Forest-floor chemical properties are altered by clear-cutting in boreal mixedwood forest stands dominated by trembling aspen and white spruce

2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (10) ◽  
pp. 2457-2468 ◽  
Author(s):  
K D Hannam ◽  
S A Quideau ◽  
B E Kishchuk ◽  
S -W Oh ◽  
R E Wasylishen
Keyword(s):  
Nmr Spectroscopy ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Proximate Analysis ◽  
Trembling Aspen ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Clear Cutting ◽  
Stand Type ◽  
Forest Floors

Alterations in the chemical properties of the forest floor following clear-cut harvesting may have implications for forest productivity in boreal stands. We used proximate analysis, carbon-13 (13C) isotopic determination, and cross-polarization, magic-angle spinning (CPMAS) 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to examine differences in the characteristics of the forest floors from uncut stands and clear-cut stands dominated by white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss; SPRUCE) and trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.; ASPEN) in northern Alberta. Proximate analysis revealed no difference in the chemical properties of forest floors from clear-cut and uncut stands in either stand type, but the acid-insoluble residue of forest floors from clear-cut ASPEN stands was enriched in 13C compared with those from uncut ASPEN stands. CPMAS 13C NMR spectroscopy revealed that forest floors from clearcuts were enriched in total aromatic C, particularly in ASPEN stands, and depleted in phenolic C, particularly in SPRUCE stands. These patterns indicate that forest floors from the clearcuts have become more humified, which may reflect stand-type differences in the amount of labile C available to the forest-floor microbial community and reductions in above- and below-ground inputs to the forest floor following clear-cutting in both stand types. Changes in the chemical properties of forest floors from clear-cut SPRUCE and ASPEN stands could exacerbate C limitation in these soils and alter patterns of nutrient cycling.

Site index, site quality, and foliar nutrients of trembling aspen: relationships and predictions

1998 ◽  
Vol 28 (12) ◽  
pp. 1743-1755 ◽  
Author(s):  
Han YH Chen ◽  
Karel Klinka ◽  
Richard D Kabzems
Keyword(s):  
Forest Floor ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Site Index ◽  
Foliar Nutrients ◽  
Trembling Aspen ◽  
Soil Model ◽  
Foliar Nutrient ◽  
Physical And Chemical ◽  
And Chemical Properties

To examine the relationships between trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) productivity, environmental attributes, and foliar nutrients and to make accurate predictions of trembling aspen productivity, we sampled 60 naturally established, fire-originated, and even-aged trembling aspen stands in northern British Columbia. Trembling aspen site index significantly varied with latitude, elevation, aspect, slope position, edatopes, some forest floor and mineral soil physical and chemical properties, and concentrations of some foliar nutrients. To predict site index, we developed multiple linear regression models using climatic variables, topographic properties, edatopes, soil physical and chemical properties, or foliar nutrients as predictors. Model accountability for variation of site index differed in decreasing order from soil model, climatic model, forest floor model, foliar nutrient model, edatope model, topographic model, to mineral soil model. Examined by the test data set, all models were unbiased, but they had different levels of precision in prediction in decreasing order from edatope model, soil model, forest floor model, mineral soil model, foliar nutrient model, climatic model, to topographic model. The soil and foliar nutrients models may provide insight into ecosystem processes, but the models using climatic variables and topographic properties or edatopes as predictors are recommended for predicting trembling aspen site index.

Organic matter and nitrogen content of the forest floor in even-aged northern hardwoods

1984 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 763-767 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Anthony Federer
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Nitrogen Content ◽  
Bulk Density ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Organic Content ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Clear Cutting ◽  
Mature Forest ◽  
Forest Floors

Organic content of the forest floor decreases for several years after clear-cutting, and then slowly recovers. Thickness, bulk density, organic matter, and nitrogen content of forest floors were measured for 13 northern hardwood stands in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Stands ranged from 1 to about 100 years in age. Forest-floor thickness varied significantly with stand age, but bulk density, organic fraction, and nitrogen fraction were independent of age. Total organic content of the forest floor agreed very well with data from Covington's (W. W. Covington 1981. Ecology, 62: 41–48) study of the same area. Both studies indicated that mature forest floors have about 80 Mg organic matter•ha−1 and 1.9 Mg nitrogen•ha−1. Within 10 or 15 years after cutting, the organic matter content of the floor decreases to 50 Mg•ha−1, and its nitrogen content to 1.1 Mg•ha−1. The question whether the decrease is rapid and the minimum broad and flat, or if the decrease is gradual and the minimum sharp, cannot be answered. The subsequent increase to levels reached in mature forest requires about 50 years. Some of the initial decrease in organic matter and nitrogen content of the forest floor may be caused by organic decomposition and nitrogen leaching, but mechanical and chemical mixing of floor into mineral soil, during and after the harvest operation, may also be important. The difference is vital with respect to maintenance of long-term productivity.

