scholarly journals Growth and wood quality of black spruce and balsam fir following careful logging around small merchantable stems (CLASS) in the boreal forest of Quebec, Canada

2016 ◽  
Vol 91 (3) ◽  
pp. 271-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Audrey Lemay ◽  
Cornelia Krause ◽  
Alexis Achim ◽  
Jean Bégin
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Wood Quality ◽  
Balsam Fir

scholarly journals Splitting in Fire-Killed Trees in the Boreal Forest of Alberta

2003 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 167-174
Author(s):  
Nobutaka Nakamura ◽  
Paul M. Woodard ◽  
Lars Bach
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Lodgepole Pine ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Crown Fire ◽  
In Fire ◽  
Solar Angle

Abstract Tree boles in the boreal forests of Alberta, Canada will split once killed by a stand-replacing crown fire. A total of 1,485 fire-killed trees were sampled, 1 yr after burning, in 23 plots in 14 widely separated stands within a 370,000 ha fire. Sampling occurred in the Upper and Lower Foothills natural subregions. The frequency of splitting varied by species but averaged 41% for all species. The order in the frequency of splitting was balsam fir, black spruce, white spruce and lodgepole pine. The type of splitting (straight, spiral, or multiple) varied by species, as did the position of the split on the tree bole. Aspect or solar angle was not statistically related to the type or occurrence of splitting.

scholarly journals Primary and Secondary Branch Growth in Black Spruce and Balsam Fir after Careful Logging around Small Merchantable Stems (CLASS)

Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 500 ◽  
Author(s):  
Audrey Lemay ◽  
Cornelia Krause ◽  
Alexis Achim
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Radial Growth ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Secondary Growth ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Secondary Branch ◽  
Partial Cutting ◽  
Branch Diameter ◽  
Branch Growth ◽  
Post Class

Careful logging around small merchantable stems (CLASS) is a partial cutting treatment that consists of the harvest of 70%–90% of the merchantable volume of an irregular coniferous stand. In this treatment, regeneration, saplings and small merchantable stems (DBH < 15 cm) are preserved and can continue to grow and develop into the dominant layer of the new stand. The aim of this project was to examine the effects of CLASS on the primary and secondary growth of branches, as well as on branch diameter in black spruce and balsam fir trees in the boreal forest of Quebec, Canada. Primary and secondary growth were measured on five branches per tree while branch diameter was analysed from 15 whorls distributed within the crown of the 48 black spruce and 48 balsam fir trees sampled. Branch primary and secondary growth significantly increased after CLASS in the lower part of the crown in both species, and both types of growth increased proportionally. These findings suggest that CLASS may delay crown recession as the lower branches tend to survive and grow for a longer period. However, although radial growth increased in the years post-CLASS, this did not significantly influence the final branch diameter and should not lead to lumber downgrade.

scholarly journals Estimating Stand Age from Airborne Laser Scanning Data to Improve Models of Black Spruce Wood Density in the Boreal Forest of Ontario

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (17) ◽  
pp. 2022
Author(s):  
Rebecca R.M. Wylie ◽  
Murray E Woods ◽  
Jeffery P. Dech
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Wood Density ◽  
Random Forests ◽  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Wood Quality ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Mean Square ◽  
Airborne Laser ◽  
Spruce Wood

Spatial models that provide estimates of wood quality enable value chain optimization approaches that consider the market potential of trees prior to harvest. Ecological land classification units (e.g., ecosite) and structural metrics derived from Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS) data have been shown to be useful predictors of wood quality attributes in black spruce stands of the boreal forest of Ontario, Canada. However, age drives much of the variation in wood quality among trees, and has not been included as a predictor in previous models because it is poorly represented in inventory systems. The objectives of this study were (i) to develop a predictive model of mean stem age of black spruce-dominated stands, and (ii) refine models of black spruce wood density by including age as a predictor variable. A non-parametric model of stand age that used a k nearest neighbor (kNN) classification based on a random forests (rf) distance metric performed well, producing a root mean square difference (RMSD) of 15 years and explaining 62% of the variance. The subsequent random forests model of black spruce wood density generated from age and ecosite predictors was useful, with a root mean square error (RMSE) of 59.1 kg·m−3. These models bring large-scale wood quality prediction closer to becoming operational by including age and site effects that can be derived from inventory data.

Root-rotting fungi associated with mortality of conifer saplings in northern Ontario

1978 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roy D. Whitney ◽  
Donald T. Myren
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Cause Of Death ◽  
Root Rot ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Red Pine ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
White Pine ◽  
Conifer Species ◽  
Northern Ontario

The roots of 435 dead or dying saplings, averaging 10 years of age, of seven conifer species from the Boreal Forest of northern Ontario were examined for root rot. Only trees with no obvious cause of death or decline, other than root rot, were selected. Eighty-three percent of the trees had root rot. Cultures revealed that Armillariamellea (Vahl ex Fr.) Kummer was associated with root rot in 68% of all trees examined, including more than 45% of the trees in each species. Ten other root-rotting fungi were isolated from 1% or fewer of the trees, 7 of them from balsam fir (Abiesbalsamea [L.] Mill.) and 3 from black spruce (Piceamariana [Mill.] B.S.P.). Scytinostromagalactinum (Fr.) Donk was isolated from sapwood of roots and lower stems of red pine (Pinusresinosa Ait.), balsam fir, white pine (P. strobes L.), and black spruce and appeared to be parasitic on these species. Coniophoraputeana (Schum. ex Fr.) Karst. was apparently associated with the death of one balsam fir.

scholarly journals Mixed Regional Shifts in Conifer Productivity under 21st-Century Climate Projections in Canada’s Northeastern Boreal Forest

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 248
Author(s):  
Tyler Searls ◽  
James Steenberg ◽  
Xinbiao Zhu ◽  
Charles P.-A. Bourque ◽  
Fan-Rui Meng
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Model Validation ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Abies Balsamea ◽  
Acer Rubrum ◽  
Forest Growth ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Growth And Yield ◽  
Climate Projections

Models of forest growth and yield (G&Y) are a key component in long-term strategic forest management plans. Models leveraging the industry-standard “empirical” approach to G&Y are frequently underpinned by an assumption of historical consistency in climatic growing conditions. This assumption is problematic as forest managers look to obtain reliable growth predictions under the changing climate of the 21st century. Consequently, there is a pressing need for G&Y modelling approaches that can be more robustly applied under the influence of climate change. In this study we utilized an established forest gap model (JABOWA-3) to simulate G&Y between 2020 and 2100 under Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) 2.6, 4.5, and 8.5 in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador (NL). Simulations were completed using the province’s permanent sample plot data and surface-fitted climatic datasets. Through model validation, we found simulated basal area (BA) aligned with observed BA for the major conifer species components of NL’s forests, including black spruce [Picea mariana (Mill.) Britton et al.] and balsam fir [Abies balsamea (L.) Mill]. Model validation was not as robust for the less abundant species components of NL (e.g., Acer rubrum L. 1753, Populus tremuloides Michx., and Picea glauca (Moench) Voss). Our simulations generally indicate that projected climatic changes may modestly increase black spruce and balsam fir productivity in the more northerly growing environments within NL. In contrast, we found productivity of these same species to only be maintained, and in some instances even decline, toward NL’s southerly extents. These generalizations are moderated by species, RCP, and geographic parameters. Growth modifiers were also prepared to render empirical G&Y projections more robust for use under periods of climate change.

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.

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