Songbird abundance in clear-cut and burned stands: a comparison of natural disturbance and forest management

2002 ◽  
Vol 32 (8) ◽  
pp. 1343-1350 ◽  
Author(s):  
N PP Simon ◽  
F E Schwab ◽  
R D Otto
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Picea Mariana ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Tree Cover ◽  
Deciduous Tree ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Bird Density ◽  
Yellow Warblers ◽  
Successional Forests

To evaluate the efficacy of forest management to emulate natural disturbance, we compared bird abundances among burned and clear-cut, former black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) sites, after 5, 14, and 27 years of succession. Total bird density was lower in clear-cut sites resulting from fewer hermit thrushes, yellow warblers, Swainson's thrushes, and fox sparrows. Hermit thrushes were positively correlated with snag density while yellow warblers and Swainson's thrushes were positively associated with deciduous tree cover and negatively correlated with conifer cover. Only yellow-rumped warblers had higher densities on clear-cut sites, likely due to greater conifer cover. Bird densities and species richness peaked in the 14-year-old burns and exceeded that of mature forests reported for Labrador. This demonstrates the importance of natural early successional forests for birds. Although logged areas support several species found in natural young burns, logging does not precisely mimic fire. This suggests that forest managers should allow some forests to burn naturally.

Using knowledge of natural disturbances to support sustainable forest management in the northern Clay Belt

2007 ◽  
Vol 83 (3) ◽  
pp. 326-337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yves Bergeron ◽  
Pierre Drapeau ◽  
Sylvie Gauthier ◽  
Nicolas Lecomte
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Sustainable Forest Management ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Landscape Patterns ◽  
Management Approach ◽  
Natural Disturbances ◽  
Natural Fire ◽  
Coarse Filter

Several concepts are at the basis of forest ecosystem management, but a relative consensus exists around the idea of a forest management approach that is based on natural disturbances and forest dynamics. This type of approach aims to reproduce the main attributes of natural landscapes in order to maintain ecosystems within their natural range of variability and avoid creating an environment to which species are not adapted. By comparing attributes associated with natural fire regimes and current forest management, we were able to identify four major differences for the black spruce forest of the Clay Belt. The maintenance of older forests, the spatial extent of cutover areas, the maintenance of residuals within cutovers and disturbance severity on soils are major issues that should be addressed. Silvicultural strategies that mitigate differences between natural and managed forests are briefly discussed. Key words: natural disturbance, landscape patterns, coarse filter, harvest pattern, volume retention, historic variability, even-aged management

Le développement de peuplements de conifères sur une période de 50 ans après la coupe

1988 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. 329-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul-E. Vézina ◽  
Hélène Falardeau
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Key Words ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Pure Stand ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Key Words Development ◽  
Yield Calculation

Three stands respectively composed of black spruce, black spruce and balsam fir and a mixture of spruce, fir and boreal hardwoods originating from a clear cut, have been periodically measured over 50 years in the Saguenay region, Québec. Except for a pure stand of black spruce which never reached the same volume it had before the cut, the characteristics of the species composition and of merchantable volume were basically the same, but the trees were smaller and in greater number. This paper presents the forecasted production at 50 years derived from regeneration observations and their influence on the yield calculation in forest management. Key words : Development, production, black spruce. balsam fir.

scholarly journals Assessing the role of natural disturbance and forest management on dead wood dynamics in mixed-species stands of central Maine, USA

2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (9) ◽  
pp. 1092-1102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua J. Puhlick ◽  
Aaron R. Weiskittel ◽  
Shawn Fraver ◽  
Matthew B. Russell ◽  
Laura S. Kenefic
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Dead Wood ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Site Quality ◽  
Stand Development ◽  
Wood Biomass ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Live Tree ◽  
Over Time

