Regional patterns of postfire canopy recovery in the northern boreal forest of Quebec: interactions between surficial deposit, climate, and fire cycle1This article is one of a selection of papers from the 7th International Conference on Disturbance Dynamics in Boreal Forests.

2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (7) ◽  
pp. 1328-1343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Mansuy ◽  
Sylvie Gauthier ◽  
André Robitaille ◽  
Yves Bergeron
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Forest Regeneration ◽  
Information Criterion ◽  
Forest Recovery ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Regional Patterns ◽  
Fire Cycle ◽  
Young Forest ◽  
Deposit Type ◽  
Surficial Deposit

In many northern forest ecosystems, the postfire transition from a closed-crown forest to open woodland is often observed but poorly understood. This paper looks at the effect of interactions between surficial deposit, climate, and fire cycle on postfire forest recovery within a large territory (190 000 km2) of the boreal forest of eastern Canada. Postfire recovery was estimated using the time elapsed to move from the burnt stage to the regenerated stage and the young forest stage. The main objective was to determine if forests situated in dry regions (characterized by a high proportion of dry coarse surficial deposits, low precipitation, and short fire cycle) tend to reestablish more slowly after fire, obtaining a more open stand compared with wetter regions characterized by a longer fire cycle. To identify the best explanatory model for postfire recovery, multinomial logistic regressions with the Akaike information criterion were conducted using a combination of physicoclimatic factors. Our best model suggests that the most significant predictors of postfire recovery are time since fire (χ2 = 1370.06), surficial deposit type (χ2 = 651.95), the Canadian Drought Code (χ2 = 247.75), and the growing season precipitation (χ2 = 102.80). Fast recovery and dense forest regeneration are associated with subhydric till deposits only in the regions characterized by a long fire cycle (>500 years). Conversely, slow regeneration conducive to a sparse young forest was usually associated with regions characterized by a short fire cycle (<200 years) underlain by dry coarse deposits such as juxtaglacial but also mesic deposits in some cases. Our results also show that slow recovery and reduced forest regeneration are most likely to occur following fires that occurred in dry years, regardless of the deposit type and region.

The effects of surficial deposit - drainage combinations on spatial variations of fire cycles in the boreal forest of eastern Canada

2010 ◽  
Vol 19 (8) ◽  
pp. 1083 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Mansuy ◽  
Sylvie Gauthier ◽  
André Robitaille ◽  
Yves Bergeron
Keyword(s):  
Discriminant Analysis ◽  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Aridity Index ◽  
Spatial Variations ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Forest Protection ◽  
Fire Cycle ◽  
Surficial Deposit ◽  
Landscape Units

Spatial variations in the fire cycle of a large territory (190 000 km2) located in the boreal forest of eastern Canada were assessed using random sampling points. Our main objective was to determine if regions characterised by a large proportion of dry surficial deposit–drainage (SDD) burn more frequently than regions with a smaller proportion. Through a regionalisation of the landscape units, we analysed the effects of SDD on spatial variations of the fire cycle. A discriminant analysis involving the SDD and other physical variables (precipitation, temperature, aridity index, water bodies, elevation and slope) made it possible to identify a combination of variables characterising each region. A considerable variation in fire cycle was observed among the different SDD types (from 144 to 425 years) and between regions (from 90 to 715 years). Through the discriminant analysis, this study suggests that a combination of possible climatic top-down (precipitation R2 = 0.727, aridity index R2 = 0.663 and temperature R2 = 0.574) and bottom-up factors (xeric undifferentiated till R2 = 0.819 and humid undifferentiated till R2 = 0.691) could explain this variation at the regional scale. Implications of those results for forest protection against fire and regional development are briefly discussed.

Natural fire frequency for the eastern Canadian boreal forest: consequences for sustainable forestry

2001 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 384-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yves Bergeron ◽  
Sylvie Gauthier ◽  
Victor Kafka ◽  
Patrick Lefort ◽  
Daniel Lesieur
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Sustainable Forest Management ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Entire Area ◽  
Fire Cycle ◽  
Clear Cutting ◽  
In Fire

