A pattern of forest types on ribbed moraines in eastern Newfoundland

1978 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 116-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. B. Delaney ◽  
M. J. Cahill
Keyword(s):  
Forest Type ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Vegetation Succession ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
North Slope ◽  
Forest Site ◽  
Distinctive Pattern ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
White Birch ◽  
Avalon Peninsula

A distinctive pattern of forest types has been observed on ribbed moraines of the Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland. This previously unreported pattern is interesting in that the best forests occur on the exposed tops and the theoretically less favourable north slopes. On each moraine, the south slopes characteristically had an uncommercial forest of balsam fir (Abiesbalsamea (L.) (Mill.)) and black spruce (Piceamariana (Mill.) BSP.), the top and upper north slopes had a forest of white birch (Betulapapyrifera Marsh.) and balsam fir, and the lower north slope had a pure balsam fir forest. Site descriptions are provided for each forest type and the vegetation succession following fire is proposed.

scholarly journals Forest Site and Type Variability in ALS-Based Forest Resource Inventory Attribute Predictions over Three Ontario Forest Sites

Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karin van Ewijk ◽  
Paul Treitz ◽  
Murray Woods ◽  
Trevor Jones ◽  
John Caspersen
Keyword(s):  
Prediction Accuracy ◽  
Forest Type ◽  
Stem Density ◽  
Forest Site ◽  
Forest Resource ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
Resource Inventory ◽  
Forest Resource Inventory ◽  
Forest Attributes ◽  
The Impact

Over the last decade, spatially-explicit modeling of landscape-scale forest attributes for forest inventories has greatly benefitted from airborne laser scanning (ALS) and the area-based approach (ABA) to derive wall-to-wall maps of these forest attributes. Which ALS-derived metrics to include when modeling forest inventory attributes, and how prediction accuracies vary over forest types depends largely on the structural complexity of the forest(s) being studied. Hence, the purpose of this study was to (i) examine the usefulness of adding texture and intensity metrics to height-based ALS metrics for the prediction of several forest resource inventory (FRI) attributes in one boreal and two Great Lakes, St. Lawrence (GLSL) forest region sites in Ontario and (ii) quantify and compare the site and forest type variability within the context of the FRI prediction accuracies. Basal area (BA), quadratic mean diameter-at-breast height (QMD), and stem density (S) were predicted using the ABA and a nonparametric Random Forests (RF) regression model. At the site level, prediction accuracies (i.e., expressed as RMSE (Root Mean Square Error), bias, and R2) improved at the three sites when texture and intensity metrics were included in the predictor set, even though no significant differences (p > 0.05) could be detected using the nonparametric RMANOVA test. Stem density benefitted the most from the inclusion of texture and intensity, particularly in the GLSL sites (% RMSE improved up to 6%). Combining site and forest type results indicated that improvements in site level predictions, due to the addition of texture and intensity metrics to the ALS predictor set, were the result of changes in prediction accuracy in some but not all forest types present at a site and that these changes in prediction accuracy were site and FRI attribute specific. The nonparametric Kruskal–Wallis test indicated that prediction errors between the different forest types were significantly different (p ≤ 0.01). In the boreal site, prediction accuracies for conifer forest types were higher than for deciduous and mixedwoods. Such patterns in prediction accuracy among forest types and FRI attributes could not be observed in the GLSL sites. In the Petawawa Research Forest (PRF), we did detect the impact of silvicultural treatments especially on QMD and S predictions.

scholarly journals Potential of P-Band SAR Tomography in Forest Type Classification

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 696
Author(s):  
Dinh Ho Tong Minh ◽  
Yen-Nhi Ngo ◽  
Thu Trang Lê
Keyword(s):  
Forest Type ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
Forest Site ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
Forest Classification ◽  
Sar Data ◽  
Type Classification

