Xylophagous insect species composition and patterns of substratum use on fire-killed black spruce in central Quebec

2004 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 677-685 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michel Saint-Germain ◽  
Pierre Drapeau ◽  
Christian Hébert
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Fire Severity ◽  
Insect Species ◽  
Growth Rings ◽  
Dryocoetes Affaber ◽  
Drastic Effect ◽  
Colonization Density ◽  
Positive Effect ◽  
Provincial Park

Several xylophagous insect species have adapted to recurrent fires in boreal forests and use high-quality habitats created by these disturbances. To characterize the xylophagous insect assemblages of fire-killed black spruce and their patterns of substratum use, eighty-four 40 cm long bole segments were cut in 2000 and 2001 according to tree diameter, segment height, and fire severity criteria in a 1999 burn in the Grands-Jardins provincial park, Quebec, Canada. The segments were suspended in rearing cages, and neonates were collected until November 2001. The cerambycid Mono chamus scutellatus (Say) and the scolytids Dryocoetes affaber (Mann.) and Polygraphus rufipennis (Kirby) were the most common beetles collected. For all common taxa, more neonates emerged from larger-diameter trees. Few neonates emerged from the upper parts of the trees, and none of the species were specialist of the upper parts of the tree. Fire severity had a drastic effect, and heavily charred trees yielded very few insects. The effect of fire severity on insect colonization density varies widely among tree species. This effect may be linked to varying bark thickness and to bark's insulating potential against water loss during the fire. The host's vigor before its death, measured from growth rings of the last 10 years, had a positive effect on cerambycid emergence, but no effect on scolytids.

Pre-fire forest conditions and fire severity as determinants of the quality of burned forests for deadwood-dependent species: the case of the black-backed woodpecker

2011 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. 994-1003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antoine Nappi ◽  
Pierre Drapeau
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Fire Severity ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Forest Patches ◽  
Nest Sites ◽  
Mature Stands ◽  
Forest Conditions ◽  
Selection Of

Burned forests represent high-quality habitats for many deadwood-dependent species. Yet, post-fire conditions may vary greatly within and among burns and thereby may affect habitat suitability for these species. We studied habitat selection of nesting black-backed woodpeckers ( Picoides arcticus Swainson) in recently burned spruce-dominated boreal forests. Our objectives were to (i) identify factors involved in snag selection for both nesting and foraging and (ii) examine selection of nest sites within the burned landscape. A total of 92 nests and 1612 foraging observations were used to investigate snag selection. Our results show that both pre-fire forest conditions and fire severity are important in determining the quality of burned forests for black-backed woodpeckers. This species selected large snags for both nesting (>20 cm DBH) and foraging (>15 cm DBH). Woodpeckers selected deciduous and degraded “pre-fire” snags for nesting whereas black spruce snags that had been created by fire and that were moderately burned were preferred for foraging. Nest sites were concentrated in burned mature stands and supported higher densities of large snags (e.g., >15 cm DBH). Our results suggest that burned forest patches of at least 20 ha and composed mainly of burned mature and old-growth forests should be maintained during post-fire harvesting. The decrease in the amount of late seral stands in managed forest landscapes raises concerns about the future availability of high-quality burned forests for this species.

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.

Disturbance history affects dead wood abundance in Newfoundland boreal forests

2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (12) ◽  
pp. 3194-3208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin T Moroni
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Dead Wood ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Woody Debris ◽  
Abies Balsamea ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Diameter Distribution ◽  
Natural Disturbances ◽  
A Minor ◽  
Almost All

Dead wood (dead standing tree (snag), woody debris (WD), buried wood, and stump) abundance was estimated in Newfoundland balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) and black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) forests regrown following natural and anthropogenic disturbances. Although harvesting left few snags standing, natural disturbances generated many snags. Most were still standing 2 years after natural disturbance, but almost all had fallen after 33–34 years. Snag abundance then increased in stands aged 86–109 years. Natural disturbances generated little WD 0–2 years following disturbance. Harvesting, however, immediately generated large amounts of WD. Thirty-two to forty-one years following disturbance, most harvesting slash had decomposed, but naturally disturbed sites had large amounts of WD from collapsed snags. Harvested sites contained less WD 32–72 years following disturbance than naturally disturbed sites. Amounts of WD in black spruce regrown following harvesting and fire converged 63–72 years following disturbance, despite significant initial differences in WD quantities, diameter distribution, and decay classes. Abundance of WD increased from sites regrown 32–72 years following disturbance to older sites. Precommercial thinning had a minor impact on dead wood stocks. Stumps contained minor biomass. Buried wood and WD biomass were equivalent at some sites.

Fire Severity and Long-term Ecosystem Biomass Dynamics in Coniferous Boreal Forests of Eastern Canada

Ecosystems ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 1215-1230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Lecomte ◽  
Martin Simard ◽  
Nicole Fenton ◽  
Yves Bergeron
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Fire Severity ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Biomass Dynamics

Factors controlling epiphytic lichen biomass during postfire succession in black spruce boreal forests

2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (11) ◽  
pp. 2168-2179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Boudreault ◽  
Yves Bergeron ◽  
Darwyn Coxson
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Stand Structure ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Tree Age ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Epiphytic Lichens ◽  
Dominant Group ◽  
Epiphytic Lichen ◽  
Structure Tree ◽  
Species Groups

Alectorioid lichens are the dominant group of epiphytic lichens in boreal forests. Epiphytic lichen richness and abundance generally increase with stand age and within-stand heterogeneity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the importance of time elapsed since the last fire, stand structure, tree size, tree age, and branch height for epiphytic lichen biomass of the boreal forest of western Quebec. We sampled 12 sites belonging to four forest age classes (from 50 to >200 years). We assessed epiphytic lichen biomass of three species groups ( Bryoria , Evernia , and Usnea ) on 12 trees in each site. Our results showed that biomass of Bryoria and Usnea was higher in intermediate stages (between 101 and 200 years) compared with younger (50–100 years) and older (>200 years) stages. Biomass of the three species groups was greater on larger diameter trees (>16 cm) compared with smaller ones (<16 cm). These results indicate that the protection of postfire stands aged between 101 and 200 year should be prioritized to maintain the functional role of epiphytic lichens in managed landscapes.

