The soil acid–base status of boreal black spruce stands after whole-tree and stem-only harvesting

2003 ◽  
Vol 33 (10) ◽  
pp. 1874-1879 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Bélanger ◽  
David Paré ◽  
Stephen H Yamasaki
Keyword(s):  
Black Spruce ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Base Cation ◽  
Exchange Reactions ◽  
Acid Base ◽  
Spruce Stands ◽  
Acid Base Status ◽  
Cationic Exchange ◽  
Forest Floors ◽  
Whole Tree

The effect of different harvesting practices on soil acid–base status was evaluated in black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) forests of Quebec by comparing soil from five pairs of whole-tree and stem-only harvested plots 3 years after harvest. Stem-only harvesting contributed to the enrichment of the exchangeable base cation pool, particularly in the forest floors of the pairs where whole-tree harvested plots showed the highest exchangeable Al3+. In the mineral soil, divergence between treatments was low, perhaps because these acidic soils were strongly saturated with Al3+ (about 90%), which did not favour cationic exchange reactions. Although the effects of treatment may not persist over time, improved base cation nutrition may benefit stands during the early stages of development. Over a forest rotation of about 85 years, the estimated loss of alkalinity due to whole-tree harvesting was estimated to be low (less than 20%) when compared with the effect of acidic deposition.

Relationships between microsite type and the growth and nutrition of young black spruce on post-disturbed lowland black spruce sites in eastern Canada

2007 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Lavoie ◽  
David Paré ◽  
Yves Bergeron
Keyword(s):  
Black Spruce ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Annual Increment ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Rooting Zone ◽  
Growth Substrates ◽  
Humic Materials ◽  
Spruce Stands ◽  
Decaying Wood

The surface of the soil in recently harvested or burned lowland black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) sites is composed of a fine mosaic of different bryophytes (mostly Sphagnum spp. and feathermosses), disturbed organic material originating mostly from mosses at different stages of decay, and exposed mineral soil. Growth substrates were compared in lowland black spruce stands regenerating after either careful logging or wildfire. The 3-year annual increment for black spruce seedlings was greatest with substrates of feathermosses, mainly Pleurozium schreberi (Brid.) Mitt., fibric material of P. schreberi origin, and a mixture of fibric P. schreberi and humic materials; it was least with fibric Sphagnum spp., mineral soil, and decaying wood substrates. The most favourable substrates for growth were characterized by better black spruce N and P foliar status. Our results also suggest that categories of growth substrates in the rooting zone reflect nutritional quality better than categories of growth substrates on the soil surface. To maintain or increase black spruce growth following careful logging of sites prone to paludification, we recommend fill-planting of seedlings in substrates originating from P. schreberi; management techniques that favour P. schreberi over Sphagnum mosses should also be developed.

Long-term responses in soil solution and stream-water chemistry at Hubbard Brook after experimental addition of wollastonite

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 528 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuai Shao ◽  
Charles T. Driscoll ◽  
Chris E. Johnson ◽  
Timothy J. Fahey ◽  
John J. Battles ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Solution ◽  
New Hampshire ◽  
Stream Water ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Forest Health ◽  
Aluminium Toxicity ◽  
Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest ◽  
Acid Base ◽  
Hubbard Brook ◽  
Acid Base Status

Environmental context Calcium silicate was added to a forest watershed in New Hampshire, USA, to accelerate its recovery from acid rain. The acid–base status of soil and stream quality improved over the 12-year study, with the most pronounced response in the upper elevation and the upper soil of the watershed. A total of 95% of the added calcium and 87% of the added silica were retained in the watershed over the study period. Abstract In October 1999, 3450kgha–1 of wollastonite (CaSiO3) was applied to Watershed 1 at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire, USA, with the objective of restoring calcium that had been depleted from soil-exchange sites by chronic inputs of acid deposition. After the treatment, the concentrations and fluxes of calcium and dissolved silica significantly increased in both soil solution and stream water throughout Watershed 1, as did the acid-neutralising capacity. The concentrations and fluxes of inorganic monomeric aluminium significantly decreased. The treatment improved the acid–base status and decreased the potential for aluminium toxicity in stream water, especially in the lower reaches of the watershed. Approximately 4.7% of the added calcium and 17% of the added silica from the wollastonite treatment was exported from Watershed 1 in stream water by the end of 2010. Meanwhile, ~1825mmolm–2 of the added calcium and 2125mmolm–2 of the added silica were either transported to lower mineral soil horizons – as particulate wollastonite, or as dissolved solutes (calcium 77.6mmolm–2; silica 592.2mmolm–2), thus contributing to increases in soil pools – or were taken up by vegetation and incorporated into internal calcium and silica cycles of the watershed ecosystem. This experimental wollastonite addition was an effective tool for mitigating the acidification of the ecosystem and restoring the calcium status and forest health of this base-poor watershed.

