Dead wood dynamics in declining balsam fir and spruce stands in New Brunswick, Canada

2007 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 750-762 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah L. Taylor ◽  
David A. MacLean
Keyword(s):  
New Brunswick ◽  
Cause Of Death ◽  
Dead Wood ◽  
Choristoneura Fumiferana ◽  
Abies Balsamea ◽  
Tree Height ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Dead Trees ◽  
Spruce Stands ◽  
History Of

Forest management prescriptions increasingly incorporate snag and downed dead wood (DDW) guidelines. This study utilizes permanent inventory plots to determine dead wood dynamics in 33 balsam fir ( Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) – spruce ( Picea spp.) (BFSP) and 17 spruce – balsam fir (SPBF) stands in New Brunswick, Canada. Stands were declining, unmanaged, and had a history of recurrent spruce budworm ( Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.)) outbreaks and aerial insecticide spraying. Fixed-area sampling matched remnants of 1165 dead trees and 864 corresponding pieces of DDW to plot trees that died over the last 15–18 years with known year and cause of death. Declining BFSP stands had the highest accumulation of dead wood (196 m3/ha) compared with SPBF and nondeclining BFSP (122 m3/ha and 77 m3/ha, respectively). Dead wood dynamics were influenced by cause of death, as a function of differences in tree height at death affecting snag decay, fragmentation, and fall. One-half of all dead trees never made a significant contribution to the snag population (25% uprooted and 25% stem breakage), and attrition resulted in only 50% of snags standing with a mean height of 6 m 15–20 years after death. This study will be of direct value to those managing or modeling dead wood dynamics in similar forests.

Rate and causes of decline of mature and overmature balsam fir and spruce stands in New Brunswick, Canada

2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (10) ◽  
pp. 2479-2490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Lesley Taylor ◽  
David A MacLean
Keyword(s):  
New Brunswick ◽  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Abies Balsamea ◽  
Species Group ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Insect Outbreak ◽  
Permanent Sample Plots ◽  
Dead Trees ◽  
Spruce Stands ◽  
Species Groups

Data from 585 balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) and spruce (Picea spp.) permanent sample plots (PSPs) >50 years old in New Brunswick, Canada, measured between 1987 and 1998, were used to quantify the timing, magnitude, and causes of decline in stand growth, measured as negative net volume increment. Plots were subdivided into classes based on species group, ecoregion, and volume-development pattern (decreasing, fluctuating, stable, or increasing volume with time). Decline began at an earlier age in balsam fir – spruce (BFSP) PSPs (~70 years old) than in spruce – balsam fir (SPBF) PSPs (~120 years). One-third of plots (29%) fell into the decreasing volume-development category. Variation in the proportion of decreasing plots occurred among ecoregions (range 0%–60%) and, to a lesser extent, among species groups (26%–33%). Decreasing BFSP plots exhibited double the rate of volume loss of their SPBF counterparts (–7.4 and –3.9 m3·ha–1·year–1, respectively). Decline was caused by an increased rate of mortality, which was highest in the decreasing volume-development classes (7.5 m3·ha–1·year–1) and lowest in the increasing volume-development classes (1.4 m3·ha–1·year–1). Growth of surviving trees remained relatively stable (2.5–4.2 m3·ha–1·year–1) among volume-development classes. Blowdown was the biggest cause of tree mortality, accounting for approximately 50% of dead trees in BFSP and SPBF plots. The rate of mortality was influenced by ecoregion, species, and the combined effect of previous insect-outbreak and wind disturbances.

scholarly journals FUNGOUS DETERIORATION OF BALSAM FIR KILLED BY SPRUCE BUDWORM IN NORTHWESTERN NEW BRUNSWICK

1964 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 482-487 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Stillwell ◽  
D. J. Kelly
Keyword(s):  
New Brunswick ◽  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Choristoneura Fumiferana ◽  
Abies Balsamea ◽  
Spruce Budworm ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Dead Trees ◽  
One Year ◽  
Different Parts ◽  
Heavy Mortality