Aboveground biomass production and nutrient accumulation on postharvested white spruce sites in interior Alaska

1993 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 1233-1239 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Paré ◽  
Keith Van Cleve
Keyword(s):  
Nutrient Cycling ◽  
Biomass Production ◽  
Aboveground Biomass ◽  
Nutrient Content ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Trembling Aspen ◽  
Total N ◽  
Clear Cutting ◽  
Aboveground Production ◽  
Spruce Stands

Nutrient content and biomass of aboveground annual production, and nutrient content of total aboveground biomass, of 14-year-old assemblages of plants developing on harvested white spruce (Piceaglauca (Moench) Voss) sites were estimated by vegetation harvesting and compared with values previously measured in mature white spruce stands. The aboveground biomass production of 14-year-old regenerating trembling aspen (Populustremuloides Michx.) clumps was 3 times higher than the aboveground production of mature white spruce stands, while the aboveground production of other regenerating communities was lower or equivalent to the production of mature white spruce. However, the nutrient content of aboveground current biomass was greater in all regenerating communities than in mature white spruce stands, except on regenerating sites where the forest floor was absent. The amount of nutrient incorporated in current aboveground biomass was 5 times greater in trembling aspen clumps than in mature white spruce stands. Furthermore, the total N, P, and K content of aboveground vegetation corresponded, in 14-year-old trembling aspen clumps, to a value that ranged from 50 to 109% of the amount found in the aboveground biomass of mature white spruce forests, while this value ranged from 4 to 14% on other regeneration types. Trembling aspen and balsam poplar (Populusbalsamifera L.) both showed the greatest concentrations of N and P in foliar litter fall. These observations suggest that the development of a trembling aspen clump after clear-cutting contributes to the acceleration of nutrient cycling. On the other hand, the development of herbaceous communities during the same period after clear-cutting was accompanied by much lower nutrient cycling rates in the aboveground portion of the vegetation.

An alternative to clear-cutting in the boreal forest of Alaska: a 27-year study of regeneration after shelterwood harvesting

2001 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 999-1011 ◽  
Author(s):  
T L Wurtz ◽  
J C Zasada
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Seed Crop ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Calamagrostis Canadensis ◽  
Clear Cutting ◽  
All Treatment

We present 27-year results from a comparison of clear-cutting and shelterwood harvesting in the boreal forest of Alaska. Three patch clear-cut and three shelterwood units were harvested in 1972; about 100 dispersed white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) leave trees per hectare were retained in the shelterwoods. Units were mechanically scarified and an exceptionally large seed-crop was dispersed that year. Shelterwood trees were removed after 15 years. After 27 years, overstory treatment had no effect on the density or growth of the species we studied, while scarification had highly significant effects. In 1999, scarified areas were densely populated with white spruce seedlings and saplings (118 000 – 129 000 stems/ha, with spruce in 100% of plots). Unscarified areas had far fewer spruce stems but were nevertheless well stocked (11 000 – 15 000 stems/ha, with 87% frequency). Initially, spruce grew best on scarified surfaces, but by 27 years, growth of the tallest spruce saplings was significantly greater on unscarified than scarified surfaces. By 27 years, cover of the grass Calamagrostis canadensis (Michx.) Nutt. had returned to preharvest levels in all treatment types. Because criteria for evaluating forest management practices have changed since this study was begun, partial overstory retention systems for the management of Alaska's boreal forest deserve further study.

