Are mineral soils exposed by severe wildfire better seedbeds for conifer regeneration?

2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (8) ◽  
pp. 1943-1950 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin J Kemball ◽  
G. Geoff Wang ◽  
A Richard Westwood
Keyword(s):  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Pinus Banksiana ◽  
Seedling Recruitment ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Jack Pine ◽  
Conifer Regeneration ◽  
Mineral Soils

We examined jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.), black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP), and white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) seed germination and seedling recruitment in aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) and conifer mixedwood stands following the 1999 Black River fire in southeastern Manitoba, Canada. Three postfire seedbed types were tested: scorched (surface litter only partially consumed), lightly burned (surface litter consumed with little or no duff consumption), and severely burned (complete consumption of litter and duff exposing mineral soil). Seeds were sown in 1999, 2000, and 2001, and each cohort was monitored for 3 years. In 1999, severely burned seedbeds had poor germination, while scorched seedbeds had the highest germination. The reverse was true in 2001. After the first growing season, continued survival of seedlings was greater on severely burned seedbeds for all three cohorts. However, better survival on severely burned seedbeds was not sufficient to overcome poor germination in 1999 and 2000. When using artificial seeding to promote conifer regeneration, we recommend a delay of one full year after a severe spring fire for jack pine and two full years for black spruce and white spruce on boreal aspen and conifer mixedwood sites.

scholarly journals Cold hardiness of white spruce, black spruce, jack pine, and lodgepole pine needles during dehardening

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (8) ◽  
pp. 1116-1122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rongzhou Man ◽  
Pengxin Lu ◽  
Qing-Lai Dang
Keyword(s):  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Pinus Banksiana ◽  
Cold Hardiness ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Lodgepole Pine ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Visual Assessment ◽  
Jack Pine ◽  
Pine Needles ◽  
Late Winter

Conifer winter damage results primarily from loss of cold hardiness during unseasonably warm days in late winter and early spring, and such damage may increase in frequency and severity under a warming climate. In this study, the dehardening dynamics of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. ex. Loud), jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.), white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss), and black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) were examined in relation to thermal accumulation during artificial dehardening in winter (December) and spring (March) using relative electrolyte leakage and visual assessment of pine needles and spruce shoots. Results indicated that all four species dehardened at a similar rate and to a similar extent, despite considerably different thermal accumulation requirements. Spring dehardening was comparatively faster, with black spruce slightly hardier than the other conifers at the late stage of spring dehardening. The difference, however, was relatively small and did not afford black spruce significant protection during seedling freezing tests prior to budbreak in late March and early May. The dehardening curves and models developed in this study may serve as a tool to predict cold hardiness by temperature and to understand the potential risks of conifer cold injury during warming–freezing events prior to budbreak.

scholarly journals Taper Equations for Five Major Commercial Tree Species in Manitoba, Canada

2007 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 163-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan J. Klos ◽  
G. Geoff Wang ◽  
Qing-Lai Dang ◽  
Ed W. East
Keyword(s):  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Pinus Banksiana ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Jack Pine ◽  
Volume Estimation ◽  
Trembling Aspen ◽  
Stem Form ◽  
Taper Equation ◽  
Taper Equations

Abstract Kozak's variable exponent taper equation was fitted for balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera L.), trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.), white spruce (Picea glauca [Moench] Voss), black spruce (Picea mariana [Mill.] B.S.P.), and jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) in Manitoba. Stem taper variability between two ecozones (i.e., Boreal Shield and Boreal Plains) were tested using the F-test. Regional differences were observed for trembling aspen, white spruce, and jack pine, and for those species, separate ecozone-specific taper equations were developed. However, the gross total volume estimates using the ecozone-specific equations were different from those of the provincial equations by only 2 percent. Although the regional difference in stem form was marginal within a province, a difference of approximately 7 percent of gross total volume estimation was found when our provincial taper equations were compared with those developed in Alberta and Saskatchewan. These results suggest that stem form variation increases with spatial scale and that a single taper equation for each species may be sufficient for each province.