Bioassay of forest floor nitrogen supply for plant growth

1986 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 1320-1326 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Van Cleve ◽  
O. W. Heal ◽  
D. Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Forest Floor ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Nitrogen Concentration ◽  
N Uptake ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
N Supply ◽  
Paper Birch ◽  
Forest Floors ◽  
P Supply

Using a bioassay approach, this paper considers the nitrogen-supplying power of forest floors from examples of the major forest types in interior Alaska. Yield and net N uptake by paper birch seedlings grown in standardized mixtures of quartz sand and forest floor organic matter, and separate incubation estimates of N mineralization and nitrification for the forest floors, were employed to evaluate potential N supply. Black spruce and floodplain white spruce forest floors supplied only one-fifth the amount of N taken up by seedlings growing in other forest floors. Incubation estimates showed these forest floors yielded 4 and 15 times less extractable N, respectively, than the more fertile birch forest floors. In comparison with earlier estimates of P supply from these same forest floors, the upland types showed greater deficiency of N whereas floodplain types showed greater deficiency of P in control of seedling yield. The latter condition is attributed to the highly calcareous nature of the floodplain mineral soil, the consequent potential for P fixation, and hence greater potential deficiency of the element compared with N in mineralizing forest floors. Nitrogen concentration of the forest floors was the best predictor of bioassay response.

scholarly journals Development of Black Spruce Layers in Quebec and Ontario

1968 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 25-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Stanek
Keyword(s):  
Black Spruce ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Stem Form ◽  
Spruce Stands ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Seed Origin ◽  
Growing Conditions ◽  
Similar Growth

Black spruces of layer or seed origin develop into merchantable trees with similar growth in height, diameter and volume. Layerings tend to have a poorer stem form than seedlings, especially under adverse growing conditions. However, stem form of old layering trees is considerably better. The proportion of layerings and seedlings is influenced by stand history. Black spruce stands undisturbed for a long time consist largely of layerings. After fire, scarification, or exposure of mineral soil, stands regenerate mainly from seedlings. Stocking of black spruce is satisfactory where advance growth has been preserved after cutting, whether it is of layer or of seed origin.

Soil oxygen within boreal forests across an age gradient

2006 ◽  
Vol 86 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Fenton ◽  
S. Légaré ◽  
Y. Bergeron ◽  
D. Paré
Keyword(s):  
Water Table ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Methodological Issue ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Forest Region ◽  
Feather Mosses ◽  
Spruce Stands ◽  
Potential Factors

Globally, soil anoxia and water table rise play a role in the development of peatlands from forests. Cited causes have included a diversity of internal and external mechanisms, including Sphagnum and feather mosses, hardpan development, and peatland expansion. The objectives of this study were to examine water table depth in black spruce stands of the Clay Belt of Quebec and Ontario, and to associate changes with potential stand scale causal factors (primarily biological). A methodological issue, the link between oxygen zone and water table, was also addressed. Within stands less than 100 yr post-fire, oxygen zone and water table position were only loosely related, and no other potential factors were significantly correlated. Across a chronosequence of stands, while oxygen zone thickness in the soil profile was relatively constant, its position relative to the mineral soil changed, as it rose from the mineral soil into the forest floor. Forest floor thickness was the dominant explanatory factor in oxygen zone position, suggesting that in these forests other postulated mechanisms are less important. At the landscape level, the movement of the oxygen zone into the forest floor has important consequences for the long-term productivity of this intensively exploited forest region. Key words: Water table, black spruce, paludification, forest floor, Clay Belt, Sphagnum