Dead wood pools are strongly influenced by natural disturbance events, stand development processes, and forest management activities. However, the relative importance of these influences can vary over time. In this study, we evaluate the role of these factors on dead wood biomass pools across several forest management alternatives after 60 years of treatment on the Penobscot Experimental Forest in central Maine, USA. After accounting for variation in site quality, we found significant differences in observed downed coarse woody material (CWM; ≥7.6 cm small-end diameter) and standing dead wood biomass among selection, shelterwood, and commercial clear-cut treatments. Overall, total dead wood biomass was positively correlated with live tree biomass and was negatively correlated with the average wood density of nonharvest mortality. We also developed an index of cumulative harvest severity, which can be used to evaluate forest attributes when multiple harvests have occurred within the same stand over time. Findings of this study highlight the dynamic roles of forest management, stand development, and site quality in influencing dead wood biomass pools at the stand level and underscore the potential for various outcomes from the same forest management treatment applied at different times in contrasting stands.

scholarly journals The impact of a black spruce (Picea mariana) plantation on carbon exchange in a cutover peatland in Western Canada

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 388-398
Author(s):  
Tania Garcia Bravo ◽  
Line Rochefort ◽  
Maria Strack
Keyword(s):  
Picea Mariana ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Coniferous Forest ◽  
Tree Cover ◽  
Western Canada ◽  
Betula Papyrifera ◽  
Bare Peat ◽  
Northern Peatlands ◽  
The Impact

Northern peatlands are sinks for atmospheric carbon (C), but peat extraction converts these ecosystems to C sources. Due to a dry regional climate, undisturbed bog peatlands in western Canada often have a tree cover of Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P. Thus, a coniferous forest plantation may be an appropriate land use for cutover peatlands. This study determined the effect of a 7-year-old P. mariana plantation on C balance of a cutover peatland. We measured C stored in P. mariana biomass and carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) fluxes from bare peat at each of four fertilizer doses. Carbon stored in biomass of Betula papyrifera (Marsh.) that had spontaneously colonized the postfertilized site was also determined. Given that the water table remained very deep and that the sphagnum moss – ericaceous shrub peat-accumulating vegetation was not present, the site remained a source of C when only the planted P. mariana trees were considered, primarily in the form of CO2 emissions by soil respiration. However, C accumulation in trees, including B. papyrifera biomass, resulted in a net C sink in fertilized plots. Results from this study indicate that tree plantations on cutover peatland may be a suitable land-management strategy on sites difficult to effectively rewet.

scholarly journals Do Review Papers on Bird–Vegetation Relationships Provide Actionable Information to Forest Managers in the Eastern United States?

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 990
Author(s):  
Casey A. Lott ◽  
Michael E. Akresh ◽  
Bridgett E. Costanzo ◽  
Anthony W. D’Amato ◽  
Shengwu Duan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Forest Type ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Eastern United States ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Desired Future Conditions ◽  
Forest Managers

Forest management planning requires the specification of measurable objectives as desired future conditions at spatial extents ranging from stands to landscapes and temporal extents ranging from a single growing season to several centuries. Effective implementation of forest management requires understanding current conditions and constraints well enough to apply the appropriate silvicultural strategies to produce desired future conditions, often for multiple objectives, at varying spatial and temporal extents. We administered an online survey to forest managers in the eastern US to better understand how wildlife scientists could best provide information to help meet wildlife-related habitat objectives. We then examined more than 1000 review papers on bird–vegetation relationships in the eastern US compiled during a systematic review of the primary literature to see how well this evidence-base meets the information needs of forest managers. We identified two main areas where wildlife scientists could increase the relevance and applicability of their research. First, forest managers want descriptions of wildlife species–vegetation relationships using the operational metrics of forest management (forest type, tree species composition, basal area, tree density, stocking rates, etc.) summarized at the operational spatial units of forest management (stands, compartments, and forests). Second, forest managers want information about how to provide wildlife habitats for many different species with varied habitat needs across temporal extents related to the ecological processes of succession after harvest or natural disturbance (1–2 decades) or even longer periods of stand development. We provide examples of review papers that meet these information needs of forest managers and topic-specific bibliographies of additional review papers that may contain actionable information for foresters who wish to meet wildlife management objectives. We suggest that wildlife scientists become more familiar with the extensive grey literature on forest bird–vegetation relationships and forest management that is available in natural resource management agency reports. We also suggest that wildlife scientists could reconsider everything from the questions they ask, the metrics they report on, and the way they allocate samples in time and space, to provide more relevant and actionable information to forest managers.

