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.

Regeneration and stand development following a spruce budworm outbreak, spruce budworm inspired harvest, and salvage harvest

2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (10) ◽  
pp. 1759-1770 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Eiry Spence ◽  
David A. MacLean
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
Structural Characteristics ◽  
Choristoneura Fumiferana ◽  
Abies Balsamea ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Spruce Budworm ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Stand Development ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Precommercial Thinning

Spruce budworm ( Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens)) (SBW) outbreaks are a major disturbance that influence stand dynamics and succession in balsam fir ( Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) dominated forests of eastern Canada. We used stand and regeneration data collected from five plots in each of one immature and five mature stands before, during, and 30 years following the last major SBW outbreak in the Cape Breton Highlands to examine the role of stand and regeneration characteristics in shaping future stand development. Comparisons were also made between regeneration in four SBW outbreak stands versus two SBW salvage stands, with and without a subsequent precommercial thinning, and with 25 plots that underwent SBW emulation harvest. In mature unharvested balsam fir stands, species composition 30 years following the SBW outbreak was closely related to predisturbance species composition, and in immature fir stands, hardwood composition increased from 0% to 4%–27%. Species composition in harvested stands varied depending on whether intolerant hardwoods had been precommercially thinned, where thinned stands had 30% less hardwood 30 years postdisturbance than unthinned stands. Seedling density decreased by 17%–85% from 1979 to 1989 in all SBW outbreak stands, but average seedling height increased by 17%–500% as live canopy cover decreased from an average of 50% to 4%. Results suggest that advanced regeneration should be protected during harvest of balsam fir dominated stands, post-outbreak precommercial thinning will increase tree growth, and live tree retention can help develop late-seral structural characteristics in second-growth stands.

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.

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 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.

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.

A stand density management diagram for spruce–balsam fir mixtures in New Brunswick

2007 ◽  
Vol 83 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edwin Swift ◽  
Margaret Penner ◽  
Rolland Gagnon ◽  
Jason Knox
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
New Brunswick ◽  
Stand Structure ◽  
Abies Balsamea ◽  
Stand Density ◽  
Forest Products ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Mixed Stands ◽  
Pure Species ◽  
Stand Density Management

Balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.), red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.), black spruce (P. mariana (Mill.) BSP), and white spruce (P. glauca (Moench) Voss) often form mixed stands throughout northeastern North America. After harvesting operations or natural disturbances, the resulting natural regeneration may require thinning prescriptions to achieve the desired future stand structure and associated forest products. Stand density management diagrams (SDMDs) can assist the forest manager in examining potential yield implications of stand density management decisions. Data from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Quebec indicate a single SDMD is not appropriate for mixtures of balsam fir and spruce (red and black). The maximum size density line is flatter for mixtures than for pure species stands and the quadratic mean diameter isolines are affected by the species composition. The top height isolines are independent of species composition. The results indicate the SDMD for spruce–balsam fir mixtures needs to be dynamic, incorporating the species proportions. The SDMD has been incorporated into software that prompts the user for the balsam fir fraction and generates the appropriate SDMD. Key words: Acadian Forest Region, eastern species mixtures, thinning decisions

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.

CHANGES IN SPRUCE BUDWORM DEFOLIATION WITH CROWN LEVEL

1996 ◽  
Vol 128 (6) ◽  
pp. 1109-1113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harald Piene
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Choristoneura Fumiferana ◽  
Abies Balsamea ◽  
Spruce Budworm ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Crown Length ◽  
Cape Breton ◽  
Cost Effective Approach ◽  
The Common

AbstractDetailed estimates of defoliation caused by spruce budworm [Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.)] over the crown length of young balsam fir [Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.] were made throughout a spruce budworm outbreak from 1976 to 1984 in the Cape Breton Highlands, Nova Scotia. The results show no clear tendency for a particular level of the crown to be damaged more heavily than any other. Thus, there is no reason to continue the common practice of taking samples from the mid-crown level on the assumption that they represent an ‘average’ level of defoliation either for high or low populations. Sampling from the bottom of the crown should provide a more convenient and cost-effective approach for estimating defoliation.

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