Investigation of limestone ecotypes of white spruce based on a provenance test series

2004 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 1119-1127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark R Lesser ◽  
Marilyn Cherry ◽  
William H Parker
Keyword(s):  
Picea Glauca ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Test Site ◽  
Parent Material ◽  
Survey Analysis ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Provenance Trials ◽  
Provenance Test ◽  
Limestone Bedrock

Previous laboratory and field studies have presented evidence for the existence of limestone ecotypes in white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss). Remeasurements of the range-wide 410 series of provenance trials were used for further evaluation of the existence of these ecotypes. In 2001, heights were measured of 23 provenances grown at four test sites in Ontario, all located south of 46°N. Bedrock classification for test sites and provenances by limestone or non-limestone parent material was done using a 1993 data set of the Ontario Geological Survey. Analysis of variance revealed significant differences among test sites and provenances only. No significant interactions consistent with the existence of limestone ecotypes were detected. This finding is in contrast to that of an earlier field study that detected a strong interaction between test site and provenance bedrock type (p < 0.001). Examination of the relative performance of individual provenances from limestone and non-limestone bedrock types revealed differences in performance at the four different test sites but few instances supporting the existence of limestone ecotypes. Although these more recent results generally support a pattern of between-stand variation in southern Ontario, they do not disprove the existence of limestone ecotypes, owing to the nature of the 410-series test design and the classification of provenances according to bedrock type instead of actual soil analyses.

Rapid change in suitability of white spruce for a specialist herbivore, Zeiraphera canadensis, as a function of leaf age

1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (11) ◽  
pp. 2132-2138 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. T. Quiring
Keyword(s):  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Leaf Age ◽  
Rapid Change ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Host Suitability ◽  
Rapid Decline ◽  
Bud Burst ◽  
Specialist Herbivore ◽  
Sib Families

Field studies were carried out over 2 years to determine the effect of age of white spruce (Picea glauca) leaves on the development of the spruce bud moth, Zeiraphera canadensis Mut. &Free. (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). In both years developing buds remained suitable for first-instar larvae for only 4–5 days after bud burst, after which survivorship decreased significantly. Individuals that survived on flaring shoots were smaller than those placed on newly burst buds. Although leaf contents of water, nitrogen, and several minerals were inversely related to leafage, only declines in N and P content were associated with the rapid change in host suitability. Differences in N and P contents were small, however, suggesting that the rapid decline in host suitability was also due to the influence of other, unmeasured factors. When larvae were placed on foliage of the same age, their survival was similar on trees in half-sib families with high or low susceptibility to Z. canadensis. Thus, variations in susceptibility of white spruce to Z. canadensis might be associated with differences in host-plant phenology but are not due to differences in nutritional quality. This study demonstrates that the phenological window for establishment of newly emerged folivores may be shorter than is commonly thought.

A visual index for estimating cone production for individual white spruce trees

2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (12) ◽  
pp. 3020-3026 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jalene M LaMontagne ◽  
Susan Peters ◽  
Stan Boutin
Keyword(s):  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Information Criterion ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Validation Data ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Simple Method ◽  
Conversion Factors ◽  
Cone Production ◽  
Cone Index

The number of cones produced by coniferous trees is commonly estimated by visual counts from the ground of a portion of the tree multiplied by a simple conversion factor. Linear conversion factors have been used to estimate total cone production by white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss). However, these conversion factors originate from other coniferous species and were often based on assumptions of cone visibility within the crown and not on empirical data. We propose a simple method for estimating the total number of cones produced by individual white spruce. We counted visible cones (an index of cone production, or cone index) on a total of 60 trees located in Alberta and Yukon, Canada, that were then felled and all cones were counted. We found that log(actual total cones) = 0.073 + 1.189 × log(cone index) is more accurate for estimating total cone numbers for white spruce than are other conversion factors (ranging from total cones = 1.5 × cone index to total cones = 3.35 × cone index), as determined using Akaike's information criterion with small sample bias adjustment and a validation data set. The relationship between the index of cone production and actual total cones produced is nonlinear, which is contrary to that proposed for various Pinus species.

WHITE SPRUCE AND THE SPRUCE BUDWORM: DEFINING THE PHENOLOGICAL WINDOW OF SUSCEPTIBILITY

1997 ◽  
Vol 129 (2) ◽  
pp. 291-318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert K. Lawrence ◽  
William J. Mattson ◽  
Robert A. Haack
Keyword(s):  
Picea Glauca ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Choristoneura Fumiferana ◽  
Spruce Budworm ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Shoot Elongation ◽  
Larval Survival ◽  
Strongly Correlated ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Foliar Traits

AbstractSynchrony of insect and host tree phenologies has often been suggested as an important factor influencing the susceptibility of white spruce, Picea glauca (Moench) Voss, and other hosts to the spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae). We evaluated this hypothesis by caging several cohorts of spruce budworm larvae on three white spruce populations at different phenological stages of the host trees, and then comparing budworm performance with host phenology and variation of 13 foliar traits. The beginning of the phenological window of susceptibility in white spruce occurs several weeks prior to budbreak, and the end of the window is sharply defined by the end of shoot growth. Performance was high for the earliest budworm cohorts that we tested. These larvae began feeding 3–4 weeks prior to budbreak and completed their larval development prior to the end of shoot elongation. Optimal synchrony occurred when emergence preceded budbreak by about 2 weeks. Larval survival was greater than 60% for individuals starting development 1–3 weeks prior to budbreak, but decreased to less than 10% for those starting development 2 or more weeks after budbreak and thus completing development after shoot elongation ceased. High performance by the budworm was most strongly correlated with high levels of foliar nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, copper, sugars, and water and low levels of foliar calcium, phenolics, and toughness. These results suggest that advancing the usual phenological window of white spruce (i.e. advancing budbreak prior to larval emergence) or retarding budworm phenology can have a large negative effect on the spruce budworm’s population dynamics.

