Dynamics of the boreal forests of the Laurentian Highlands, Canada

1985 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 252-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles V. Cogbill
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Fire Disturbance ◽  
Stand Dynamics ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Feather Moss ◽  
Natural Fires ◽  
Jack Pine Forests ◽  
Overstory Trees ◽  
Tree Increment

Analyses of species composition and tree increment cores from 145 stands in central Québec were used to determine the forest history and stand dynamics. Windspread fires, possibly synchronous, burned across central Québec in at least three periods of record (1661–1663, 1779–1791, 1869–1871). The average fire rotation (time interval between natural fires burning the equivalent of a large area) for spruce – feather moss forests was approximately 130 years, and 70 years in either deciduous or jack pine forests. The traditional succession concept of continual recruitment leading to an all-aged forest was not evident in these forests. About 70% of the overstory trees were established in the first 30 years after fire disturbance, with little recruitment after this time. These initial trees dominate the canopy for up to 250 years with mortality becoming prominent after 130 years. The short average time between disturbances precludes the probable degeneration into old shrub-filled stands typical of old age.

Identification of two genera of N2-fixing cyanobacteria growing on three feather moss species in boreal forests of Quebec, Canada

2006 ◽  
Vol 84 (6) ◽  
pp. 1025-1029 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Houle ◽  
Simon Bilodeau Gauthier ◽  
Serge Paquet ◽  
Dolors Planas ◽  
Annabelle Warren
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Pleurozium Schreberi ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Moss Species ◽  
Feather Moss ◽  
Canadian Boreal Forest ◽  
First Time

The recent discovery that N2 fixation rates by the feather moss carpet of boreal Scandinavian forests increases with stand maturity has put into question the paradigm that N2 fixation is negligible in mature boreal forest. The N2 fixation was attributed to a previously unknown association between Nostoc sp., a N2-fixing cyanobacteium and Pleurozium schreberi (Brid.) Mitt., a feather moss that is abundant worldwide in the boreal forest. Here we report for the first time that this association also exists in the Canadian boreal forest. We discovered, however, that Nostoc was found growing not only on Pleurozium but also on two other moss species ( Hylocomnium splendens (Hedw.) Br. Eur. and Ptillium crista-castrensis (Hedw.) De Not.). In addition, the N2-fixing cyanobacterium Stigonema sp. was observed on the three moss species mentioned above, indicating the existence of six different associations. At least one of the six associations was found at 9 of 13 sites that are representative of a large area of the Quebec boreal forest. These findings suggest possibilities for further research, aimed at measuring the unaccounted for N2-fixing potential of the feather moss carpet in Canadian boreal forests.

scholarly journals Regional variation in interior Alaskan boreal forests is driven by fire disturbance, topography, and climate

2019 ◽  
Vol 89 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl A. Roland ◽  
Joshua H. Schmidt ◽  
Samantha G. Winder ◽  
Sarah E. Stehn ◽  
E. Fleur Nicklen
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Regional Variation ◽  
Fire Disturbance

scholarly journals Trade-Offs among Release Treatments in Jack Pine Plantations: Twenty-Five Year Responses

Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 370
Author(s):  
Holly D. Deighton ◽  
Frederick Wayne Bell ◽  
Nelson Thiffault ◽  
Eric B. Searle ◽  
Mathew Leitch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Diversity ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Pinus Banksiana ◽  
Vegetation Management ◽  
Jack Pine ◽  
Forest Diversity ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Jack Pine Forests ◽  
Stand Yield ◽  
Forest Managers

We assessed 27 indicators of plant diversity, stand yield and individual crop tree responses 25 years post-treatment to determine long-term trade-offs among conifer release treatments in boreal and sub-boreal forests. This research addresses the lack of longer-term data needed by forest managers to implement more integrated vegetation management programs, supporting more informed decisions about release treatment choice. Four treatments (untreated control, motor-manual brushsaw, single aerial spray, and complete competition removal) were established at two jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) sites in Ontario, Canada. Our results suggest that plant diversity and productivity in boreal jack pine forests are significantly influenced by vegetation management treatments. Overall, release treatments did not cause a loss of diversity but benefitted stand-scale yield and individual crop tree growth, with maximum benefits occurring in more intensive release treatments. However, none of the treatments maximized all 27 indicators studied; thus, forest managers are faced with trade-offs when choosing treatments. Research on longer term effects, ideally through at least one rotation, is essential to fully understand outcomes of different vegetation management on forest diversity, stand yield, and individual crop tree responses.