Comparison of the chemical properties of forest floors, decaying wood, and fine roots in three ecosystems on Vancouver Island

1981 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 216-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. J. Quesnel ◽  
L M. Lavkulich
Keyword(s):  
Forest Floor ◽  
Fine Roots ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Nutrient Status ◽  
Vancouver Island ◽  
Loss On Ignition ◽  
Elemental Concentrations ◽  
Red Cedar ◽  
Forest Floors ◽  
Decaying Wood

Elemental concentrations were measured and compared for LF horizons, H horizons, decaying wood, and fine (< 2 mm) roots of three ecosystems on northern Vancouver Island. The principal tree species of these ecosystems were western hemlock (Tsugaheterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.), amabilis fir (Abiesamabilis (Dougl.) Forbes), and western red cedar (Thujaplicata Donn.). The H horizons had greater Mg and Na values than the LF horizons, while the opposite result was found for K and loss on ignition (LOI). The decaying wood represents a significant accumulation of nutrient-deficient biomass that could immobilize N. The decomposing fine roots will temporarily immobilize N while possibly increasing the concentration of elements such as Fe, Al, and Mn. These materials should be separated from forest floor samples in order to represent more accurately the nutrient status of forest floor horizons.

Balsam fir and white spruce seedling recruitment in response to understory release, seedbed type, and litter exclusion in trembling aspen stands

2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 667-673 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Geoff Wang ◽  
Kevin J Kemball
Keyword(s):  
Forest Floor ◽  
Seedling Recruitment ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Abies Balsamea ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Trembling Aspen ◽  
Light Competition ◽  
Seedling Mortality ◽  
Undisturbed Forest

Experimental seeding of balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) and white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) was implemented in three mature trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) stands in southeastern Manitoba to test (i) the effect of vegetation (light) competition and seedbed type (undisturbed forest floor, exposed mineral soil, and rotten logs) on seedling recruitment over the first 2 years and (ii) the effect of broadleaf litter exclusion on seedling mortality during the first winter. The study indicated that, with adequate seed supply, seedbed type was the most important factor limiting seedling recruitment, especially the recruitment of white spruce, in trembling aspen stands. Seedling recruitment on the best and the worst seedbeds differed by 1.8 times for balsam fir but by 19 times for white spruce. Significant differences in soil moisture and temperature were found between seedbed types. Broadleaf litter exclusion also facilitated the recruitment of balsam fir and white spruce, but only on undisturbed forest floor. Vegetation (light) competition, however, did not limit seedling recruitment. On the contrary, the presence of understory vegetation benefited seedling recruitment on rotten logs. Compared with white spruce, balsam fir is better adapted to regenerate in trembling aspen stands. Balsam fir was about 4, 12, and 36 times better than white spruce when regenerating on exposed mineral soil, rotten log, and undisturbed forest floor, respectively.

Interactions between deadwood and soil characteristics in a natural boreal trembling aspen – jack pine stand1This article is one of a selection of papers from the International Symposium on Dynamics and Ecological Services of Deadwood in Forest Ecosystems.

2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (8) ◽  
pp. 1456-1466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne Brais ◽  
Pascal Drouin
Keyword(s):  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
Nutrient Availability ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Pinus Banksiana ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Wood Decay ◽  
Jack Pine ◽  
Nutrient Concentrations ◽  
Trembling Aspen

Decaying wood contribution to the heterogeneity of forest soils could depend on tree species and wood decay stage. The study was conducted in an 85-year-old trembling aspen ( Populus tremuloides Michx.) – jack pine ( Pinus banksiana Lamb.) forest in northwestern Quebec, Canada. Trees, snags, logs, and forest floor originating from wood buried within the forest floor (lignic FF) and from fine litter (alignic FF) were inventoried in fifteen 400 m2 plots (nine jack pine and six trembling aspen). Chemical properties of alignic and lignic FF and logs were measured and relative nutrient availability in the mineral soil assessed under logs and under lignic and alignic FF using PRS probes. No significant differences between forest covers were found for the proportion of C and nutrients contained in deadwood (snags, logs, and lignic FF) relative to tree biomass plus necromass (deadwood plus alignic FF) content. Lignic FF was characterized by a higher C/N ratio and exchangeable acidity than alignic FF and its nutrient concentrations were between those of alignic FF and logs. Differences in wood characteristics may explain some of the differences in forest floor properties observed between trembling aspen and jack pine. Nutrient availability in the mineral soil was affected by the overlaying materials and could reflect differences in the dynamics of individual nutrients.