The effect of pedogenetic processes on the distribution of phosphorus, calcium and magnesium in Gray Luvisols

1991 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 397-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
X. J. Xiao ◽  
D. W. Anderson ◽  
J. R. Bettany
Keyword(s):  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Pinus Banksiana ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Coniferous Forest ◽  
Soil Formation ◽  
Podzolic Soils ◽  
Exchangeable Ca ◽  
Phosphorus Losses

Pedogenesis and its effect on calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and phosphorus (P) was studied on a sequence of seven Gray Luvisol soils in central Saskatchewan. The soils were formed on calcareous glacial till under trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx), mixedwood (aspen and white spruce) (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss)) and coniferous (black spruce and jack pine) (Picea mariana (Mill) BSP and Pinus banksiana Lamb) forests. Soils under aspen had the highest concentration of total and exchangeable Ca and Mg in litter layers and Ae horizons, and had Ae and Bt horizons that were least acidic. The most acidic Ae and Bt horizons and lowest amounts of Ca and Mg occurred under coniferous forests, whereas the soils under mixedwood stands were intermediate. The thickness of eluvial (Ae and AB) horizons increased along the aspen to coniferous sequence. All soils had about 40% less P in their A and B horizons than was calculated to have been present at the start of soil formation. The greatest decrease in P was observed in the thickest and most acidic soil under coniferous forest. The present litter layers and vegetation make up only a small proportion of the P removed from the mineral soil. Unusually large amounts of P appear to have been translocated from A and B horizons during development of Gray Luvisols, in comparison to Chernozemic or even Podzolic soils. Our hypothesis proposes that P is ineffectively retained in the solum as P-clay-humus, or iron-P complexes and that organic P moves along with the soil water, laterally and downslope through permeable Ae horizon over less permeable Bt horizons, or vertically through macropores. Key words: Boreal forest, nutrient cycling, phosphorus losses, weathering, soil formation

scholarly journals Effects of winter warming on cold hardiness and spring budbreak of four boreal conifers

Botany ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 94 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rongzhou Man ◽  
Steve Colombo ◽  
Pengxin Lu ◽  
Qing-Lai Dang
Keyword(s):  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Pinus Banksiana ◽  
Cold Hardiness ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Lodgepole Pine ◽  
Temperature Fluctuations ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Jack Pine ◽  
Experimental Warming ◽  
Freezing Damage

Compared with the effects of spring frosts on opening buds or newly flushed tissues, winter freezing damage to conifers, owing to temperature fluctuations prior to budbreak, is rare and less known. In this study, changes in cold hardiness (measured based on electrolyte leakage and needle damage) and spring budbreak were assessed to examine the responses of four boreal conifer species — black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.), white spruce (Picea glauca) (Moench) Voss), jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.), and lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta Dougl. ex. Loud.) — to different durations of experimental warming (16 °C day to –2 °C night with a 10 h photoperiod, except for night temperatures during November warming (+2 °C)). Seedlings showed increased responses to warming from November to March, while the capacity to regain the cold hardiness lost to warming decreased during the same period. This suggests an increasing vulnerability of conifers to temperature fluctuations and freezing damage with the progress of chilling and dormancy release from fall to spring. Both lodgepole pine and jack pine initiated spring growth earlier and had greater responses to experimental warming in bud phenology than black spruce and white spruce, suggesting a greater potential risk of frost/freezing damage to pine trees in the spring.

Climate-sensitive height–age models for top height trees in natural and reclaimed oil sands stands in Alberta, Canada

2019 ◽  
pp. 297-307
Author(s):  
Yuqing Yang ◽  
Shongming Huang ◽  
Robert Vassov ◽  
Brad Pinno ◽  
Sophan Chhin
Keyword(s):  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Oil Sands ◽  
Pinus Banksiana ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Analysis Data ◽  
Jack Pine ◽  
Trembling Aspen ◽  
Climate Data ◽  
Positive Effects

Climate-sensitive height–age models were developed for top height trees of trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.), jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.), and white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) in natural and reclaimed oil sands stands. We used stem analysis data collected from the Athabasca oil sands region in northern Alberta, Canada, and climate data generated by the ClimateWNA model. Height–age trajectories differed between top height trees in natural and reclaimed stands for jack pine and white spruce, but not for trembling aspen. At a given age, white spruce top height trees were taller and jack pine top height trees were shorter in reclaimed stands than those in natural stands, suggesting that it is easier to achieve similar forest productivity for oil sands sites reclaimed with white spruce stands than for sites reclaimed with jack pine stands. The principal climate variables were growing season (May to September) precipitation averaged over the previous 10 years for trembling aspen and jack pine and summer (June to August) precipitation averaged over the previous 10 years for white spruce. These variables had positive effects on the height–age trajectories.