Regional Variation in Interior Alaskan Boreal Forests is Driven by Fire Disturbance, Topography, and Climate

2019 ◽  
Vol 100 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl A. Roland ◽  
Joshua H. Schmidt ◽  
Samantha G. Winder ◽  
Sarah. E. Stehn ◽  
E. Fleur Nicklen
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Regional Variation ◽  
Fire Disturbance

Advance regeneration and trajectories of stand development following the mountain pine beetle outbreak in boreal forests of British Columbia

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (10) ◽  
pp. 1327-1337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth M. Campbell ◽  
Joseph A. Antos
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Mountain Pine Beetle ◽  
Size Structure ◽  
Fire Disturbance ◽  
Active Management ◽  
Advance Regeneration ◽  
Mountain Pine ◽  
Pine Beetle

A mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins) outbreak has recently spread into boreal forests, with unknown consequences for this ecosystem. We intensively sampled 12 stands affected by the current outbreak in northern British Columbia to determine the potential of western boreal forests to recover from this novel disturbance. We sampled the species composition, size structure, and spatial distribution (using 5 m × 5 m subplots, 40 per stand) of live and dead trees and used a variety of analyses, including ordinations, to assess potential developmental trajectories of stands. Advance regeneration (stems < 10 m tall) varied greatly in abundance among stands (50–18 280 stems·ha−1). However, most subplots contained at least one individual; only three stands had many empty subplots. We conclude that most stands have enough advance regeneration and residual canopy trees to form a nearly continuous new canopy. Ordinations indicate that species composition will shift substantially and become more divergent among stands. Species of high economic value will remain common, though, and active management will not be necessary in most stands to maintain productive forests. However, this novel disturbance will have very different effects on these forests than the typical fire-disturbance regime and is likely to deflect these forests into new successional trajectories.

scholarly journals A stand-alone tree demography and landscape structure module for Earth system models: integration with inventory data from temperate and boreal forests

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (15) ◽  
pp. 4039-4055 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. Haverd ◽  
B. Smith ◽  
L. P. Nieradzik ◽  
P. R. Briggs
Keyword(s):  
Land Surface ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Land Surface Model ◽  
Woody Biomass ◽  
Surface Model ◽  
Earth System ◽  
Inventory Data ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Biomass Turnover ◽  
Earth System Models

Abstract. Poorly constrained rates of biomass turnover are a key limitation of Earth system models (ESMs). In light of this, we recently proposed a new approach encoded in a model called Populations-Order-Physiology (POP), for the simulation of woody ecosystem stand dynamics, demography and disturbance-mediated heterogeneity. POP is suitable for continental to global applications and designed for coupling to the terrestrial ecosystem component of any ESM. POP bridges the gap between first-generation dynamic vegetation models (DVMs) with simple large-area parameterisations of woody biomass (typically used in current ESMs) and complex second-generation DVMs that explicitly simulate demographic processes and landscape heterogeneity of forests. The key simplification in the POP approach, compared with second-generation DVMs, is to compute physiological processes such as assimilation at grid-scale (with CABLE (Community Atmosphere Biosphere Land Exchange) or a similar land surface model), but to partition the grid-scale biomass increment among age classes defined at sub-grid-scale, each subject to its own dynamics. POP was successfully demonstrated along a savanna transect in northern Australia, replicating the effects of strong rainfall and fire disturbance gradients on observed stand productivity and structure. Here, we extend the application of POP to wide-ranging temporal and boreal forests, employing paired observations of stem biomass and density from forest inventory data to calibrate model parameters governing stand demography and biomass evolution. The calibrated POP model is then coupled to the CABLE land surface model, and the combined model (CABLE-POP) is evaluated against leaf–stem allometry observations from forest stands ranging in age from 3 to 200 year. Results indicate that simulated biomass pools conform well with observed allometry. We conclude that POP represents an ecologically plausible and efficient alternative to large-area parameterisations of woody biomass turnover, typically used in current ESMs.

Boreal Forest Pre-Harvest Silviculture Prescriptions: Problems, Issues and Solutions

1989 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. F. Weetman
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Stand Dynamics ◽  
Track Record ◽  
Good For ◽  
Regulatory Controls ◽  
Public Forests

An attempt is made to outline briefly the biological administrative and economic realities that influence the preparation of cutover regeneration prescriptions for virgin, boreal forests in Canada. Overmature public forests close to the economic margin, under a system of industrial licences, and often with unknown stand dynamics, present very difficult problems in preparing feasible regeneration prescriptions. For rich white spruce and mixedwood types we currently lack biologically successful prescriptions except at great expense. The problems associated with these old forests will persist for several decades; our track record in regeneration has not been good for some types. Public and professional awareness of the problems have escalated recently, often triggered by reductions in allowable cuts and tightening of regulatory controls.

Fire disturbance data improves the accuracy of remotely sensed estimates of aboveground biomass for boreal forests in eastern Canada

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 71-82
Author(s):  
Dinesh Babu Irulappa Pillai Vijayakumar ◽  
Frédéric Raulier ◽  
Pierre Bernier ◽  
Sylvie Gauthier ◽  
Yves Bergeron ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Aboveground Biomass ◽  
Boreal Forests ◽  
Remotely Sensed ◽  
Fire Disturbance ◽  
Eastern Canada
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