Litter decomposition in western red cedar and western hemlock forests on northern Vancouver Island, British Columbia

1996 ◽  
Vol 74 (10) ◽  
pp. 1626-1634 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. J. Keenan ◽  
C. E. Prescott ◽  
J. P. Kimmins ◽  
J. Pastor ◽  
B. Dewey
Keyword(s):  
Litter Decomposition ◽  
Litter Quality ◽  
Tsuga Heterophylla ◽  
N Cycling ◽  
Western Hemlock ◽  
Thuja Plicata ◽  
N Availability ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
Red Cedar ◽  
Western Red Cedar

Litter decomposition and changes in N and organic chemicals were studied for 2 years in two forest types: old-growth western red cedar (Thuja plicata Donn) and western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarge) and 85-year-old stands of western hemlock and amabilis fir (Abies amabilis (Dougl.) Forbes) that developed after a major windstorm. We tested the hypothesis that lower rates of mass loss and different patterns of nutrient release in decomposing litter could explain lower nutrient availability in the cedar–hemlock type. Decomposition rate of a standard litter substrate, lodgepole pine needles, was almost identical in the two forest types indicating that each type had similar microenvironmental conditions for decomposers. Salal leaves had a lower lignin to N ratio and decomposed and released N more rapidly than the conifer litters. Among the conifers, cedar had poorer litter quality (higher lignin to N ratio), decomposed more slowly, and released considerably less N during the study. Cedar litter contributes to lower N availability in cedar–hemlock forests, but other factors, such as lower external N cycling and complexing of N with secondary carbon compounds during later stages of decomposition, are also likely to have a major influence on N availability. Keywords: Thuja plicata, Tsuga heterophylla, decomposition, litter quality, N cycling.

Studies on periderm. II. Anthocyanidins in secondary periderm tissue of amabilis fir, grand fir, western hemlock, and western red cedar

1969 ◽  
Vol 47 (9) ◽  
pp. 1419-1422 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. B. Mullick
Keyword(s):  
Tsuga Heterophylla ◽  
Free State ◽  
Western Hemlock ◽  
Thuja Plicata ◽  
Abies Grandis ◽  
Abies Amabilis ◽  
Red Cedar ◽  
Western Red Cedar ◽  
Thuja Plicata Donn

By using a mild method, which precludes the possibility of pigment hydrolysis during extraction and processing, the occurrence of anthocyanidins in the free state has been detected in the normal secondary periderm tissues (rhytidomal region) of amabilis fir (Abies amabilis (Dougl.) Forbes), grand fir (Abies grandis (Dougl.) Lindl.), western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.), and western red cedar (Thuja plicata Donn.). Cyanidin was present in all species. Pelargonidin was present in western hemlock and most likely also in western red cedar.

Five-year growth response of western red cedar, western hemlock, and amabilis fir to chemical and organic fertilizers

1998 ◽  
Vol 28 (9) ◽  
pp. 1328-1334 ◽  
Author(s):  
C E Prescott ◽  
S M Brown
Keyword(s):  
Wood Ash ◽  
Tsuga Heterophylla ◽  
Pulp And Paper ◽  
Organic Fertilizers ◽  
Western Hemlock ◽  
Thuja Plicata ◽  
Paper Sludge ◽  
Growth Responses ◽  
Red Cedar ◽  
Western Red Cedar

The hypothesis that growth responses of conifers to application of organic fertilizers are of longer duration than responses to chemical fertilizers was tested in two trials on northern Vancouver Island. Both trials were in 10-year-old plantations of conifers on a salal-dominated cutover known to have poor N supply. In Trial 1, western red cedar (Thuja plicata Donn ex D. Don), western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.), and amabilis fir (Abies amabilis (Dougl.) Forbes) were treated with municipal biosolids at 542 kg N·ha-1 and 162 kg P·ha-1 or ammonium nitrate and triple superphosphate at 225 kg N·ha-1 and 75 kg P·ha-1. Height increments in the 5 years following applications were two to five times greater in plots treated with either biosolids or fertilizer than in untreated plots. In Trial 2, western red cedar was treated with fertilizer at 225 kg N·ha-1 and 75 kg P·ha-1 or the following organic amendments at 504-610 kg N·ha-1: biosolids, biosolids and pulp and paper sludge, fish silage and wood ash, fish silage with wood ash and pulp and paper sludge, and wood ash alone. Height increments in the 5 years following applications were similar in all treated plots (except wood ash alone). These experiments provided no evidence for sustained growth responses in plots treated with organic fertilizers compared with those treated with chemical fertilizer.