The rate of fungous deterioration was determined for 292 balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) killed by the spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.) in an area of heavy tree mortality in northern New Brunswick. Trees dead less than one year and up to seven years were examined. Fifty fir trees dead 0 to 2 years in a light mortality area were also examined. Trees in the heavy mortality area deteriorated much more slowly than those examined by other workers in Ontario. Stereum chailletii (Pers.) Fr. and S. sanguinolentum (Alb. & Schw. ex Fr.) Fr. caused most of the incipient and advanced decay in New Brunswick, whereas S. chailletii caused all the incipient decay in trees dead less than one year in Ontario but was replaced after one year by Polyporus abietinus Dicks, ex Fr. which then caused most of the advanced decay. Advanced decay progressed faster in trees in the light mortality area in New Brunswick than in trees in the heavy mortality area. Nineteen species of basidiomycetes were associated with sapwood decay. Comments concerning the position and frequency of fungous occurrence in the different parts of the tree in relation to the number of years since death are made for eight of the more commonly isolated fungi. The introduction of S. chailletii into living trees by woodwasps and the differences observed in the development of P. abietinus in dead trees in the two regions are discussed.

Windthrow and growth response following a spruce budworm inspired, variable retention harvest in New Brunswick, Canada

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 659-666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward A. Wilson ◽  
David A. MacLean
Keyword(s):  
New Brunswick ◽  
Growth Response ◽  
Choristoneura Fumiferana ◽  
Abies Balsamea ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Spruce Budworm ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Growth Release ◽  
Variable Retention ◽  
Variable Retention Harvest

Forest management regimes increasingly focus on the emulation of natural disturbance events, e.g., fire or insect outbreaks, to help increase ecosystem sustainability. We determined the residual stand response to a variable retention harvest inspired by spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens)) outbreaks in New Brunswick, Canada. Our objectives were to analyze the differences between surviving residual trees and those that succumbed to windthrow and to quantify growth release. The treatment was based on harvesting the estimated spruce budworm outbreak mortality, i.e., 90% of mature balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill., 60% of mature spruce (Picea spp.), and no hardwoods. Windthrow increased with the proportion of trees harvested and averaged 52% over 7–9 years in these stands with high balsam fir – spruce content. One-third of 42 harvested plots sustained >30% windthrow, whereas 73% of 11 similar unharvested plots had <10% windthrow. Balsam fir had higher windthrow than spruce at 53% and 41%, respectively. Windthrown balsam fir trees had significantly larger diameters at breast height (DBH, 1.3 m), larger heights, and smaller crown ratios than surviving residual trees. Substantial growth release occurred, with DBH increment of residual trees 48%–64% greater than trees in unharvested plots. Balsam fir and intolerant hardwoods exhibited the largest growth response. We suggest that future spruce budworm inspired harvests in stands with high balsam fir – spruce content use two or three entries about 5 years apart to reduce windthrow.

scholarly journals Vulnerability of Conifer Regeneration to Spruce Budworm Outbreaks in the Eastern Canadian Boreal Forest

Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 850 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janie Lavoie ◽  
Miguel Montoro Girona ◽  
Hubert Morin
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Choristoneura Fumiferana ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Abies Balsamea ◽  
Spruce Budworm ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Insect Outbreaks ◽  
Spruce Stands ◽  
Canadian Boreal Forest

Spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana) is the main defoliator of conifer trees in North American boreal forests, affecting extensive areas and causing marked losses of timber supplies. In 2017, spruce budworm affected more than 7 million ha of Eastern Canadian forest. Defoliation was particularly severe for black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.), one of the most important commercial trees in Canada. During the last decades, intensive forest exploitation practices have created vast stands of young balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) and black spruce. Most research focused on the impacts of spruce budworm has been on mature stands; its effects on regeneration, however, have been neglected. This study evaluates the impacts of spruce budworm on the defoliation of conifer seedlings (black spruce and balsam fir) in clearcuts. We measured the cumulative and annual defoliation of seedlings within six clearcut black spruce stands in Quebec (Canada) that had experienced severe levels of defoliation due to spruce budworm. For all sampled seedlings, we recorded tree species, height class, and distance to the residual forest. Seedling height and species strongly influenced defoliation level. Small seedlings were less affected by spruce budworm activity. As well, cumulative defoliation for balsam fir was double that of black spruce (21% and 9%, respectively). Distance to residual stands had no significant effect on seedling defoliation. As insect outbreaks in boreal forests are expected to become more severe and frequent in the near future, our results are important for adapting forest management strategies to insect outbreaks in a context of climate change.

