem properties.

scholarly journals Disentangling the Legacies of Climate and Management on Tree Growth

Ecosystems ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Marqués ◽  
Drew M. P. Peltier ◽  
J. Julio Camarero ◽  
Miguel A. Zavala ◽  
Jaime Madrigal-González ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Forest Management ◽  
Tree Growth ◽  
European Beech ◽  
Ring Formation ◽  
Silver Fir ◽  
Past Climate ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Ecological Memory ◽  
Historical Forest

AbstractLegacies of past climate conditions and historical management govern forest productivity and tree growth. Understanding how these processes interact and the timescales over which they influence tree growth is critical to assess forest vulnerability to climate change. Yet, few studies address this issue, likely because integrated long-term records of both growth and forest management are uncommon. We applied the stochastic antecedent modelling (SAM) framework to annual tree-ring widths from mixed forests to recover the ecological memory of tree growth. We quantified the effects of antecedent temperature and precipitation up to 4 years preceding the year of ring formation and integrated management effects with records of harvesting intensity from historical forest management archives. The SAM approach uncovered important time periods most influential to growth, typically the warmer and drier months or seasons, but variation among species and sites emerged. Silver fir responded primarily to past climate conditions (25–50 months prior to the year of ring formation), while European beech and Scots pine responded mostly to climate conditions during the year of ring formation and the previous year, although these responses varied among sites. Past management and climate interacted in such a way that harvesting promoted growth in young silver fir under wet and warm conditions and in old European beech under drier and cooler conditions. Our study shows that the ecological memory associated with climate legacies and historical forest management is species-specific and context-dependent, suggesting that both aspects are needed to properly evaluate forest functioning under climate change.

Alternate Strip Clearcutting in Upland Black Spruce: III. Regeneration Options for Leave Strips

1987 ◽  
Vol 63 (6) ◽  
pp. 446-450 ◽  
Author(s):  
James E. Wood ◽  
Richard Raper
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Banksiana ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Cost Savings ◽  
Jack Pine ◽  
Direct Seeding ◽  
Transparent Plastic ◽  
Management Objectives ◽  
Biological Criteria ◽  
Alternative Sources ◽  
Topographic Positions

In the alternate strip clearcutting system, first-cut strips are regenerated by seed produced by black spruce (Picea mariana [Mill.] B.S.P.) in the forested leave strips. However, after the second cut, such a seed source is not available for regenerating the leave strips. Therefore, the forest manager must consider a number of alternative regeneration options. The selection of the most appropriate regeneration option is dependent upon several economic and biological criteria. These include future costs of delivered wood, site productivity, post-harvest site condition, future alternative sources of supply, and future demand for industrial wood. Regeneration options such as preservation of advance growth and direct seeding are recommended for sites on which the manager is concerned primarily with regenerating first cut strips and is willing to accept a lower level of stocking in leave strips. Planting, the most intensive option discussed, should be reserved for sites offering the highest potential return or greatest future cost savings. Direct seeding of jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) should be considered on the upland portions of this patterned site type. Mixing jack pine and black spruce is a suggested regeneration option if the site contains both upland and lowland topographic positions. Other seeding options include the use of semi-transparent plastic seed shelters. The manager might consider combining two or more of these options to meet management objectives.

scholarly journals Cold hardiness of white spruce, black spruce, jack pine, and lodgepole pine needles during dehardening

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (8) ◽  
pp. 1116-1122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rongzhou Man ◽  
Pengxin Lu ◽  
Qing-Lai Dang
Keyword(s):  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Pinus Banksiana ◽  
Cold Hardiness ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Lodgepole Pine ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Visual Assessment ◽  
Jack Pine ◽  
Pine Needles ◽  
Late Winter

Conifer winter damage results primarily from loss of cold hardiness during unseasonably warm days in late winter and early spring, and such damage may increase in frequency and severity under a warming climate. In this study, the dehardening dynamics of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. ex. Loud), jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.), white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss), and black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) were examined in relation to thermal accumulation during artificial dehardening in winter (December) and spring (March) using relative electrolyte leakage and visual assessment of pine needles and spruce shoots. Results indicated that all four species dehardened at a similar rate and to a similar extent, despite considerably different thermal accumulation requirements. Spring dehardening was comparatively faster, with black spruce slightly hardier than the other conifers at the late stage of spring dehardening. The difference, however, was relatively small and did not afford black spruce significant protection during seedling freezing tests prior to budbreak in late March and early May. The dehardening curves and models developed in this study may serve as a tool to predict cold hardiness by temperature and to understand the potential risks of conifer cold injury during warming–freezing events prior to budbreak.

Forest floor mass and nutrients in two chronosequences of plantations: Jack pine vs. black spruce

1998 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helmut Krause
Keyword(s):  
Nutrient Cycling ◽  
Picea Mariana ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Pinus Banksiana ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Jack Pine ◽  
Pine Plantations ◽  
Nutrient Concentrations ◽  
Natural Forests

The purpose of this study was to determine whether change of forest cover had an effect on the development of the organic surface horizons, particularly on those variables that influence nutrient cycling and forest productivity. Jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) and black spruce (Picea mariana [Mill.] B.S.P.) plantations were selected from among the youngest to oldest (2–16 yr) within a 100 km2 area in southeastern New Brunswick. Natural forests were also included as benchmark sites. The forest floor and tree foliage was sampled and trees measured on 0.05-ha plots. The forest floor samples were used to determine organic mass, nutrient contents and pH. In pine plantations, organic matter accumulated rapidly during the period of exponential tree growth, but leveled off at about 45 Mg ha–1. This was within the range of benchmark sites with mixed conifer-hardwood cover. In spruce plantations, the forest floor mass ranged upward to 77 Mg ha–1. Development was strongly influenced by the nature of the previous forest. Spruce forest floors were on average more acid and had lower nutrient concentrations, particularly N and Ca. The observed differences suggest that nutrients are recycled more rapidly in the pine plantations, partly explaining the superior growth of the latter. Key words: Forest floor, Kalmia angustifolia L., Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P., Pinus banksiana Lamb., nutrient cycling, plantation forest

scholarly journals Soil disturbance and 10-year growth response of coast Douglas-fir on nontilled and tilled skid trails in the Oregon Cascades

2002 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald Heninger ◽  
William Scott ◽  
Alex Dobkowski ◽  
Richard Miller ◽  
Harry Anderson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tree Growth ◽  
Volume Growth ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Soil Bulk Density ◽  
Soil Disturbance ◽  
Height Growth ◽  
Douglas Fir ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Fine Soil ◽  
Reduced Height

We (i) quantified effects of skidder yarding on soil properties and seedling growth in a portion of western Oregon, (ii) determined if tilling skid trails improved tree growth, and (iii) compared results with those from an earlier investigation in coastal Washington. Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) seedlings were hand planted at eight recent clearcuts in skid ruts in either nontilled or tilled trails, in adjacent soil berms, and in adjacent logged-only portions. Four and 5 years after skidding, rut depths averaged 15 cm below the original soil surface; mean fine-soil bulk density (0–30 cm depth) below ruts of nontilled trails exceeded that on logged-only portions by 14%. Height growth on nontilled trails averaged 24% less than on logged-only portions in year 4 after planting and decreased to 6% less in year 7. For years 8–10, mean height growth was similar for all treatments. Reduced height growth lasted for about 7 years compared with 2 years for coastal Washington. Ten years after planting, trees in skid-trail ruts averaged 10% shorter with 29% less volume than those on logged-only portions. Tillage improved height and volume growth to equal that on logged-only portions. Generalizations about negative effects of skid trails on tree growth have limited geographic scope.

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