Alaska’s changing fire regime — implications for the vulnerability of its boreal forestsThis article is one of a selection of papers from The Dynamics of Change in Alaska’s Boreal Forests: Resilience and Vulnerability in Response to Climate Warming.

2010 ◽  
Vol 40 (7) ◽  
pp. 1313-1324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric S. Kasischke ◽  
David L. Verbyla ◽  
T. Scott Rupp ◽  
A. David McGuire ◽  
Karen A. Murphy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Fire Policy ◽  
Organic Layers ◽  
Regime Changes ◽  
Area Burned ◽  
The Past ◽  
Previous Decade ◽  
In Fire

A synthesis was carried out to examine Alaska’s boreal forest fire regime. During the 2000s, an average of 767 000 ha·year–1 burned, 50% higher than in any previous decade since the 1940s. Over the past 60 years, there was a decrease in the number of lightning-ignited fires, an increase in extreme lightning-ignited fire events, an increase in human-ignited fires, and a decrease in the number of extreme human-ignited fire events. The fraction of area burned from human-ignited fires fell from 26% for the 1950s and 1960s to 5% for the 1990s and 2000s, a result from the change in fire policy that gave the highest suppression priorities to fire events that occurred near human settlements. The amount of area burned during late-season fires increased over the past two decades. Deeper burning of surface organic layers in black spruce ( Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) forests occurred during late-growing-season fires and on more well-drained sites. These trends all point to black spruce forests becoming increasingly vulnerable to the combined changes of key characteristics of Alaska’s fire regime, except on poorly drained sites, which are resistant to deep burning. The implications of these fire regime changes to the vulnerability and resilience of Alaska’s boreal forests and land and fire management are discussed.

Soil organic layer combustion in boreal black spruce and jack pine stands of the Northwest Territories, Canada

2018 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xanthe J. Walker ◽  
Jennifer L. Baltzer ◽  
Steven G. Cumming ◽  
Nicola J. Day ◽  
Jill F. Johnstone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Northwest Territories ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Jack Pine ◽  
Fire Intensity ◽  
Organic Layer ◽  
Complete Combustion ◽  
Soil Organic Layer ◽  
Pine Stands ◽  
Burn Depth

Increased fire frequency, extent and severity are expected to strongly affect the structure and function of boreal forest ecosystems. In this study, we examined 213 plots in boreal forests dominated by black spruce (Picea mariana) or jack pine (Pinus banksiana) of the Northwest Territories, Canada, after an unprecedentedly large area burned in 2014. Large fire size is associated with high fire intensity and severity, which would manifest as areas with deep burning of the soil organic layer (SOL). Our primary objectives were to estimate burn depth in these fires and then to characterise landscapes vulnerable to deep burning throughout this region. Here we quantify burn depth in black spruce stands using the position of adventitious roots within the soil column, and in jack pine stands using measurements of burned and unburned SOL depths. Using these estimates, we then evaluate how burn depth and the proportion of SOL combusted varies among forest type, ecozone, plot-level moisture and stand density. Our results suggest that most of the SOL was combusted in jack pine stands regardless of plot moisture class, but that black spruce forests experience complete combustion of the SOL only in dry and moderately well-drained landscape positions. The models and calibrations we present in this study should allow future research to more accurately estimate burn depth in Canadian boreal forests.

Landscape-level variability in the age underestimation of understory black spruce in the northern boreal forest of Quebec

2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 633-642 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc-André Parisien ◽  
Luc Sirois ◽  
Sylvain Parent
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Mixed Models ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
Simple Linear Regression ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Growth Rings ◽  
Age Correction ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Landscape Level

This study examines the variability of the potential aging error for saplings (height ≤1.5 m) of black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) in mature fire-dominated stands (n = 14 stands) of the northern boreal forest of northwestern Quebec. Age underestimation was determined by counting the number of underground bud scars of saplings. The magnitude and variability of age underestimation was compared within and among stands. The relationship between corrected ages (the sum of age underestimation and the number of growth rings at ground level) and ground-level ages was strongly linear and was therefore described with simple linear regression models. To evaluate landscape-level variability in this relationship, the regressions were compared among stands using mixed models. Despite high variability in age underestimation at the stand level, the relationship between corrected and ground-level age was highly significant (p < 0.0001) for all stands except one. However, there were many significant statistical differences between these regressions, indicating high landscape-level variability. The magnitude of age underestimation was found to be highly site specific (means of 7–26 years), the phenomenon being more marked and variable in older stands. Given high landscape-level variability, age underestimation of understory black spruce saplings in northern boreal stands must be documented for every sampled stand to apply a valid age correction in studies that involve multiple stands.

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