Deer browsing outweighs the effects of site preparation and mechanical release on balsam fir seedlings performance: Implications to forest management

2017 ◽  
Vol 405 ◽  
pp. 360-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maxime Brousseau ◽  
Nelson Thiffault ◽  
Julien Beguin ◽  
Vincent Roy ◽  
Jean-Pierre Tremblay
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Site Preparation ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Deer Browsing ◽  
Mechanical Release

scholarly journals Intensive Forest Management Affects Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda L.) Growth and Survival on Poorly Drained Sites in Southern Arkansas

2006 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 79-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.S. Rahman ◽  
M.G. Messina ◽  
R.F. Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Pinus Taeda ◽  
Loblolly Pine ◽  
Site Preparation ◽  
Growth And Survival ◽  
Vegetation Control ◽  
Mechanical Site Preparation ◽  
Intensive Forest Management ◽  
Tree Survival ◽  
Pinus Taeda L

Abstract We investigated if intensive forest management could enhance loblolly pine seedling growth and survival on West Gulf flatwoods where winter and spring waterlogging and frequent summer drought limit loblolly pine performance. Fertilization, chemical vegetation control, and mechanical site preparation (combined bedding and ripping) were tested in different combinations on six sites established in southern Arkansas in early 1999. Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) seedling performance was monitored in the first two growing seasons (1999 and 2000) and fifth growing season (2003) after planting. Fertilization increased growth in all years. Mechanical site preparation affected only height and only until year 2. There was no effect of chemical vegetation control in any measurement year, although chemical vegetation control resulted in greater growth in combination with fertilization than did either treatment applied separately. Tree survival averaged 92% a few months after planting and then decreased significantly at year 1 (77%), and remained comparable until year 5, the last year data were collected. Tree survival was not affected by mechanical site preparation, fertilization, or chemical vegetation control. Intensive forest management can increase loblolly pine seedling growth and survival on poorly drained sites in the West Gulf.

The Importance of Insect Control in a Forest Management Program

1951 ◽  
Vol 83 (7) ◽  
pp. 176-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. F. Morris
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Economic Loss ◽  
Management Program ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Insect Control ◽  
Forest Composition ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Wood Supply ◽  
Direct Economic Loss

Swaine and Craighead (1924) have presented evidence that outbreaks of the spruce budworm occurred in Eastern Canada in 1806 and in 1878. In those days the wood supply appeared to be unlimited and the forest represented, to some extent, an obstacle that had to be removed so that the land could be cultivated. Balsam fir, the tree principally affected by the budworm, was seldom used for lumber when spruce was available. It can hardly be considered, therefore, that these early outbreaks caused much direct economic loss. If the trees had not been killed by the budworm, over-maturity and related factors would have removed them to make way for a new stand. In fact, were it not for the undesirable effects of budworm outbreaks on subsequent forest composition, it might even be argued that they were beneficial under certain conditions.

Impact of Deer Browsing on Regeneration of Balsam Fir in Canaan Valley, West Virginia

1992 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 89-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edwin D. Michael
Keyword(s):  
West Virginia ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Red Spruce ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Deer Browsing ◽  
Apparent Correlation ◽  
Canaan Valley

Abstract I determined composition and regeneration of balsam fir stands during June 1991 at four sites in Canaan Valley, West Virginia. White-tailed deer had heavily browsed balsam fir, and regeneration did not appear adequate to replace the stands. There was an apparent correlation between relative deer abundance, as measured by numbers of pellet groups, and balsam fir regeneration. The site with the most deer had the fewest balsam fir seedlings (5/ac), and the site with the fewest deer had the most balsam fir seedlings (1040/ac). Balsam fir will probably be replaced by red spruce, one of the few tree species not commonly browsed by deer. North. J. Appl. For. 9(3):89-90.

Preindustrial reconstruction of a perhumid midboreal landscape, Anticosti Island, Quebec

2010 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 928-942 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Barrette ◽  
Louis Bélanger ◽  
Louis De Grandpré
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Forest Dynamics ◽  
Sustainable Forest Management ◽  
Abies Balsamea ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Dynamics Model ◽  
Disturbance Dynamics ◽  
Cyclic Model ◽  
Anticosti Island

The knowledge of natural disturbance dynamics and preindustrial landscapes is essential to implement sustainable forest management. Recent findings identify the lack of a forest dynamics model, different from the standard cyclic model of Baskerville (1975. For. Chron. 51: 138–140), for balsam fir ( Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) ecosystems of maritime eastern Canada. With the use of historical forest maps and dendrochronology, we reconstructed the range of variability of the preindustrial landscape (6798 km2) and inferred on the natural disturbance dynamics of the balsam fir forest of Anticosti Island. The preindustrial landscape was characterized by a forest matrix of overmature softwood stands with inclusions of younger softwood stands ranging from 0.1 to 7837 ha in size. Widespread stand-initiating events were apparently rare in the preindustrial landscape over the last 160 years. Since our results were not well represented by the cyclic model, which predicts the occurrence of a mosaic of stands in different age classes, we proposed an alternative forest dynamics model for eastern balsam fir ecosystems near the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Forest management inspired by this alternative model may be more appropriate to maintain or restore ecological characteristics of balsam fir forests of this region within their range of natural variability.