A new endoconidial black meristematic genus, Atramixtia, associated with declining white spruce and phylogenetically allied to a lineage of dothidealean conifer pathogens

Botany ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 89 (5) ◽  
pp. 323-338 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Tsuneda ◽  
M.L. Davey ◽  
R.S. Currah
Keyword(s):  
Plant Tissue ◽  
Picea Glauca ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Natural Substrate ◽  
Dividing Cells ◽  
Granular Matrix ◽  
Phylogenetic Affinities

An endoconidial, black meristematic taxon Atramixtia arboricola gen. et. sp. nov. (Dothideales) from the black subicula found on twigs of declining white spruce, Picea glauca (Moench) Voss, in Alberta is described. It is morphologically distinguishable from other endoconidial taxa by the conidioma composed of clumps of endoconidial conidiogenous cells, scattered meristematically dividing cells, dematiaceous hyphae, abundant brown, granular matrix materials, and sometimes plant tissue. Endoconidia also occur in conidiogenous cellular clumps that are not organized into a conidioma but develop directly from stromatic cells on the bark. In culture, it forms similar endoconidial conidiomata and also a mycelial, blastic synanamorph that superficially resembles Hormonema . Atramixtia arboricola is a member of the Dothideales and shows phylogenetic affinities to a clade of conifer-stem and -needle pathogens, including Sydowia and Delphinella , although no teleomorph was found either on the natural substrate or in culture. It has not been determined whether A. arboricola is pathogenic to its host, but the occurrence of abundant intracellular hyphae in the host periderm suggests that the fungus is at least parasitic.

Soil carbon sequestration with forest expansion in an arctic forest–tundra landscape

2004 ◽  
Vol 34 (7) ◽  
pp. 1538-1542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi Steltzer
Keyword(s):  
Soil Carbon ◽  
Picea Glauca ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Tree Age ◽  
Forest Expansion ◽  
Soil C ◽  
C Storage ◽  
C Pools ◽  
Sampling Locations

Soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) pools were measured under the canopy of 29 white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) trees and in the surrounding tundra 3 and 6 m away from each tree at three sites of recent forest expansion along the Agashashok River in northwestern Alaska. The aim was to characterize the potential for forest expansion to lead to increased soil C pools across diverse tundra types. Soil C beneath the trees correlated positively with tree age, suggesting that tree establishment has led to C storage in the soils under their canopy at a rate of 18.5 ± 4.6 g C·m–2·year–1. Soil C in the surrounding tundra did not differ from those under the trees and showed no relationship to tree age. This characterization of the soil C pools at the 3-m scale strengthens the assertion that the pattern associated with the trees is an effect of the trees, because tree age cannot explain variation among tundra sampling locations at this scale. Potential mechanisms by which these white spruce trees could increase soil C pools include greater production and lower litter quality.

Radial Growth Decline of White Spruce (Picea glauca) During Hot Summers without Drought: Preliminary Results from a Study Site South of a Boreal Forest Border

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrei Lapenis ◽  
George Robinson ◽  
Gregory B. Lawrence
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Radial Growth ◽  
Summer Precipitation ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Southern Limit ◽  
Central New York ◽  
Growth Decline ◽  
Hot Days

Here we investigate the possible<sup></sup> future response of white spruce (Picea glauca) to a warmer climate by studying trees planted 90 years ago near the southern limit of their climate tolerance in central New York, 300 km south of the boreal forest where this species is prevalent. We employed high-frequency recording dendrometers to determine radial growth phenology of six mature white spruce trees during 2013-2017. Results demonstrate significant reductions in the length of radial growth periods inversely proportional to the number of hot days with air temperature exceeding 30 oC. During years with very hot summers, the start of radial growth began about 3 days earlier than the 2013-2017 average. However, in those same years the end of radial growth was also about 17 days earlier resulting in a shorter (70 versus 100 day), radial growth season. Abundant (350-500 mm) summer precipitation, which resulted in soil moisture values of 20-30% allowed us to dismiss drought as a factor. Instead, a likely cause of reduced radial growth was mean temperature that exceeded daily average of 30<sup> o</sup>C that lead to photoinhibition.

scholarly journals Effects of substrate availability and competing vegetation on natural regeneration of white spruce on logged boreal mixedwood sites

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 324-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola A. Kokkonen ◽  
S. Ellen Macdonald ◽  
Ian Curran ◽  
Simon M. Landhäusser ◽  
Victor J. Lieffers
Keyword(s):  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Natural Regeneration ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Solid Wood ◽  
Seedling Mortality ◽  
Competing Vegetation ◽  
Survival And Growth

Given a seed source, the quality of available substrates is a key factor in determining the success of white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) natural regeneration. We examined the influence of substrate and competing vegetation on survival and growth of natural regeneration of white spruce up to 4 years following harvesting in deciduous-dominated upland boreal mixedwood sites. Feather moss, thick soil surface organic layers, litter, and solid wood were poor substrates for establishment. Early successional mosses establishing on mineral soil, thin organics, and rotten wood were generally favourable microsites but were not highly available on postharvest sites. Mineral soil substrates were not as suitable as expected, likely because on a postlogged site, they are associated with unfavourable environmental characteristics (e.g., low nutrient availability, exposure). There was some evidence that survival and growth of seedlings were improved by surrounding vegetation in the first years, but heavy competing vegetation had a negative impact on older seedlings. Burial by aspen litter greatly increased seedling mortality, especially when combined with a brief period of submergence due to heavy spring snowmelt. The results provide insight into conditions under which natural regeneration could be an option for establishing white spruce following harvesting of deciduous-dominated boreal mixedwood forests.

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