Nitrogen uptake characteristics for roots of conifer seedlings and common boreal forest competitor species

2003 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 156-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan D Hangs ◽  
J Diane Knight ◽  
Ken CJ Van Rees
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Pinus Banksiana ◽  
N Uptake ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Jack Pine ◽  
Calamagrostis Canadensis ◽  
Successional Species ◽  
Menten Kinetic

Little is known about the N uptake abilities of competitor species and planted seedlings in the boreal forest. The objective of this study was to determine the Michaelis–Menten kinetic parameters of NH4+ and NO3– for white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) and jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) seedlings, and three competitive common boreal forest early successional species: aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.), fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium L.), and cala magrostis (Calamagrostis canadensis (Michx.) Beauv.). Uptake kinetics were measured in hydroponic cultures and expressed as maximum uptake (Imax) and ion affinity (Km). The ranking of Imax values (pmol·cm-2·s–1) for NH4+ uptake was calamagrostis (84.6), fireweed (58.1), white spruce (20.7), aspen (12.5), and jack pine (10.9), and for NO3– uptake was calamagrostis (17.7), fireweed (12.5), aspen (5.8), white spruce (4.5), and jack pine (2.1). The ranking of Km values (µM) for NH4+ uptake was calamagrostis (125.9), fireweed (163.8), aspen (205.7), white spruce (217.1), and jack pine (270.5), and for NO3– uptake was calamagrostis (229.9), fireweed (274.6), aspen (336.5), white spruce (344.5), and jack pine (350.5). Calamagrostis exhibited the greatest uptake rates and affinity for NH4+ and NO3–, suggesting that silviculture practices that specifically reduce establishment of this grass should benefit the growth of planted seedlings.

Tree bole mineralization rates of four species of the Canadian eastern boreal forest: implications for nutrient dynamics following stand-replacing disturbances

2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (9) ◽  
pp. 2331-2340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne Brais ◽  
David Paré ◽  
Cédric Lierman
Keyword(s):  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Pinus Banksiana ◽  
Nutrient Dynamics ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Jack Pine ◽  
Trembling Aspen ◽  
Tree Biomass ◽  
White Birch ◽  
Nutrient Immobilization

To assess nutrient dynamics in decomposing logs of trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.), white birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.), white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss), and jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.), we monitored mass losses and changes in N and P contents in dead boles from a chronosequence of sites following stand-replacing disturbances. To assess the importance of wood decomposition to nutrient cycling, we compared net estimates of nutrient release from logs with net nutrient immobilization in live-tree biomass of stands as a function of time since disturbance. Mineralization rates were 0.060, 0.053, 0.038, and 0.020·year–1 for trembling aspen, white birch, white spruce, and jack pine logs, respectively. Trembling aspen boles released large quantities of N and P during the first year of decomposition (51 kg·ha–1 of N and 7 kg·ha–1 of P, assuming a bole volume of 150 m3·ha–1). White birch boles acted initially as a nutrient sink and delayed the release of immobilized nutrients until a period when the stand's net nutrient immobilization rates were highest. Jack pine boles appeared to be intermediate in terms of their contribution as a sink or a source of nutrients but, in mature stands, provided up to 40% of N and 26% of P immobilized annually in tree biomass. As pure stands of white spruce are rare in boreal Quebec, information on nutrient accumulation in white spruce stands was not available.