Given that fire is the most important disturbance of the boreal forest, climatically induced changes in fire frequency (i.e., area burnt per year) can have important consequences on the resulting forest mosaic age-class distribution and composition. Using archives and dendroecological data we reconstructed the fire frequency in four large sectors along a transect from eastern Ontario to central Quebec. Results showed a dramatic decrease in fire frequency that began in the mid-19th century and has been accentuated during the 20th century. Although all areas showed a similar temporal decrease in area burned, we observed a gradual increase in fire frequency from the west to Abitibi east, followed by a slight decrease in central Quebec. The global warming that has been occurring since the end of the Little Ice Age (~1850) may have created a climate less prone to large forest fires in the eastern boreal forest of North America. This interpretation is corroborated by predictions of a decrease in forest fires for that region of the boreal forest in the future. A longer fire cycle (i.e., the time needed to burn an area equivalent to the study area) has important consequences for sustainable forest management of the boreal forest of eastern Canada. When considering the important proportion of overmature and old-growth stands in the landscape resulting from the elongation of the fire cycles, it becomes difficult to justify clear-cutting practices over all the entire area as well as short rotations as a means to emulate natural disturbances. Alternative practices involving the uses of variable proportion of clear, partial, and selective cutting are discussed.

Maintenance of the Boreal Forest Rainbelts during Northern Summer

2006 ◽  
Vol 19 (8) ◽  
pp. 1437-1449 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jin-Ho Yoon ◽  
Tsing-Chang Chen
Keyword(s):  
Water Vapor ◽  
Boreal Forest ◽  
High Latitude ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Storm Tracks ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Regional Patterns ◽  
Vapor Flux ◽  
Northern Summer

Abstract It is not unreasonable to expect that boreal forests that exist along 60°N in the Eurasian and North American continents were created and are maintained by warm seasonal rainfall. As revealed from satellite observations and various precipitation sources, zonally elongated rainbelts appear along these forests. Previous studies show that a relationship may exist between the frontal zone along the Arctic seaboard and regional patterns of high-latitude precipitation. It was observed by this study that baroclinic zones associated with strong Arctic westerlies coincide with minor storm tracks and boreal forest rainbelts only in eastern Canada. In contrast, this coincidence does not occur in northern Europe, eastern Siberia, and the Alaska–Pacific coast, because boreal forest rainbelts in these regions are located farther south of strong Arctic westerlies and ahead of high-latitude troughs over central Eurasia, the Bering Sea, the Labrador Sea, and the Norwegian Sea. Therefore, instead of baroclinicity along strong Arctic westerlies, favorable environments for the formation of minor storm tracks are developed by positive vorticity advections ahead of these high-latitude troughs. The water vapor budget analyses performed with NCEP and Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS-1) reanalyses show that the boreal forest rainbelts are essentially maintained by the convergence of water vapor flux associated with transient disturbances at high latitudes.

scholarly journals Boreal Forest Songbird Communities of the Liard Valley, Northwest Territories, Canada

The Condor ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 105 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig S. Machtans ◽  
Paul B. Latour
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Northwest Territories ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Bird Community ◽  
Deciduous Forests ◽  
Zonotrichia Albicollis ◽  
Catharus Ustulatus ◽  
Regional Patterns ◽  
Dendroica Coronata ◽  
Spizella Passerina

Abstract Songbird communities in the boreal forest of the Liard Valley, Northwest Territories, Canada, are described after three years of study. Point count stations (n = 195) were placed in six types of forest (mature deciduous, coniferous, and mixedwood; young forests; wooded bogs; clearcuts) in a 700-km2 area. Vegetation characteristics at each station were also measured. Eighty-five species of birds (59 passerine species) occurred in 11 647 detections. Mixedwood forests had the highest richness of songbirds (∼41 species per 800 individuals) of the six forest types, and contained approximately 30% more individuals than nearly pure coniferous or deciduous forests. Species richness and relative abundance was 10–50% lower than in comparable forests farther south and east, and the difference was most pronounced in deciduous forests. Communities were dominated by a few species, especially Tennessee Warbler (Vermivora peregrina), Magnolia Warbler (Dendroica magnolia), Swainson's Thrush (Catharus ustulatus), Yellow-rumped Warbler (Dendroica coronata) and Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina). White-throated Sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis), a dominant species in boreal forests farther south, was notably scarce in all forests except clearcuts. Clearcuts and wooded bogs had the simplest communities, but had unique species assemblages. Canonical correspondence analysis showed that the bird community was well correlated with vegetation structure. The primary gradient in upland forests was from deciduous to coniferous forests (also young to old, respectively). The secondary gradient was from structurally simple to complex forests. These results allow comparisons with other boreal areas to understand regional patterns and help describe the bird community for conservation purposes. Comunidades de Aves Canoras de Bosques Boreales del Valle de Liard, Territorios del Noroeste, Canadá Resumen. Luego de tres años de estudio, se describen las comunidades de aves canoras de bosques boreales del Valle de Liard, Territorios del Noroeste, Canadá. Se ubicaron estaciones de conteo de punto (n = 195) en seis tipos de bosque (maduro caducifolio, conífero y de maderas mixtas; bosques jóvenes; pantanos arbolados; zonas taladas) en un área de 700 km2. Las características de la vegetación en cada estación también fueron medidas. Se registraron 85 especies de aves (59 especies de paserinas) en 11 647 detecciones. Los bosques mixtos presentaron la mayor riqueza de aves canoras (∼41 especies por 800 individuos) de los seis tipos de bosque, y contuvieron aproximadamente 30% individuos más que los bosques de coníferas y los caducifolios. La riqueza de especies y la abundancia relativa fue 10–50% menor que en bosques comparables más al sur y al este, y la diferencia fue más pronunciada en los bosques caducifolios. Las comunidades estuvieron dominadas por unas pocas especies, especialmente Vermivora peregrina, Dendroica magnolia, Catharus ustulatus, Dendroica coronata y Spizella passerina. Zonotrichia albicollis, una especie dominante en bosques boreales más al sur, fue notablemente escasa en todos los bosques, excepto en las zonas taladas. Las áreas taladas y los pantanos arbolados tuvieron las comunidades más simples, pero presentaron ensamblajes únicos. Análisis de correspondencia canónica mostraron que la comunidad de aves estuvo bien correlacionada con la estructura de la vegetación. El gradiente primario en bosques de zonas altas fue de bosque caducifolio a conífero (también de joven a viejo, respectivamente). El gradiente secundario fue de bosques estructuralmente simples a bosques complejos. Estos resultados permiten hacer comparaciones con otros bosques boreales para entender los patrones regionales y ayudar a describir las comunidades de aves con fines de conservación.

