Erratum: Spatially explicit modeling of PAR transmission and growth of Picea glauca and Abies balsamea in boreal forests of Alberta and Quebec

2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (5) ◽  
pp. 1342-1343
Author(s):  
Kenneth J Stadt ◽  
Victor J Lieffers ◽  
Ronald J Hall ◽  
Christian Messier
2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth J Stadt ◽  
Victor J Lieffers ◽  
Ronald J Hall ◽  
Christian Messier

To investigate the feasibility of a spatially explicit, radiation-based regeneration model for the boreal forest, we tested the predictions of a three-dimensional simulator of photosynthetically active radiation transmission (%PAR), MIXLIGHT, and the growth response of understory Abies balsamea (L.) Mill. (balsam fir) and Picea glauca (Moench) Voss (white spruce) to %PAR in two large (>1 ha) mixed-species forest sites, one in eastern Canada at Lac Duparquet, Quebec, and one in western Canada at Calling Lake, Alberta. Overstory tree locations and dimensions were obtained from aerial photographs or ground measurements and allometric relationships. Seasonal %PAR calculated by MIXLIGHT for the Calling Lake site was very similar to seasonal %PAR measured by quantum sensors (n = 5, %PAR range = 15%–33%, r = 0.93). Daily measurements of %PAR were also predicted well by simulations at both sites (n = 34–36, %PAR range = 1%–45%, r ≥ 0.76). Functional relationships, designed to saturate at the maximum height growth potential of these sites, were developed to predict sapling height growth from simulated seasonal %PAR and initial height (R2 ≥ 0.74). These results demonstrate the potential of the MIXLIGHT simulator for estimating PAR at microsites within heterogeneous forests and for modeling understory tree growth.


2012 ◽  
Vol 90 (6) ◽  
pp. 704-713 ◽  
Author(s):  
Etienne Cardinal ◽  
Jean-Louis Martin ◽  
Jean-Pierre Tremblay ◽  
Steeve D. Côté

Intense browsing by abundant large herbivores can threaten the ecological integrity of ecosystems by inducing modifications in the structure and composition of vegetation that trigger trophic cascades affecting plant and animal communities. We investigated the relationships between density of white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus (Zimmermann, 1780)), forest succession after clear-cut, and songbird communities on Anticosti Island, Quebec, Canada. We hypothesized that lower deer densities would alter the trajectory of forest succession after clear-cutting and lead to a rapid recovery of habitat attributes favorable to songbirds associated with a dense complex shrub layer. Six years after establishing a controlled browsing experiment (0, 7.5, 15, and >27 deer·km–2) in recent clearcuts, reducing deer densities ≤7.5 deer·km–2 initiated the restoration of balsam fir ( Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) forests and increased the regeneration of paper birch ( Betula papyrifera Marshall). Increasing birch ground cover from 10% to 20% increased songbird total abundance, species richness, and diversity by 17%, 39%, and 31%, respectively. Alder Flycatcher (Empidonax alnorum Brewster, 1895) was only present at ≤7.5 deer·km–2 and strongly associated with birch regeneration. The regeneration of browse-resistant plants such as white spruce ( Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) in some areas at high deer density favored the maintenance of many shrub-dependent songbirds but also species usually associated with forest canopy. Active management of deer populations in Canadian harvested boreal forests will mitigate losses in vegetation and songbirds caused by over-browsing.


2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 772-788 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuella Strukelj ◽  
Suzanne Brais ◽  
Sylvie A. Quideau ◽  
Se-Woung Oh

Deadwood constitutes an important input of carbon to soil, but its role in carbon sequestration over the long term is not well documented in the eastern boreal forests of Canada, especially when compared with foliar litter. The objectives of this study were to characterize and compare patterns of mass loss and changes in chemical composition of deadwood and foliar litter of trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.), white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss), and balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) during a 5- to 6-year period of field decomposition, using litterbags, solid-state 13C nuclear magnetic resonance analysis, and lignin monomer quantification by cupric oxide oxidation. The maximum decomposition limit was similar between foliar litter and wood material, but foliar litter decomposed faster, reached the estimated maximum decomposition limit, and converged to a composition rich in alkyl, phenolic, and carbonyl carbon. However, wood did not reach the estimated maximum decomposition limit and underwent relatively little chemical changes, remaining with high carbohydrate content. At the end of the experiment, aspen wood still had a lower lignin concentration than that of conifers, but contained higher proportions of alkyl and carbonyl carbon. Although wood contributes to a greater diversity in the chemical composition of the forest floor, foliar litter, which keeps a high alkyl C content throughout its decay, could generate more recalcitrant residual organic matter.


Ecosystems ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 284-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald L. DeAngelis ◽  
Simeon Yurek

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 1181
Author(s):  
Guy R. Larocque ◽  
F. Wayne Bell

Environmental concerns and economic pressures on forest ecosystems have led to the development of sustainable forest management practices. As a consequence, forest managers must evaluate the long-term effects of their management decisions on potential forest successional pathways. As changes in forest ecosystems occur very slowly, simulation models are logical and efficient tools to predict the patterns of forest growth and succession. However, as models are an imperfect representation of reality, it is desirable to evaluate them with historical long-term forest data. Using remeasured tree and stand data from three data sets from two ecoregions in northern Ontario, the succession gap model ZELIG-CFS was evaluated for mixed boreal forests composed of black spruce (Picea mariana [Mill.] B.S.P.), balsam fir (Abies balsamea [L.] Mill.), jack pine (Pinus banksiana L.), white spruce (Picea glauca [Moench] Voss), trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.), white birch (Betula papyrifera Marsh.), northern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis L.), American larch (Larix laricina [Du Roi] K. Koch), and balsam poplar (Populus balsamefera L.). The comparison of observed and predicted basal areas and stand densities indicated that ZELIG-CFS predicted the dynamics of most species consistently for periods varying between 5 and 57 simulation years. The patterns of forest succession observed in this study support gap phase dynamics at the plot scale and shade-tolerance complementarity hypotheses at the regional scale.


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