Dynamics and morphology of giant circular patterns of low tree density in black spruce stands in northern Quebec

2001 ◽  
Vol 79 (4) ◽  
pp. 420-428 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-François Giroux ◽  
Yves Bergeron ◽  
Jean J Veillette
Keyword(s):  
Surface Water ◽  
Picea Mariana ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Tree Density ◽  
Surface Elevation ◽  
Organic Layer ◽  
Spruce Stands ◽  
Spruce Mortality ◽  
Soil Measurements

Giant circular patterns of low tree density in black spruce (Picea mariana) stands were investigated in the Abitibi region of Quebec. We used dendrochronological techniques to test the hypotheses that ring patterns of low tree density are caused either by radial changes in spruce mortality or productivity. Seven circles were sampled. We found no gradient in the age of spruce along circle radii suggesting that rings of low tree density do not expand radially, that is, they are not spatially dynamic entities. The results indicate, however, that spruce trees were less dense and productive within the rings due to excessive moisture in the soil. Measurements of surface elevation, thickness of the organic layer and elevation of the mineral substrate across the circles revealed that a depression in the mineral soil beneath the rings traps the surface water and this area of poor drainage seems to prevent the establishment of black spruce within the rings. The origin of the ring-shaped depressions was attributed to geological or geomorphological causes.Key words: black spruce, Picea mariana, mortality, productivity, rings, geomorphology.

Ecological studies in the boreal spruce–fir forests of the North American taiga. II. Analysis of the bryophyte flora

1976 ◽  
Vol 54 (7) ◽  
pp. 619-643 ◽  
Author(s):  
George H. La Roi ◽  
Muriel H. L. Stringer
Keyword(s):  
Black Spruce ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Ground Cover ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Pleurozium Schreberi ◽  
Hylocomium Splendens ◽  
Important Species ◽  
The North ◽  
Spruce Stands ◽  
Community Types

The bryoflora of 34 white spruce – fir and 26 black spruce stands in the boreal forest subzone consisted of 100 mosses and 33 liverworts. Short turfs, smooth mats, threaded mats, and tall erect turfs were the most species-rich growth-forms; wefts were cover dominants. White spruce – fir stands had more species but lower cover than black spruce. The liverwort:moss species ratio in white spruce – fir increased with precipitation. Based on bryoflora and geography, stands were classified as follows: white spruce – fir, Hylocomium splendens – Pleurozium schreberi order (= three associations of western Ceratodon purpureus – Pylaisiella polyantha alliance and two associations of eastern Rhynchostegium serrulatum – Tetraphis pellucida alliance); black spruce, Pleurozium schreberi – Hylocomium splendens order (= three associations of western Drepanocladus uncinatus – Brachythecium salebrosum alliance and two associations of eastern Sphagnum – Hypnum pallescens alliance). Of the 32 most important species, 16 'preferred' wood, 7 needle litter, 6 mineral soil, and 3 bark. The ground cover hierarchy in white spruce – fir was weft mosses > detritus [Formula: see text] needles > wood > other bryophytes > lichens > bark > soil; in black spruce, wood and other bryophytes were reversed. Higher species richness of white spruce – fir stands was ascribed to higher productivity and greater age, which gives a greater diversity and quantity of woody substrates for microsuccessional species. Shortage of suitable substrate and competition from weft mosses may explain the consistently low abundance of most other bryophytes in the two community types.

The effects of experimental fires on black spruce forest floors in interior Alaska

1983 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 879-893 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. T. Dyrness ◽  
Rodney A. Norum
Keyword(s):  
Forest Floor ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Available P ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Total N ◽  
Burned Areas ◽  
Forest Floors ◽  
Surface Mineral ◽  
Total P

