Boreal forests of eastern Canada revisited: old growth, nonfire disturbances, forest succession, and biodiversity

Botany ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 90 (6) ◽  
pp. 509-523 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yves Bergeron ◽  
Nicole J. Fenton
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Forest Succession ◽  
Management Model ◽  
Disturbance Regime ◽  
Ecological Process ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Short Rotation ◽  
Time Since Fire

Boreal forests have commonly been described as dominated by monospecific postfire stands that are reburnt well before other ecological process than those occurring immediately after fire can take place. Research undertaken over the last 30 years has given us a very different perspective of the complexity of Canadian boreal forests. Old-growth forests are common and their development is controlled by nonfire disturbances. Consequently, monospecific even-aged stands can develop towards more diversified uneven-aged stands with increasing time since fire. This complex disturbance regime, including both fire and nonfire disturbances, is partially responsible for a higher than expected biodiversity (e.g., understory) in these forests. The dominating forest management model in Canadian boreal forests, based on clear-cut harvesting and regeneration of short rotation even-aged stands, does not reflect the complexities of the disturbance–succession cycle observed in Canadian natural boreal forests.

Hybrid Poplars or Hardwood Coppice? An Agriforestry Option to Economically Increasing Wood Production in Eastern Canada

1983 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 143-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. R. C. Jones ◽  
J. Grant
Keyword(s):  
Volume Growth ◽  
Growth Increment ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Rotation Forest ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Hybrid Poplars ◽  
Short Rotation ◽  
Volume Production ◽  
One Year ◽  
Short Rotation Forest

A 1980 study compared wood volume production from 10-19 year-old naturally regenerated aspens growing on a loamy sand with the growth of 10-17 year-old hybrid poplars planted as one-year old rooted cuttings in a loamy soil in the Morgan Arboretum, Macdonald College, Quebec.Average volume per aspen sucker was 0.083 m3 versus 0.357 m3 for the hybrid poplars. The hybrids, on a better site but two years younger in age produced four times the volume growth of the natural stand regenerated following a strip clear cut in 1961. Both stands were thinned prior to the yields reported. The growth increment differences between stands was significant at the 0.01 level of probability.In spite of the better yields produced by the hybrids, the authors suggest that the potential for economic short rotation forest management from natural coppice hardwoods should be investigated more fully.

Changes in relative abundance of snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) across a 265-year gradient of boreal forest succession

2011 ◽  
Vol 89 (10) ◽  
pp. 908-920 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Hodson ◽  
Daniel Fortin ◽  
Louis Bélanger
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Forest Succession ◽  
Faecal Pellet ◽  
Canopy Gaps ◽  
Lepus Americanus ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Snowshoe Hares

Understory regeneration within canopy gaps in old-growth boreal forests may provide suitable habitat for wildlife typically associated with early-seral stages, leading to an increase in their abundance in late succession. We surveyed a chronosequence of postfire (17–265 years) and postharvest (3–63 years) stands in Canada’s eastern boreal forest to determine whether snowshoe hares ( Lepus americanus Erxleben, 1777) followed a bimodal abundance distribution with stand age that reflects changes in food and cover during postdisturbance succession. A strong peak in relative hare abundance occurred during the first 80 years of succession, with highest faecal pellet densities observed between 40 and 50 years after disturbance. Changes in hare abundance during this period were similar among fire- and clearcut-origin stands and closely tracked changes in lateral cover and vertical cover. Pellet density increased again in stands >180 years. Variation in hare abundance during late succession was partially mediated by gap dynamics, with highest pellet densities in stands occupied by an intermediate proportion of mortality-origin canopy gaps. Hares thus undergo rapid changes in abundance during early succession followed by a much longer period of subtle changes in density as stands develop old-growth structure. Shifting forest age-class distribution induced by forest management could therefore significantly alter regional spatiotemporal dynamics of snowshoe hares.

Deadwood abundance in Labrador high-boreal black spruce forests

2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulrike Hagemann ◽  
Martin T. Moroni ◽  
Franz Makeschin
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Reduction Rate ◽  
Coniferous Forests ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Dead Trees ◽  
Standing Dead

Deadwood (woody debris (WD), standing dead trees (snags), stumps, and buried deadwood) abundance was estimated in Labrador humid high-boreal black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) forests regrown following natural and anthropogenic disturbances. Aboveground deadwood (DW) abundance in Labrador was similar to values observed in other boreal forests experiencing drier or warmer climates. Clear-cut harvest generated large amounts of WD, which had almost completely decomposed 34–36 years following harvesting, with a fitted volume reduction rate of –0.058 year–1. Total WD in all harvested stands was composed of predominantly <10 cm pieces, which should be included in DW inventories of disturbed coniferous boreal forests. Postfire WD likely peaked ∼20 years following disturbance, as a result of the collapse of snags, and was dominated by large amounts of medium-sized logs (10.0–19.9 cm). Buried DW stocks considerably exceeded total aboveground DW stocks in old-growth, middle-aged, and older harvested stands. Old-growth stands contained 179.3 m3·ha–1 of buried DW, a vast amount indicative of long-term accumulation requiring significantly depressed rates of WD decomposition following burial. DW stocks could be significantly underestimated if buried DW is excluded from DW inventories in cool and moist coniferous forests with long fire-return intervals.