Forest type classification using spaceborne remote sensing is a challenge. Low-frequency Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) signals (i.e., P-band, ∼0.69 m wavelength) are needed to penetrate a thick vegetation layer. However, this measurement alone does not guarantee a good performance in forest classification tasks. SAR tomography, a technique employing multiple acquisitions over the same areas to form a three-dimensional image, has been demonstrated to improve SAR’s capability in many applications. Our study shows the potential value of SAR tomography acquisitions to improve forest classification. By using P-band tomographic SAR data from the German Aerospace Center F-SAR sensor during the AfriSAR campaign in February 2016, the vertical profiles of five different forest types at a tropical forest site in Mondah, Gabon (South Africa) were analyzed and exploited for the classification task. We demonstrated that the high sensitivity of SAR tomography to forest vertical structure enables the improvement of classification performance by up to 33%. Interestingly, by using the standard Random Forest technique, we found that the ground (i.e., at 5–10 m) and volume layers (i.e., 20–40 m) play an important role in identifying the forest type. Together, these results suggested the promise of the TomoSAR technique for mapping forest types with high accuracy in tropical areas and could provide strong support for the next Earth Explorer BIOMASS spaceborne mission which will collect P-band tomographic SAR data.

Recent impact of fire on high-altitude balsam fir forests in south-central Quebec1This article is one of a selection of papers from the 7th International Conference on Disturbance Dynamics in Boreal Forests.

2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (7) ◽  
pp. 1289-1305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre-Luc Couillard ◽  
Serge Payette ◽  
Pierre Grondin
Keyword(s):  
High Altitude ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Abies Balsamea ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Stand Age ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
Plant Composition ◽  
White Birch ◽  
South Central

The dynamics of high-altitude balsam fir ( Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) forests is mainly driven by insect outbreaks and windthrows. However, very little work has been done on the role of fire on the development and maintenance of this ecosystem. In this study, we document the role of fire in the high-altitude balsam fir forests of the Réserve Faunique des Laurentides (RFL), southern Quebec. Sixteen sites were sampled among six different forest types described according to plant composition and fire evidence. At each site, the diameter structure was recorded and stand age was calculated based on tree-ring dating of individual trees and radiocarbon-dated surficial charcoal samples. Fire played a major role in the recent dynamics of high-altitude fir forests in the RFL. Over the last 250 years, nearly 50% of the study area burned during two fire conflagrations, i.e., around 1815 and in 1878. The fires triggered gradual changes in plant composition and forest structure, as shown by a succession of forest types ranging from white birch ( Betula papyrifera Marsh.) to spruce–fir types. Absence of surficial charcoal older than 300 years suggests that high-altitude forests of the RFL area were not subjected to a constant fire regime. It is possible that recent fires were caused by human activity.

Régénération après coupes mécanisées et conventionnelles : Côte- Nord du Québec

1977 ◽  
Vol 53 (6) ◽  
pp. 341-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Louis Boivin
Keyword(s):  
Significant Influence ◽  
Forest Type ◽  
The Other ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
White Birch ◽  
Cutting Method ◽  
North Shore ◽  
The North ◽  
Number Of Stems ◽  
Regeneration Study

A regeneration study has been carried out during the summer 1976 in the lake Pipmuacan watershed on the north shore of Quebec.This study aimed to compare the effects, on the regeneration, as well preestablished as established after cutting, of two cutting methods namely with tree harvester of the Koehring type or the conventional method which is partly mechanized.From the analysis carried out in this study, one may conclude to a good regeneration, well distributed over cutting areas, of balsam fir and spruce, either with a cutting method or with the other; this regeneration is not significantly different if the number of stems of all species is considered.Nevertheless, low distribution of balsam fir and spruce following conventional cutting in the spruce balsam forest type may result in large openings in the future mature stand.Among the factors considered, those which have a significant influence on the establishment of spruce are the original forest type and exposure while establishment of balsam fir is influenced by topography and drainage and finally exposition, cutting method and original forest type influence the regeneration of white birch. Nevertheless, those factors are not the most determinant according to their low correlation coefficient.

Dégagement chimique ou manuel de plantations d'épinette noire? Étude de cas dans le domaine de la sapinière à bouleau blanc au Québec

1999 ◽  
Vol 75 (6) ◽  
pp. 973-979 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Jobidon ◽  
Lise Charette ◽  
François Trottier
Keyword(s):  
Black Spruce ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Mechanical Damage ◽  
Rubus Idaeus ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Volume Index ◽  
Red Raspberry ◽  
White Birch ◽  
Chemical Release ◽  
Over Time