scholarly journals Identifying Functional Impacts of Heat-Resistant Fungi on Boreal Forest Recovery After Wildfire

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola Day ◽  
Steven G Cumming ◽  
Kari E Dunfield ◽  
Jill F Johnstone ◽  
Michelle C Mack ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Forest Recovery ◽  
Heat Resistant

No description supplied

scholarly journals Corrigendum: Identifying Functional Impacts of Heat-Resistant Fungi on Boreal Forest Recovery After Wildfire

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola J. Day ◽  
Steven G. Cumming ◽  
Kari E. Dunfield ◽  
Jill F. Johnstone ◽  
Michelle C. Mack ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Forest Recovery ◽  
Heat Resistant

Exploring drivers and dynamics of early boreal forest recovery of heavily disturbed mine sites: a case study from a reconstructed landscape

New Forests ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morgane Merlin ◽  
Frances Leishman ◽  
Ruth C. Errington ◽  
Bradley D. Pinno ◽  
Simon M. Landhäusser
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Forest Recovery ◽  
Mine Sites

scholarly journals A climatic dipole drives short- and long-term patterns of postfire forest recovery in the western United States

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (47) ◽  
pp. 29730-29737
Author(s):  
Caitlin E. Littlefield ◽  
Solomon Z. Dobrowski ◽  
John T. Abatzoglou ◽  
Sean A. Parks ◽  
Kimberley T. Davis
Keyword(s):  
Ponderosa Pine ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Climatic Variability ◽  
Analysis Data ◽  
Forest Recovery ◽  
Regional Patterns ◽  
Northern Rocky Mountains ◽  
Interior West ◽  
Favorable Conditions

Researchers are increasingly examining patterns and drivers of postfire forest recovery amid growing concern that climate change and intensifying fires will trigger ecosystem transformations. Diminished seed availability and postfire drought have emerged as key constraints on conifer recruitment. However, the spatial and temporal extent to which recurring modes of climatic variability shape patterns of postfire recovery remain largely unexplored. Here, we identify a north–south dipole in annual climatic moisture deficit anomalies across the Interior West of the US and characterize its influence on forest recovery from fire. We use annually resolved establishment models from dendrochronological records to correlate this climatic dipole with short-term postfire juvenile recruitment. We also examine longer-term recovery trajectories using Forest Inventory and Analysis data from 989 burned plots. We show that annual postfire ponderosa pine recruitment probabilities in the northern Rocky Mountains (NR) and the southwestern US (SW) track the strength of the dipole, while declining overall due to increasing aridity. This indicates that divergent recovery trajectories may be triggered concurrently across large spatial scales: favorable conditions in the SW can correspond to drought in the NR that inhibits ponderosa pine establishment, and vice versa. The imprint of this climatic dipole is manifest for years postfire, as evidenced by dampened long-term likelihoods of juvenile ponderosa pine presence in areas that experienced postfire drought. These findings underscore the importance of climatic variability at multiple spatiotemporal scales in driving cross-regional patterns of forest recovery and have implications for understanding ecosystem transformations and species range dynamics under global change.

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