Forestry practices and biodiversity, with particular reference to the Maritime Provinces of eastern Canada

1994 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bill Freedman ◽  
Stephen Woodley ◽  
Judy Loo
Keyword(s):  
Native Species ◽  
Forest Products ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Industrial Facilities ◽  
Levels Of Organization ◽  
Forestry Practices ◽  
Forest Industries ◽  
Ecologically Sustainable

The Canadian forest industries are based on the extensive harvesting and management of forests, with attendant effects on biodiversity at all levels of organization. In large part, conflicts between forestry and biodiversity occur because lands that are harvested and managed are mostly natural and seminatural ecosystems. Prior to being affected by forestry, such lands provided habitat for native species of wild life and their communities. Some of these elements of biodiversity may not find silvicultural habitats, especially plantations, to be suitable to their needs. In addition, the longer term integrity of some natural ecosystems, for example old-growth forests, is not compatible with any but the softest types of exploitation and management. This report discusses interactions of forestry and biodiversity at three levels of organization: (i) genetic variation within populations and species; (ii) the richness of species within communities; and (iii) the richness of community types on the landscape. A broader conclusion of our report is the following: If forestry systems of harvesting and management are to be practised in an ecologically sustainable fashion, then all elements of biodiversity must be accommodated within a landscape comprised of an integration of working lands and ecological reserves. The spatial scale of this integration could be various, ranging from large watersheds, to the "woodsheds" of particular industrial facilities, to provincial and national areas. Therefore, resolution of the substantial conflicts between biodiversity and forestry requires the design of ecologically sustainable landscapes that can provide a flow of timber and other valuated forest products, while still sustaining natural biodiversity resources.Key words: forest management, biodiversity, ecological reserves, eastern Canada, harvesting practices, old growth.

scholarly journals The Delphi method as an alternative to standard committee meetings to identify ecological issues for forest ecosystem-based management: A case study

2016 ◽  
Vol 92 (04) ◽  
pp. 453-464 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Waldron ◽  
J.-M Lussier ◽  
N. Thiffault ◽  
F. Bujold ◽  
J.-C. Ruel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Forest Ecosystem ◽  
Delphi Method ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Expert Consultation ◽  
Committee Meeting ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Time Investment ◽  
Second Growth ◽  
The Face

The face-to-face committee meeting is one of the most common expert consultation methods used in forest management. However, it is also laden with disadvantages, such as potential inequity in its consideration of participant opinion and the time involvement required. This led us to evaluate another expert consultation method, the Delphi method, namely by implementing it to identify ecological issues associated with second-growth boreal forests in eastern Canada. We compared this method to the committee meeting method with regard to the time investment required and the efficiency of the consultations. In all, 21 experts participated in three rounds of our implementation of the Delphi method. Subsequently, we administered an appreciation survey comparing the participants’ attitudes vis-à-vis the two methods. These comparisons showed that Delphi was less time-consuming compared to a committee meeting consultation of comparable scope. Participants also considered the Delphi method to be fair and impartial, as all opinions were considered, which is frequently not the case in committee meetings. That said, participants believed that committee meetings allowed for a greater understanding of others’ opinions. Overall, the application of the Delphi method was shown to be a promising way of determining forest ecosystem management issues.

scholarly journals Evaluating the Performance of a Forest Succession Model to Predict the Long-Term Dynamics of Tree Species in Mixed Boreal Forests Using Historical Data in Northern Ontario, Canada

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1181
Author(s):  
Guy R. Larocque ◽  
F. Wayne Bell
Keyword(s):  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Forest Ecosystems ◽  
Forest Succession ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Abies Balsamea ◽  
Forest Growth ◽  
Northern Ontario ◽  
Phase Dynamics