Seven units (about 2 ha each) of black spruce – feather moss forest were experimentally burned over a range of fuel moisture conditions during the summer of 1978. Surface woody fuels were sparse and the principal carrier fuel was the forest floor (largely mosses and their decomposition products). Forest floors after burning comprised a small-scale mosaic of unburned, scorched, lightly burned, moderately burned, and heavily burned (organic materials entirely consumed) conditions. Percentage of the unit area in the moderately and heavily burned condition ranged from 11.2 to 77.2% and percent decrease in forest-floor thickness varied from 27.4 to 63.1% in the seven units. Forest-floor consumption was most closely correlated with the moisture content of lower moss (01 horizon) and lower duff layers (022 horizon) at the time of burning. For the first 3 years after fire, biomass production was greater on heavily burned than on lightly burned sites (58 vs. 37 g/m2 on an annual basis). Heavily burned sites were completely dominated by the invading species Epilobiumangustifolium L., Ceratodonpurpureus (Hedw.) Brid., and Marchantiapolymorpha L., whereas lightly burned plots were occupied by sprouting species such as Calamagrostiscanadensis (Michx.) Beauv., Vacciniumuliginosum L., and Ledumgroenlandicum Oeder. Soil pH and amounts of total P and available P in the forest floor increased significantly as a result of burning; and in all cases, increases reached a maximum in moderately and heavily burned areas. Total N in the forest floor increased significantly in moderately burned, but decreased slightly in heavily burned areas. Total N and total P showed smaller increases in the surface mineral soil as a result of burning. Supplies of available P in the mineral soil increased almost 4-fold in moderately burned and over 16-fold in heavily burned areas.

To Manage Infantile Hypertrophic Pyloric Stenosis by "Double-Y Pyloromyotomy" is a better Surgical Approach

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-147
Author(s):  
Md. Ansar Ali ◽  
Kaniz Hasina ◽  
Shahnoor Islam ◽  
Md. Ashraf Ul Huq ◽  
Md. Mahbub-Ul Alam ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Weight Gain ◽  
Pyloric Stenosis ◽  
Hypertrophic Pyloric Stenosis ◽  
Treatment Modalities ◽  
Infantile Hypertrophic Pyloric Stenosis ◽  
Postoperative Vomiting ◽  
Acid Base ◽  
Feeding Regimes ◽  
Acid Base Status ◽  
Postoperative Feeding

Background: Different treatment modalities and procedures have been tried for the management of infantile hypertrophic pyloric stenosis. But surgery remains the mainstay for management of IHPS. Ramstedt’s pyloromyotomy was described almost over a hundred years ago and to date remains the surgical technique of choice. An alternative and better technique is the double-Y pyloromyotomy, which offer better results for management of this common condition.Methods: A prospective comparative interventional study of 40 patients with IHPS was carried out over a period of 2 years from July 2008 to July 2010. The patients were divided into 2 equal groups of 20 patients in each. The study was designed that all patients selected for study were optimized preoperatively regarding to hydration, acid-base status and electrolytes imbalance. All surgeries were performed after obtaining informed consent. Standard preoperative preparation and postoperative feeding regimes were used. The patients were operated on an alternate basis, i.e., one patient by Double-Y Pyloromyotomy(DY) and the next by aRamstedt’s Pyloromyotomy (RP). Data on patient demographics, operative time, anesthesia complications, postoperative complications including vomiting and weight gain were collected. Patients were followed up for a period of 3 months postoperatively. Statistical assessments were done by using t test.Results: From July 2008 through July 2010, fourty patients were finally analyzed for this study. Any statistical differences were observed in patient population regarding age, sex, weight at presentation, symptoms and clinical condition including electrolytes imbalance and acid-base status were recorded. Significant differences were found in postoperative vomiting and weight gain. Data of post operative vomiting and weight gain in both groups were collected. Vomiting in double-Y(DY) pyloromyotomy group (1.21 ± 0.45days) vs Ramstedt’s pyloromyotomy (RP) group(3.03 ± 0.37days) p= 0.0001.Weight gain after 1st 10 days DY vs RP is ( 298 ± 57.94 gm vs193±19.8 gm p=0.0014), after 1 month (676.67±149.84 gm vs 466.67 ± 127.71 gm, p=0.0001), after 2months (741.33± 278.74 gm vs 490±80.62 gm, p=0.002) and after 3 months (582±36.01gm vs 453.33±51.64 gm, p=0.0001).No long-term complications were reported and no re-do yloromyotomy was needed.Conclusion: The double-Y pyloromyotomy seems to be a better technique for the surgical management of IHPS. It may offer a better functional outcome in term of postoperative vomiting and weight gain.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jpsb.v1i2.19532

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