Mass and nutrient content of woody debris and forest floor in western red cedar and western hemlock forests on northern Vancouver Island

1993 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 1052-1059 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodney J. Keenan ◽  
Cindy E. Prescott ◽  
J.P. Hamish Kimmins
Keyword(s):  
Forest Floor ◽  
Forest Type ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Nutrient Content ◽  
Vancouver Island ◽  
Western Hemlock ◽  
N Availability ◽  
Red Cedar ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Western Red Cedar

Biomass and C, N, P, and K contents of woody debris and the forest floor were surveyed in adjacent stands of old-growth western red cedar (Thujaplicata Donn)–western hemlock (Tsugaheterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.) (CH type), and 85-year-old, windstorm-derived, second-growth western hemlock–amabilis fir (Abiesamabilis (Dougl.) Forbes) (HA type) at three sites on northern Vancouver Island. Carbon concentrations were relatively constant across all detrital categories (mean = 556.8 mg/g); concentrations of N and P generally increased, and K generally decreased, with increasing degree of decomposition. The mean mass of woody debris was 363 Mg/ha in the CH and 226 Mg/ha in the HA type. The mean forest floor mass was 280 Mg/ha in the CH and 211 Mg/ha in the HA stands. Approximately 60% of the forest floor mass in each forest type was decaying wood. Dead woody material above and within the forest floor represented a significant store of biomass and nutrients in both forest types, containing 82% of the aboveground detrital biomass, 51–59% of the N, and 58–61% of the detrital P. Forest floors in the CH and HA types contained similar total quantities of N, suggesting that the lower N availability in CH forests is not caused by greater immobilization in detritus. The large accumulation of forest floor and woody debris in this region is attributed to slow decomposition in the cool, wet climate, high rates of detrital input following windstorms, and the large size and decay resistance of western red cedar boles.

Palynology and paleoecology of postglacial sediments in an anoxic basin, Saanich Inlet, British Columbia

1983 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 873-885 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda E. Heusser
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Pinus Contorta ◽  
Tsuga Heterophylla ◽  
Douglas Fir ◽  
Western Hemlock ◽  
Thuja Plicata ◽  
Alnus Rubra ◽  
Red Cedar ◽  
Saanich Inlet ◽  
Anoxic Basin

Varved, black clayey silts deposited in the marine waters of Saanich Inlet yield unusually abundant and diverse pollen assemblages derived from the coastal Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga) and western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) forests of southwestern British Columbia. The 12 000 year palynological record chronicles the development of vegetation since ice left Saanich Inlet: the succession of pine (Pinus contorta) and alder (Alnus rubra) woodlands by forests characterized by Douglas-fir and oak (Quercus) and later by western hemlock and red cedar (Thuja plicata). Rapid deposition of annual layers of pollen, charcoal, and other terrigenous particles provides detailed evidence of changes in land use during the past few hundred years: settlement, logging, farming, and urbanization. Vegetational and climatic changes inferred from pollen spectra in the marine sediments of Saanich Inlet compare favorably with changes inferred from correlative pollen assemblages previously described from adjacent parts of Vancouver Island and the Fraser River valley.

Ionic balance and organic acids in western redcedar, western hemlock, and Douglas-fir seedlings grown in low- and high-N soils

1999 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 669-678 ◽  
Author(s):  
J E Graff, Jr. ◽  
R K Hermann ◽  
J B Zaerr
Keyword(s):  
Organic Acids ◽  
Quinic Acid ◽  
Tsuga Heterophylla ◽  
Douglas Fir ◽  
Western Hemlock ◽  
Thuja Plicata ◽  
N Availability ◽  
Ionic Balance ◽  
Total N ◽  
Western Redcedar