This study aimed at comparing manual and chemical release treatments in black spruce plantations within the balsam fir – white birch ecosystems located in the Lower-Saint-Lawrence and inland Gaspé région of Québec. Three experimental sites characterized by competition dominated by red raspberry (Rubus idaeus) were selected for the study. On each site, a completely randomized block design with seven repetitions was used. Each block was composed of four plots, each representing a vegetation treatment: a manual release, a manual release to be repeated two years later, a chemical release using Vision® (Monsanto Canada), and no treatment on a control plot. The effects of treatment on spruce growth were assessed 1, 2, and 5 years after treatment. The spruce seedlings benefited from the release treatments. After five years, spruce diameter was 25.2 to 42.9% superior, height was 12.5 to 24.8% superior and the mean volume index was 89.3 to 168.6% superior to seedlings on control plots. Moreover, growth profiles over time for the released and control seedlings were not parallel; the seedlings in the released plots showed a growth rate which was superior to that of the control plots, and differences in growth trajectories increased over time. For the three experimental sites, chemical release showed no significant advantage over manual release when assessed after five years of spruce growth variables. This result is attributed to a relatively poor vegetation regrowth after treatment. A manual release treatment was applied a second time on only one of the three sites. In this case, spruce demonstrated a significantly higher growth than on plots which were only manually released once. The survival rate was not significantly affected by either of the treatments except when seedlings suffered mechanical damage. This study supports the hypothesis whereby sites located within the balsam fir – white birch ecosystems for which vigor of competing vegetation is moderate, a manual release treatment produces similar results to a chemical release treatment in terms of black spruce growth in the ensuing years. Key words: black spruce, chemical release, competition, manual release, red raspberry, spruce plantations.

A reexamination of moose damage to balsam fir–white birch forests in central Newfoundland: 27 years later

1993 ◽  
Vol 23 (7) ◽  
pp. 1388-1395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian D. Thompson ◽  
William J. Curran
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
Forest Canopy ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Forest Growth ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Isle Royale ◽  
White Birch ◽  
Second Growth ◽  
The Mean

A 1960 study from central Newfoundland suggested that moose (Alcesalces L.) would: (i) reduce the commercial value of second-growth forests of central Newfoundland by excessive damage to balsam fir (Abiesbalsamea (L.) Mill.); (ii) eliminate white birch (Betulapapyrifera Marsh.) from the forest canopy; (iii) alter conifer species composition; and (iv) reduce the carrying capacity of the area for moose. We resurveyed the original study areas in 1987. Our data suggest that moose have altered species composition in favour of white spruce (Piceaglauca (Moench) Voss) and black spruce (Piceamariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) on some sites and have reduced the mean height of balsam fir trees. White birch was generally absent from the canopy. However, contrary to the 1960 prediction, moose appear to have had a positive influence on forest growth by thinning most areas to stem densities comparable with those of precommercially thinned stands. Data from this study were compared with a general model of the influence of moose on balsam fir forests developed for Isle Royale, Michigan. Our data supported two predictions from Isle Royale: moose damage was highest at low balsam fir densities and at highest moose densities. Our results contradicted a third prediction, that height growth was greater in high density stands of saplings. Also, unlike at Isle Royale, despite heavy browsing pressure for extended periods, balsam fir will continue to dominate central Newfoundland forests.

scholarly journals Лісівничо-екологічний аналіз насаджень Populus alba та Populus nigra на ріках лівобережного лісостепу України

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-91
Author(s):  
O. B. Bondar ◽  
L. I. Tkach ◽  
I. S. Lisina ◽  
M. S. Kolienkina ◽  
S. I. Musiyenko
Keyword(s):  
Forest Type ◽  
Site Quality ◽  
Forest Steppe ◽  
Forest Site ◽  
Left Bank ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
Pine Tree ◽  
Lime Tree ◽  
Black Poplar