NUTRIENT VARIABILITY OF FOREST FLOORS NEAR PORT HARDY, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA

1980 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 565-573 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. J. QUESNEL ◽  
L. M. LAVKULICH
Keyword(s):  
Forest Floor ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Sampling Procedure ◽  
Exchange Capacity ◽  
Forest Sites ◽  
Exchangeable Ca ◽  
Allowable Error ◽  
Forest Floors ◽  
Nutrient Variability ◽  
Physical And Chemical

The variability of forest floor properties over short distances and the number of samples required to achieve desired levels of precision for estimation of property means have received little attention. The importance of the forest floor for forest management is well known and increasingly forest floor characteristics are being used to classify forest sites. Highly variable forest floor properties require more intensive sampling and often have less predictive value for characterization and classification purposes. A study site at Port Hardy was used to characterize forest floors for selected physical and chemical properties. The three sites chosen represented xeric, mesic and hygric positions along a hygrotopic gradient. A stratified random sampling procedure was used to obtain 15 samples at each site. Fifteen samples were adequate to characterize the means at 10% allowable error with a 95% confidence level for total nitrogen, organic carbon, pH and cation exchange capacity. Greater than 15 samples were required for exchangeable bases and forest floor thickness for the same level of accuracy and confidence. Even at 25% allowable error and 90% confidence, 40 samples and 16 samples, respectively, were required for exchangeable Ca and Mg.

Effects of selected forest management practices on environmental parameters related to successional development on the Tanana River floodplain, interior Alaska

1993 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 1001-1014 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Yarie
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Stage Iii ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Clear Cutting ◽  
Successional Stages ◽  
Stage Viii ◽  
Successional Development

Two mature floodplain white spruce (Piceaglauca (Moench) Voss) ecosystems (stage VIII) located on islands in the Tanana River, approximately 20 km southwest of Fairbanks, Alaska, were clear-cut during the winter of 1985–1986 to quantify the effects of clear-cutting on selected environmental characteristics. Clearings in earlier successional stages (poplar–alder (Populus–Alnus), stage V; and open willow (Salix), stage III) were used to contrast the environmental parameters with the earlier stages found in the primary successional sequence. After clear-cutting, total radiation at the soil surface increased to early successional stage III levels. Potential evaporation from the soil surface increased 5-fold as a result of clearing in the stage VIII sites and was substantially greater than that found in the stage III sites by other researchers. Clearing had relatively little effect on air temperature. The concentration of P and K was significantly lower in the forest floor of both clearcuts, and the concentration of C was significantly higher at VIII-A-T (stage VIII–site A–treated (cleared) plot) when compared with the control stands. There was a decrease in total forest floor biomass at both clear-cut plots. Organic matter, total N, available NH4 and P, and extractable Mg and K all decreased after cutting, whereas pH increased. Decomposition of spruce foliage on the forest floor surface was slower in the clearcuts. Nitrogen immobilization occurred during the first 2 years of decomposition. During the third year it appeared that some mineralization was beginning to occur but the levels were very low, averaging only 3 mg N per bag in the clear-cut areas. Plant growth analysis indicated that growth was limited by high mineral soil salt content in the early successional stages (III) and that this limitation was species specific. Balsam poplar (Populusbalsamifera L.) appears to be more tolerant of the high cation content of the stage III sites compared with trembling aspen (Populustremuloides Michx.). By the time successional development has progressed to stage V, the soil has been sufficiently augmented by the inclusion of organic matter from the developing vegetation and the fixation of N by alder to result in higher seedling growth rates in the cleared areas.

Selected biological and chemical properties of forest floors across bedrock types on the north coast of British Columbia

2000 ◽  
Vol 30 (6) ◽  
pp. 971-981 ◽  
Author(s):  
J M Kranabetter ◽  
A Banner
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
North Coast ◽  
Available Phosphorus ◽  
Northern Coast ◽  
Turnover Rates ◽  
The North ◽  
Forest Floors

We examined some of the factors related to nutrient availability of forest floors developed over saprolitic and colluvial mineral soils of four bedrock types (granodiorite, gneissic diorite, schist, and limestone) on the outer northern coast of British Columbia. All sites were relatively well drained with old-growth coniferous forests. Forest floor morphology was quite similar across sites, with friable, moderately aggregated horizons dominating the profile. There were significant differences in concentrations of total nitrogen, available phosphorus, total sulphur, and condensed tannins across bedrock types. We found detritivores such as sowbugs, millipedes, and potworms across all sites. We could not detect differences in turnover rates (via laboratory respiration) of organic matter between bedrock types. Turnover rates instead were negatively correlated with forest floor carbon and total canopy cover. Overall, forest floor properties were quite similar across the range in parent materials because of the strong influence of climate and vegetation on soil development.

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