Seedlings of western redcedar (Thuja plicata Donn ex. D. Don), western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.), and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) were transplanted into soils with low and high levels of available NO3-(and total N). Current-year foliage was sampled after 10 weeks to determine the effect of N availability on foliar cation-anion balance (C-A) and the concentrations of low molecular weight organic acids of the three species. Carboxylate concentrations were estimated by using the difference between sums of cations and anions (C-A): 750 mequiv.·kg-1for western redcedar, 351 mequiv.·kg-1for western hemlock, and 266 mequiv.·kg-1for Douglas-fir. Quinic acid was a primary constituent, accounting for 40% of the total for western redcedar and 75% for western hemlock and Douglas-fir. Oxalic acid was present in greatest concentration in the foliage of western redcedar (65 mequiv.·kg-1) but was a minor constituent in western hemlock and Douglas-fir. The quantified acids accounted for only 15% of the C-A of western redcedar but >80% of the C-A of western hemlock and Douglas-fir. A considerable portion of the C-A balance not accounted for in redcedar may be associated with the accumulation of CaCO3. Litterfall deposition of CaCO3may lead to the consumption of H+ions and enrichment of exchangeable soil Ca in the rooting zone of long-lived western redcedar trees. No statistically significant differences among the soils were detected with regard to C-A or the concentration of organic acids.

Foliar analysis and response of fertilized chlorotic western hemlock and western red cedar reproduction on salal-dominated cedar–hemlock cutovers on Vancouver Island

1989 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 1512-1520 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. F. Weetman ◽  
R. Fournier ◽  
J. Barker ◽  
E. Schnorbus-Panozzo
Keyword(s):  
N Uptake ◽  
Tsuga Heterophylla ◽  
Western Hemlock ◽  
Vector Analysis ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Foliar Analysis ◽  
P Nutrition ◽  
Red Cedar ◽  
Nutrient Additions ◽  
Western Red Cedar

Microplot and conventional plot trials were used to determine the nutritional status and required nutrient additions to bring young regenerations of western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.) and western red cedar (Thujaplicata Donn ex D. Don) out of "check." The trees were growing on deep mor-humus Podzols invaded by dense salal (Gaultheriashallon). Salal removal by grubbing and application of Garlon was also tested. Foliar vector analysis, used for hemlock, identified a response to N and P that was confirmed by subsequent 3-year height growth response. Salal removal resulted in increased N uptake only in cedar. Cedar also responded to N and P additions, but vector analysis was not feasible owing to indeterminate growth. Foliar analysis values are compared with published data. It is suggested that salal competition or allelopathy may be the primary cause of inadequate N and P nutrition.

Effects of carbon and lime additions on mineralization of C and N in humus from cutovers of western red cedar–western hemlock forests on northern Vancouver Island

1994 ◽  
Vol 24 (12) ◽  
pp. 2432-2438 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.E. Prescott ◽  
M.A. McDonald
Keyword(s):  
N Mineralization ◽  
Potato Starch ◽  
Western Hemlock ◽  
N Availability ◽  
Net N Mineralization ◽  
Glucose Addition ◽  
Red Cedar ◽  
C And N Mineralization ◽  
C And N ◽  
Western Red Cedar

The potential for amendments of simple C compounds or lime to improve N availability in humus from cedar–hemlock cutovers was tested in laboratory incubations and a greenhouse bioassay. Rates of C and N mineralization in samples of humus and woody humus during aerobic incubations in the laboratory were not affected by additions of potato starch. Mineralization of C was stimulated and net N mineralization was reduced after glucose addition. Microorganisms in humus may not be capable of degrading starch, and simpler C sources such as glucose increase immobilization of N in microbial biomass. The biomass of seedlings of western red cedar (Thujaplicata Donn), western hemlock (Tsugaheterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.), and Sitka spruce (Piceasitchensis (Bong.) Carr.) grown in pots containing cedar–hemlock humus amended with dolomitic lime was similar to the biomass of seedlings grown in unamended humus after 18 months. Seedlings grown in humus amended with N and P fertilizers were significantly larger than those grown in unamended or lime-amended humus. It is unlikely that applications of C or lime to cedar–hemlock cutovers would increase rates of N mineralization from humus. Additions of nutrients appear to be the only practical means of alleviating the nutrient supply problems on these sites.