<p>Here the sylvicultural and ecological analysis of typological structure of plantings silver and black poplar are presented for the riverine habitats of the Psel, Sula and Vorskla (the middle reaches of Seversky Donets river). Our analysis was based on forestry management electronic databases of Ukrainian National Forest Project Enterprise.</p><p>More than 38 forest types on the area of 4.9 thousand hectares were examined. The biological features of silver and black poplar were described briefly. The silver and black poplar reproduction pattern of the Left-bank Forest-steppe of Ukraine was also examined. There was carried out the area allocation of tree species according the following points: forest type and origin, forest site quality, closure degree and age groups. By the tree stratum origin silver and black poplar are mostly artificially propagated, what is equivalent to 77.3 and 88.3 percent.</p><p>The silver and black poplar area around the rivers’ watershed of the Left-bank Forest-steppe of Ukraine occupies 2813 and 2173 ha consequently.</p><p>Among forest types on research subject there are some forest types which dominate:  fresh quercetum fluvialis (25.0 %), wet quercetum fluvialis (17.4 %), wet quercetum-birchbark-maple fluvialis (16.3 %), wet lime tree-oak-pine tree sudubrava (11.4 %), fresh lime tree, oak, pine tree sudubrava (5.2 %), the rest of tree types represents less than 4.0 % of the total land area, covered with sylva. The silver and black poplar plantings’ distribution according to the site quality of forest on the rivers’ columbine of the Left-bank Forest-steppe of Ukraine can be described in the following way: II and IV classes of the site quality of forest prevail, and the medium stocked tree stratum fluctuates from 52.9 to 87.8 per cent according to the normality.</p>

Fire disturbance during climate change: failure of postfire forest recovery on a boreal floodplain

2004 ◽  
Vol 34 (11) ◽  
pp. 2294-2305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Élodie Bouchon ◽  
Dominique Arseneault
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Abies Balsamea ◽  
Fire Disturbance ◽  
Forest Recovery ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Future Climate Change ◽  
Forest Site ◽  
Stream Channel ◽  
Order Stream

We used tree remains to document the failure of postfire forest recovery following a 1941 fire on a boreal floodplain along a third-order stream in northern Quebec. Two sites, one with postfire shrubs and the other an unburned forest, were studied. Tree remains on the floodplain and within the stream channel at the shrub site suggest the former presence of a forest stand similar to present-day vegetation at the forest site. At both sites, black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) has been the dominant tree species, whereas eastern larch (Larix laricina (Du Roi) K. Koch) and balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) have made up only a small proportion of all living and dead stems. Sustained tree recruitment before the mid-19th century was followed by much reduced recruitment, in synchrony with the well-documented increasing trend of winter precipitation in northern Quebec. In combination with more frequent spring floods during the 20th century, the 1941 fire at the shrub site probably reduced the density of conifer stems, increased the abundance of shrubs, and excluded the fire-sensitive balsam fir and eastern larch. The fire also abruptly increased inputs of tree remains into the stream channel. Because of low establishment rate and slow growth of postfire conifers, forest recovery towards prefire tree density is unlikely under present-day conditions. Frequent fires in boreal landscapes, along with the anticipated increase of precipitation, suggest that some floodplains and associated streams may respond similarly to future climate change.

Effects of surrounding forest and site conditions on growth reduction of balsam fir and spruce caused by spruce budworm defoliation

2004 ◽  
Vol 34 (11) ◽  
pp. 2351-2362 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wayne E MacKinnon ◽  
David A MacLean
Keyword(s):  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Forest Type ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Choristoneura Fumiferana ◽  
Abies Balsamea ◽  
Soil Nutrient ◽  
Spruce Budworm ◽  
Species Group ◽  
Balsam Fir ◽  
Growth Reduction

The species composition of surrounding forest and site characteristics have been postulated to influence growth loss caused by eastern spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana Clem.) defoliation. Forty spruce (Picea spp.) and balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) stands located in north-central New Brunswick, Canada, were measured for defoliation and tree growth and used to determine the effects of surrounding forest (softwood, mixedwood), site (wet soil – nutrient poor; moist soil – nutrient rich), and species group (balsam fir, spruce) on growth reduction caused by spruce budworm. Stem analysis of six trees per stand (total 240 trees) determined mean specific volume increment (SVI) per year in 1973–1993. There was relatively little defoliation during the 1989–1993 measurement period, and regression analyses showed that SVI was significantly (p = 0.0299) related to mean defoliation for only one of eight treatment classes: balsam fir on moist–rich sites in mixedwood forests. However, two periods of earlier growth reduction were evident, and analysis of variance showed that balsam fir on wet–poor sites sustained 12% greater (p = 0.0071) reduction in SVI from 1987 to 1990 than balsam fir on moist–rich sites. White spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) sustained 13% greater (p = 0.0198) reduction in SVI from 1973 to 1978 than red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) – black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP). Surrounding forest type did not significantly affect SVI reduction from 1973 to 1978 or from 1987 to 1990, but from 1973 to 1978 stands in softwood forest sustained 5%–8% more growth reduction than those in mixedwood forest.

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