Temporal changes in species composition of mixedwood stands in northwest New Brunswick: 1946–2008

2010 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luke J. Amos-Binks ◽  
David A. MacLean ◽  
Jeremy S. Wilson ◽  
Robert G. Wagner
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
New Brunswick ◽  
Choristoneura Fumiferana ◽  
Abies Balsamea ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Aerial Photographs ◽  
Development Patterns ◽  
Declining Species ◽  
Stand Conditions

Patterns of softwood (SW) – hardwood (HW) change from 1946 to 2006 in 32 unharvested mixedwood (MW) stands in northern New Brunswick were analyzed using aerial photographs (1946, 1966, 1982, and 2006), sampled, and related to disturbance and stand conditions. Five stand development patterns were identified based on 1946 SW content (70%–80%, termed SW versus 30%–60%, termed MW) and change in SW content from 1946 to 2006 (SW-stable, SW-declining, MW-fluctuating, MW-stable, or MW-declining). Species composition was surprisingly changeable over this 60-year period, with change in SW content varying from +18% to –62%. High canopy cover reduction from 1946 to 1966 resulted from balsam fir ( Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) mortality due to old age and a 1950s spruce budworm ( Choristoneura fumiferana Clem.) outbreak plus birch ( Betula sp.) dieback. SW-stable stands that maintained SW composition from 1946 to 2006 (+7%) had more red spruce ( Picea rubens Sarg.) than all other classes in which SW declined by 15%–47%. SW-declining stands were located on southerly aspects (189°) and had higher mean elevations (423 m) than other classes. Results suggest that balsam fir – tolerant HW MW stands may be naturally transitional due to disturbance, species, and stand conditions, which has significant implications for forest management designed to maintain static proportions of MW and SW stands.

Death and Deterioration of Balsam Fir Weakened by Spruce Budworm Defoliation in Ontario: Part I Notes on the seasonal history and habits of insects breeding in severely weakened and dead trees

1952 ◽  
Vol 84 (11) ◽  
pp. 325-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. M. Belyea
Keyword(s):  
Choristoneura Fumiferana ◽  
Abies Balsamea ◽  
Spruce Budworm ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Intensive Study ◽  
Northwestern Ontario ◽  
Host Trees ◽  
Dead Trees ◽  
Seasonal History

One of the problems arising from severe outbreaks of the spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.), is the evaluation of the factors contributing to the decline of the host trees. An intensive study of the death and deterioration of balsam fir, Abies balsamea (L.) Mill., was carried out from 1946 to 1951 in the area southwest of Lake Nipigon in northwestern Ontario, where a severe spruce budworm outbreak was in progress.

Changes in landscape composition and stand structure from 1945–2002 on an industrial forest in New Brunswick, Canada

2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (8) ◽  
pp. 1965-1977 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A Etheridge ◽  
David A MacLean ◽  
Robert G Wagner ◽  
Jeremy S Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
New Brunswick ◽  
Stand Structure ◽  
Choristoneura Fumiferana ◽  
Abies Balsamea ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Landscape Composition ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
Industrial Forest

Detailed 1944–1947 cruise data and maps were used to compare species composition, age-class distribution, and stand structure between 1945 and 2002, for a 190 000 ha industrial forest in New Brunswick, Canada. Softwood forest area in 1945 and 2002 was similar, at 40% and 42%, respectively, but mixed hardwood–softwood decreased from 37% to 18%, and hardwood increased from 10% to 25%. Forest management from 1945 to 2002 resulted in the forest (1) becoming younger, with 86% of the trees >70 years old in 2002 versus 44% in 1945, (2) becoming denser, with 100–300 more stems per hectare and 4–7 m2/ha more basal area in 2002, and (3) having less balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) — 31%–66% in 1945 versus 4%–38% in 2002 of basal area for stands with >30% softwood. Management reduced balsam fir to lower mortality associated with spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.)) outbreaks. The area of old (≥70 years old, with ≥10 trees/ha ≥30 cm DBH) and large (≥70 years old, with ≥5 trees/ha ≥45 cm DBH) spruce-fir and mixedwood wildlife habitats decreased from 112 600 and 55 200 ha in 1945 to 8200 and 7200 in 2002, respectively, while hardwood habitat increased from 22 800 to 71 500 ha. Management increased timber production while maintaining similar softwood species composition, but altered age structure and areas of mixedwood and hardwood forest types.