scholarly journals Simulating the Effects of Intensifying Silviculture on Desired Species Yields across a Broad Environmental Gradient

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 755
Author(s):  
Eric B. Searle ◽  
F. Wayne Bell ◽  
Guy R. Larocque ◽  
Mathieu Fortin ◽  
Jennifer Dacosta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Forest Management ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Mechanistic Model ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Fine Tuning ◽  
Mechanistic Models ◽  
Paradigm Shifts ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Forest Modelling

In the past two decades, forest management has undergone major paradigm shifts that are challenging the current forest modelling architecture. New silvicultural systems, guidelines for natural disturbance emulation, a desire to enhance structural complexity, major advances in successional theory, and climate change have all highlighted the limitations of current empirical models in covering this range of conditions. Mechanistic models, which focus on modelling underlying ecological processes rather than specific forest conditions, have the potential to meet these new paradigm shifts in a consistent framework, thereby streamlining the planning process. Here we use the NEBIE (a silvicultural intervention scale that classifies management intensities as natural, extensive, basic, intensive, and elite) plot network, from across Ontario, Canada, to examine the applicability of a mechanistic model, ZELIG-CFS (a version of the ZELIG tree growth model developed by the Canadian Forest Service), to simulate yields and species compositions. As silvicultural intensity increased, overall yield generally increased. Species compositions met the desired outcomes when specific silvicultural treatments were implemented and otherwise generally moved from more shade-intolerant to more shade-tolerant species through time. Our results indicated that a mechanistic model can simulate complex stands across a range of forest types and silvicultural systems while accounting for climate change. Finally, we highlight the need to improve the modelling of regeneration processes in ZELIG-CFS to better represent regeneration dynamics in plantations. While fine-tuning is needed, mechanistic models present an option to incorporate adaptive complexity into modelling forest management outcomes.

Clonal and nonclonal genetic structure of subarctic black spruce (Picea mariana) populations in Yukon territory

Botany ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 89 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marios Viktora ◽  
Rodney A. Savidge ◽  
Om P. Rajora
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Structure ◽  
Picea Mariana ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Nuclear Genome ◽  
Yukon Territory ◽  
Fire Disturbance ◽  
Clone Size ◽  
Flat Terrain ◽  
Individual Trees

Black spruce (Picea mariana) reproduces sexually from seeds and asexually by layering. There is a prevalent concept that clonal reproduction maintains populations of this species in the subarctic and arctic regions. We used microsatellite DNA markers of the nuclear genome to investigate the genetic structure of montane and subalpine black spruce populations from the Western Yukon Plateau in relation to this concept. Sixty individual trees at a minimum distance of 4 m from each other were sampled from each of four populations and individual trees were genotyped for eight microsatellite loci. Each of the 60 individuals from three montane pure black spruce populations growing on flat terrain at relatively low elevations had unique multilocus genotypes, indicating an absence of clonal structure in those populations. However, in an anthropologically undisturbed climax white spruce-dominated subalpine black spruce population on a northwest slope near Mount Nansen, the majority of the sampled individuals belonged to eight genetically distinct clones (genets). Clone size differed by altitude, the dominant genet being nearest the timberline–tundra ecotone. The results indicate that black spruce reproduction is variable and adaptive, being primarily sexual in flat-terrain montane populations previously subjected to fire disturbance, but mixed vegetative–sexual in the anthropogenically undisturbed subalpine population. This study is the first to employ molecular markers a priori to examine the mode of reproduction in natural black spruce populations.

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