Effects of fire severity on early survival and growth of planted jack pine, black spruce and white spruce

2010 ◽  
Vol 86 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Geoff Wang ◽  
Kevin J Kemball
Keyword(s):  
Seedling Growth ◽  
Picea Mariana ◽  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Pinus Banksiana ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Fire Severity ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Jack Pine ◽  
Survival And Growth ◽  
Early Survival

Two boreal mixedwood stands burned by the 1999 Black River wildfire in southeastern Manitoba, Canada were selected to study the effect of fire severity on early survival and growth of planted jack pine (Pinus banksiana), black spruce (Picea mariana) and white spruce (Picea glauca) seedlings. In each stand, three fire severity classes (scorched, lightly burned, and severely burned) were identified based on the degree of forest floor consumption. Fire severity was not a significant factor on mortality. No mortality difference was found among species, except for year 5 when jack pine had significantly higher mortality than both black spruce and white spruce. Jack pine and black spruce had their highest mortality in year 4, while white spruce had its highest mortality in year 1. Under natural competition, seedling growth increased with increasing fire severity. When competition was removed, fire severity did not affect seedling growth. Regardless of fire severity and competition, jack pine had better diameter and height growth than black spruce, which, in turn, grew slightly taller than white spruce. Planted seedlings faced less intense vegetation competition on severely burned plots compared to scorched or lightly burned plots. Regardless of fire severity and species, competition increased with time since planting. Our study results indicate that planting immediately after a wildfire is a viable option to establish conifer components on burned boreal mixedwood stands. Key words: fire severity, plantation, regeneration, Pinus banksiana, Picea mariana, Picea glauca

Post-wildfire seedbeds and tree establishment in the southern mixedwood boreal forest

2002 ◽  
Vol 32 (9) ◽  
pp. 1607-1615 ◽  
Author(s):  
I Charron ◽  
D F Greene
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Pinus Banksiana ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Mineral Soil ◽  
Jack Pine ◽  
Permanent Plots ◽  
First Year ◽  
Second Year ◽  
Mixedwood Boreal Forest

We studied the post-wildfire establishment of jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.), black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP), and white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) in the southern mixedwood boreal forest of Saskatchewan, Canada. The major objective of the study was to determine the influence of post-wildfire seedbed types on the juvenile survivorship of trees. Through a combination of permanent plots and sowing experiments, we demonstrated that mineral soil, thin Polytrichum Hedw. moss, and humus are much more favorable than the organic fermentation (Of) and litter seedbeds. We also show that differences among seedbeds are significantly more important than differences among species. In addition, the first year of a cohort has the highest rate of mortality, about 85% on mineral and humus seedbeds and 98% on Of seedbeds; differences in age-specific survivorship between seedbeds become muted by the end of the second year, and survivorship rates approach 1 by the end of the third summer. Finally, age structures showed that germination rates of black spruce and jack pine were very low the initial summer of the fire; that there was a peak in recruitment in the first post-fire summer; and that by the fourth year the recruitment declined to nearly zero.

Distribution and dynamics of tree species across a fire frequency gradient in the James Bay region of Quebec

2003 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc-André Parisien ◽  
Luc Sirois
Keyword(s):  
Tree Species ◽  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Pinus Banksiana ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Species Abundance ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Jack Pine ◽  
James Bay ◽  
Fire Cycle

This study examines how forest structure and composition change with spatial variations in the fire cycle across a shore-hinterland gradient. Twenty-one well-drained sites were sampled at different distances from James Bay to describe the forest stands. To quantify the role of fire in tree species distribution, a spatial analysis of fire polygons from 1930 to 1998 was undertaken in a 43 228 km2 study area adjacent to James Bay. Results from this analysis reveal an important decrease in the fire cycle, from 3142 to 115 years, from the shore to the hinterland. In forests bordering James Bay, white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) is found in pure stands. It is gradually replaced by black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) at 0.5 km from the shore. Jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) abruptly appears at 22 km from the shore. There is a positive correlation between the frequency of white spruce and the fire cycle (R = 0.893), whereas this correlation is negative for black spruce (R = –0.753) and jack pine (R = –0.807) (Spearman correlations). Jack pine is confined to regions having a short fire cycle, while black spruce can seemingly maintain itself with or without fire. The exclusion of white spruce hinterland seems to be mainly due to a short fire cycle; however, other factors, such as soil development and species abundance, presumably have a marked influence on the distribution of this species.

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