Environmental concerns and economic pressures on forest ecosystems have led to the development of sustainable forest management practices. As a consequence, forest managers must evaluate the long-term effects of their management decisions on potential forest successional pathways. As changes in forest ecosystems occur very slowly, simulation models are logical and efficient tools to predict the patterns of forest growth and succession. However, as models are an imperfect representation of reality, it is desirable to evaluate them with historical long-term forest data. Using remeasured tree and stand data from three data sets from two ecoregions in northern Ontario, the succession gap model ZELIG-CFS was evaluated for mixed boreal forests composed of black spruce (Picea mariana [Mill.] B.S.P.), balsam fir (Abies balsamea [L.] Mill.), jack pine (Pinus banksiana L.), white spruce (Picea glauca [Moench] Voss), trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.), white birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.), northern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis L.), American larch (Larix laricina [Du Roi] K. Koch), and balsam poplar (Populus balsamefera L.). The comparison of observed and predicted basal areas and stand densities indicated that ZELIG-CFS predicted the dynamics of most species consistently for periods varying between 5 and 57 simulation years. The patterns of forest succession observed in this study support gap phase dynamics at the plot scale and shade-tolerance complementarity hypotheses at the regional scale.

scholarly journals Compared to Wildfire, Management Practices Reduced Old-Growth Forest Diversity and Functionality in Primary Boreal Landscapes of Eastern Canada

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maxence Martin ◽  
Pierre Grondin ◽  
Marie-Claude Lambert ◽  
Yves Bergeron ◽  
Hubert Morin
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Industrial Scale ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Ecosystem Based Management ◽  
Old Growth Forest ◽  
Old Growth Forests ◽  
Boreal Landscapes ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Primary Forests

Large primary forest residuals can still be found in boreal landscapes. Their areas are however shrinking rapidly due to anthropogenic activities, in particular industrial-scale forestry. The impacts of logging activities on primary boreal forests may also strongly differ from those of wildfires, the dominant stand-replacing natural disturbance in these forests. Since industrial-scale forestry is driven by economic motives, there is a risk that stands of higher economic value will be primarily harvested, thus threatening habitats, and functions related to these forests. Hence, the objective of this study was to identify the main attributes differentiating burned and logged stands prior to disturbance in boreal forests. The study territory lies in the coniferous and closed-canopy boreal forest in Québec, Canada, where industrial-scale logging and wildfire are the two main stand-replacing disturbances. Based on Québec government inventories of primary forests, we identified 427 transects containing about 5.5 circular field plots/transect that were burned or logged shortly after being surveyed, between 1985 and 2016. Comparative analysis of the main structural and environmental attributes of these transects highlighted the strong divergence in the impact of fire and harvesting on primary boreal forests. Overall, logging activities mainly harvested forests with the highest economic value, while most burned stands were low to moderately productive or recently disturbed. These results raise concerns about the resistance and resilience of remnant primary forests within managed areas, particularly in a context of disturbance amplification due to climate change. Moreover, the majority of the stands studied were old-growth forests, characterized by a high ecological value but also highly threatened by anthropogenic disturbances. A loss in the diversity and functionality of primary forests, and particularly the old-growth forests, therefore adds to the current issues related to these ecosystems. Since 2013, the study area is under ecosystem-based management, which implies that there have been marked changes in forestry practices. Complementary research will be necessary to assess the capacity of ecosystem-based management to address the challenges identified in our study.

Spatial and temporal variability in chemical properties of a podzolic B horizon of an old-growth maple forest

1995 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 343-348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Godbout ◽  
Jean-Louis Brown
Keyword(s):  
Soil Properties ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variability ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Total N ◽  
Organic C ◽  
Exchangeable Ca ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Soil Changes

A Podzolic soil from an old-growth maple hardwood forest in eastern Canada was systematically sampled from a 16.5-m-long trench in 1975. In 1986, the upper 10 cm of the B horizon was resampled from two sampling lines located on each side and parallel to the 1975 trench, one at a distance of 1 m downhill and the other at a distance of 4 m uphill. Total N, organic C, pH, and exchangeable Ca, Mg and K were measured. The objectives were to evaluate the change in the chemical status of the B horizon from 1975 to 1986 and to characterize the spatial variability of the horizon. No significant change was found in the soil chemical properties tested during this 11-yr period. No significant autocorrelation was observed between soil samples 60 cm apart, except for the downhill sampling line, which was located 1 m from the trench. For most properties, the magnitude of the difference between two soil sampling units was not proportional to the distance separating them over the range of 0.6–4.2 m. Except for pH, a difference in soil properties of more than 30% was observed in 37–56% of sample pairs 60 cm apart. Resampling near (1 m) an old soil pit may not be valid because of possible local modifications of soil properties created by the pit, even when it is filled in. Key words: Podzol, soil variability, acidic deposition, soil changes

Influence of Fire on Long-Term Patterns of Forest Succession in Alaskan Boreal Forests

2000 ◽  
pp. 214-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric S. Kasischke ◽  
Nancy H. F. French ◽  
Katherine P. O’Neill ◽  
Daniel D. Richter ◽  
Laura L. Bourgeau-Chavez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Forest Succession
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