scholarly journals Restoration of Natural Forests After Severe Wind Disturbance in a Cold, Snowy Region With a Deer Population: Implications From 15 Years of Field Experiments

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junko Morimoto ◽  
Mio Sugiura ◽  
Miho Morimoto ◽  
Futoshi Nakamura
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Wind Disturbance ◽  
Natural Forests ◽  
Deer Browsing ◽  
Salvage Logging ◽  
Deer Population ◽  
Forest Management Practices ◽  
The Impact

Questions have been raised about the application of conventional post-windthrow forest practices such as salvage logging, site preparation, and afforestation in response to the increase in wind disturbance caused by climate change. In particular, it is necessary to identify effective forest management practices that consider the pressure from deer browsing in forests in cold, snowy regions because the population of ungulates is expected to increase. The impacts of legacy destruction, i.e., the destruction of advance regeneration, microsites, and soil structure, caused by conventional post-windthrow practices have rarely been assessed separately from the impacts of subsequent deer browsing on forest regeneration or evaluated based on sufficiently long monitoring periods to assess vegetation succession. This lack of studies is one reason that alternative forest management practices to salvaging and planting have not been proposed. We conducted a field experiment at a large-scale windthrow site with a deer population to (1) assess the impact of legacy destruction and deer browsing on vegetation biomass and species composition after 15 years and (2) identify the effects of legacy retention. The study design allowed us to distinguish between and measure the impact of legacy destruction and that of subsequent deer browsing during a 15-year period. The results revealed the following: (1) Salvage logging and site preparation suppressed the development of biomass of shrub and tree layers in forested areas where harvest residues were piled up and shifted the plant communities in these areas to herbaceous plant communities. (2) Subsequent deer browsing suppressed the development of the biomass of shrub and tree layers throughout the forested site and shifted herbaceous communities to ruderal communities dominated by alien species; and 3. Compared with salvaging and planting, legacy retention enabled the windthrow sites to more quickly develop into a stand with characteristics similar to that of a mature, natural forest. Forest management practices that consider the presence of deer are necessary. We propose a policy shift from planting trees after salvaging to leaving downed trees to regenerate natural forests, unless there is concern about insect damage to the remaining forestry land in the vicinity.

Effects of precommercial thinning on the forest value chain in northwestern New Brunswick: Part 3 – Incidence of root and butt decay

2013 ◽  
Vol 89 (04) ◽  
pp. 464-473 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary Warren ◽  
Patricia Baines ◽  
Jean Plamondon ◽  
Doug G. Pitt
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Abies Balsamea ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Stem Form ◽  
Green River ◽  
Precommercial Thinning ◽  
Permanent Sample Plots ◽  
Butt Rot

The Green River precommercial thinning (PCT) trials were established between 1959 and 1961 in naturally regenerating balsam fir (Abies balsamea [L.] Mill.)-dominated stands an average of eight years after overstory removal. Three nominal spacings of 4 ft (1.2 m), 6 ft (1.8 m) and 8 ft (2.4 m) were compared to an unthinned control in six replicate blocks. In the fall of 2008, following completion of the ninth sequential evaluation of the study’s 48 permanent sample plots, three of the six replicates were clearcut harvested; butt rot data were collected immediately afterwards. To date, forest management research and goals have focused on the benefits of PCT, such as increased tree size and merchantable volume, shorter rotation ages, and better stem form and uniformity. Comparatively little attention has been placed on negative aspects of PCT, such as the incidence and development of root and butt rots, and their impact on fibre yields and wood product values. Results from the Green River study provide evidence that PCT may increase the incidence of butt rot in balsam fir, with incidence proportional to thinning intensity (p < 0.01). We also observed incidence and volume of butt rot to increase with stem diameter (p ≤ 0.05). The experiment suggests that factors such as stand age at time of thinning, and age at the time of harvest are important considerations when it comes to mitigating the impacts of butt rot through forest management.

Effect of selective precommercial thinning on balsam fir stand yield and structure

2013 ◽  
Vol 89 (06) ◽  
pp. 759-768 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Schneider ◽  
Jean Bégin ◽  
Alain Danet ◽  
René Doucet
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Stand Structure ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Precommercial Thinning ◽  
Thinning Intensity ◽  
Ecosystem Based Management ◽  
Silvicultural Treatments ◽  
And Control ◽  
Stand Yield ◽  
Diameter Distributions

Silvicultural tools such as green retention harvesting and multiple variations of partial cut systems are being developed to implement ecosystem-based forest management. However, very little effort has been expended in developing silvicultural treatments for young stands. Results for a selective precommercial thinning (three thinning intensities and control) covering a 28-year period in a balsam fir-dominated stand are presented. Thinning did not significantly increase stand yield, nor change stand diameter diversity or distribution. Furthermore, diameter distributions and diversity of dead stems also did not differ significantly (P > 0.05) among thinning intensity. More important than intensity effects, statistical differences were found between initial stand densities. Low initial densities had greater yields and more diverse diameter distributions. Nevertheless, for low initial stand densities, light to moderate thinning seemed to increase yield, whereas moderate to heavy thinnings would be appropriate for high initial stand densities. Although selective precommercial thinning does not result in significant changes in stand structure, it could be used as a first step in increasing stand complexity within the context of ecosystem-based management.

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