Nitrogen mineralization and decomposition in forest floors in adjacent plantations of western red cedar, western hemlock, and Douglas-fir

1994 ◽  
Vol 24 (12) ◽  
pp. 2424-2431 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.E. Prescott ◽  
C.M. Preston
Keyword(s):  
Mass Loss ◽  
N Mineralization ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Douglas Fir ◽  
Western Hemlock ◽  
N Availability ◽  
Net N Mineralization ◽  
Red Cedar ◽  
Western Red Cedar ◽  
Forest Floors

To determine if western red cedar (Thujaplicata Donn) litter contributes to low N availability in cedar–hemlock forests, we measured concentrations of N and rates of net N mineralization in forest floors from single-species plantations of cedar, western hemlock (Tsugaheterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.), and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsugamenziesii (Mirb.) Franco) on the same site in coastal British Columbia. Concentrations of total and extractable N and rates of net N mineralization during laboratory incubations were lowest in the cedar forest floor and highest in Douglas-fir. Less C was mineralized in the cedar forest floor during incubation, and the amount of N mineralized per unit C was least in cedar. Rates of mass loss of foliar litter of the three species were similar during the first 50 weeks of a 70-week laboratory incubation, but cedar lost mass more quickly during the final 20 weeks. Rates of net N mineralization in the forest floors were significantly correlated with the initial percent N, C/N, % Klason lignin, and lignin/N of foliar litter. Foliar litter of cedar had lower concentrations of N and greater proportions of alkyl C (based on 13C NMR spectroscopy) than Douglas-fir litter. These characteristics of cedar litter may contribute to low N availability in cedar–hemlock forest floors. Concentrations of alkyl C (waxes and cutin) may be better than lignin for predicting rates of mass loss and N mineralization from litter.

Life History and Habits of Pseudohylesinus nebulosus (Leconte) (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) in the Interior of British Columbia

1956 ◽  
Vol 88 (5) ◽  
pp. 197-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Walters ◽  
L. H. McMullen
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Pinus Ponderosa ◽  
Tsuga Heterophylla ◽  
Douglas Fir ◽  
Western Hemlock ◽  
Thuja Plicata ◽  
Western North America ◽  
The West ◽  
Red Cedar ◽  
Yellow Pine

The Douglas-fir hylesinus, Pseudohylesinus nebulosus (Leconte), is a common bark beetle in western North America from British Columbia to Mexico. Although Douglas fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco, is the preferred host, the beetle has been collected also from western red cedar, Thuja plicata Donn, grand fir, Abies grandis (Dougl.) Lindl., amabilis fir, Abies amabilis (Dougl.) Forb., and western hemlock, Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg., on the west coast of British Columbia, and from western hemlock and western yellow pine, Pinus ponderosa Laws., in the interior of the Province. Swaine (1918) describes Pseudohylesinus nebulosus (Lec.) as “a slender species, with strong colour-markings in dark and light reddish-brown; the male very densely clothed with stout scales; the epistomal lobe strongly developed; length, 2.8 mm.; width, 1.2 mm. The supposed female has interspace 9 on the declivity less strongly serrate, and the elytral scales decidedly elongate and becoming plumose towards the base.”

Microbial utilization of dissolved organic carbon leached from riparian litterfall

2002 ◽  
Vol 59 (10) ◽  
pp. 1668-1676 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael D McArthur ◽  
John S Richardson
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Dissolved Organic Carbon ◽  
Bacterial Growth ◽  
Growth Rates ◽  
Western Hemlock ◽  
Thuja Plicata ◽  
Red Alder ◽  
Red Cedar ◽  
Western Red Cedar ◽  
Bacterial Growth Rates

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in aquatic systems is abundant and used within stream food webs, but DOC quality is rarely studied. DOC in the leachates from the litter of five tree species (red alder, Alnus rubra; vine maple, Acer circinatum; western red cedar, Thuja plicata; western hemlock, Tsuga hetrophylla; and Douglas-fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii) were assessed for their chemistry and relative ability to support growth of heterotrophic, stream bacteria. Bacterial growth was measured using [3H]leucine incorporated into protein over 24 h of exposure to nutrient-amended leachates. Bacterial growth was greatest in deciduous and western red cedar leachates, controlling for DOC concentration. Bacterial growth rates on most leachates were greatest after 1 h and then declined in a negative exponential pattern. The DOC less than 10 kDa supported lower bacterial growth rates than DOC from whole leachates on a per milligram DOC basis. The DOC C:N atomic ratio was the best predictor of bacterial growth (r2 = 0.84). DOC release from western hemlock needles increased linearly during 7 days of leaching, whereas most red alder and western red cedar DOC was released after 1 and 2 days, respectively. Successional changes in composition of riparian forest trees may influence the stream microbial productivity based on the changes in dissolved organic carbon.

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