Weather and Outbreaks of the Spruce Budworm in the Province of Quebec from 1939 to 1956

1961 ◽  
Vol 93 (2) ◽  
pp. 118-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. G. Pilon ◽  
J. R. Blais
Keyword(s):  
Choristoneura Fumiferana ◽  
Abies Balsamea ◽  
Spruce Budworm ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
The Past ◽  
Forest Regions ◽  
Tree Component ◽  
Gaspe Peninsula ◽  
Gaspé Peninsula

Nearly all forest regions in the Province of Quebec where balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) is an important tree component have been subjected to severe defoliation by the spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.), during the past 20 years. These outbreaks have followed an easterly direction beginning near the Ontario-Quebec border in 1939 and ending in the Gaspé Peninsula in 1958.

Prescribed Burning for Stand Conversion in Budworm-killed Balsam Fir: An Ontario Case History

1986 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 96-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. J. McRae
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Consumption ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Choristoneura Fumiferana ◽  
Abies Balsamea ◽  
Spruce Budworm ◽  
Fire Spread ◽  
Fire Effects ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Prescribed Burn ◽  
Stand Conversion

Recent spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana [Clem.]) infestations have resulted in widespread areas of balsam fir (Abies balsamea [L.] Mill.) mortality in Ontario, and there is growing interest in reestablishing these areas quickly as productive forests. One technique being used is prescribed fire after a salvage and bulldozer tramping operation. A 445-ha prescribed burn was carried out under moderate fire danger conditions in northern Ontario. The site, which was covered by balsam fir fuel that had been killed by spruce budworm, was tramped to improve fire spread. Weather, fuel consumption, and fire effects are reported. The burn effectively reduced heavy surface fuel loadings and consequently planting on the site was easier. Key words: Prescribed burning, fire, spruce budworm. Choristoneura fumiferana, balsam fir, Abies balsamea, fuel consumption, site preparation, tramping, stand conversion.

LONG TERM STUDY OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF AERIAL APPLICATION OF BACILLUS THURINGIENSIS – ACEPHATE COMBINATIONS AGAINST THE SPRUCE BUDWORM, CHORISTONEURA FUMIFERANA (LEPIDOPTERA: TORTRICIDAE)

1977 ◽  
Vol 109 (9) ◽  
pp. 1239-1248 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. N. Morris
Keyword(s):  
Bacillus Thuringiensis ◽  
Choristoneura Fumiferana ◽  
Larval Mortality ◽  
Abies Balsamea ◽  
Spruce Budworm ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Population Densities ◽  
Long Term Study

AbstractBacillus thuringiensis (Dipel® 36B) mixed with a sublethal concentration of acephate (Orthene®) (O, S-dimethyl acetylphosphoramidothioate), an organophosphorous insecticide, was applied at 2.35–14 l./ha to white spruce (Picea glauca) and balsam fir (Abies balsamea) trees infested with spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.). The treatment rate was 20 Billion International Units of B. thuringiensis (B.t.) activity with or without 42 g of active ingredient of acephate/ha.The ground deposit of the standard Dipel wettable powder formulation was 12% of emitted volume compared with 21–32% for the Dipel 36B flowable. The viability of B.t. spores was drastically reduced after 1 day of weathering but a high level of biological activity by the spore–crystal complex persisted for up to 20 days post-spray due probably to crystal activity.The addition of about 10% of the recommended operational rate of acephate to the B.t. suspension increased larval mortality by 34% when applied at 4.7 l./ha. Reductions in budworm populations were 97–99% in B.t. + acephate plots and 86–90% in B.t. alone plots.Plots with moderate budworm densities of up to 27 larvae/100 buds on white spruce and 36/100 on balsam fir were satisfactorily protected from excessive defoliation in the year of spray by B.t. with or without acephate. Plots with higher population densities were not satisfactorily protected based on the branch sample examination but aerial color photographs indicated good protection to the top third of the trees. Population declines were greater and defoliation and oviposition were lower in the treated plots than in the untreated checks 1 year later without further treatment. Two years later the larval population densities in all plots were low but the density was twice as high in the untreated check as in the treated plots, indicating long term suppression by the treatments. Defoliation was negligible in all plots.The treatments had no deleterious effect on spruce budworm parasitism. The data indicate that the integrated approach using Bacillus thuringiensis – chemical pesticide combinations is a viable alternative to the use of chemical pesticides alone in spruce budworm control. Large scale testing is now warranted.

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