Plant community responses to mechanical site preparation in northern interior British Columbia

1999 ◽  
Vol 29 (7) ◽  
pp. 1084-1100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sybille Haeussler ◽  
Lorne Bedford ◽  
Jacob O Boateng ◽  
Andy MacKinnon
Keyword(s):  
Species Diversity ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Structural Diversity ◽  
Site Preparation ◽  
Community Response ◽  
Stem Volume ◽  
Mechanical Site Preparation ◽  
High Severity

Ten-year response of plant communities to disk trenching, plowing, rotoclearing and windrow burning was studied on two contrasting sites to address concerns that mechanical site preparation reduces structural and species diversity. Cover and height of all species on randomly located subplots within 0.05- to 0.075-ha treatment plots were used to develop indices of volume, structural diversity, and species diversity; to ordinate the plots; and to correlate species diversity with crop-tree performance. At both sites, community response was strongly influenced by the severity of site preparation. On a boreal site dominated by willow (Salix L. spp.), green alder (Alnus crispa (Ait.) Pursh ssp. crispa) and trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.), site preparation increased structural diversity and had little effect on species diversity. High-severity treatments increased non-native species abundance 10- to 16-fold while only marginally enhancing growth of planted white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) over medium-severity treatments. On a nutrient-poor sub-boreal site, species diversity declined with increasing treatment severity and with increasing lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia Engelm.) stem volume. Velvet-leaved blueberry (Vaccinium myrtilloides Michx.) was highly sensitive to mechanical disturbance. Moderate mechanical treatments appear to improve conifer performance while causing little change to plant communities, but high severity treatments can cause substantial change.

Black spruce and vegetation response to chemical and mechanical site preparation on a boreal mixedwood site

2000 ◽  
Vol 30 (10) ◽  
pp. 1561-1570 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brad Sutherland ◽  
Fred F Foreman
Keyword(s):  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Vegetation Indices ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Site Preparation ◽  
Rubus Idaeus ◽  
Stem Volume ◽  
Mechanical Site Preparation ◽  
Trees And Shrubs

The growth and development of outplanted black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) and competing vegetation five growing seasons after mechanical and chemical site preparation treatments are presented. The largest stem volume increase for black spruce coupled with the lowest vegetation indices for competing trees and shrubs were recorded on the treatment consisting of chemical site preparation with liquid hexazinone applied at 3.1 kg active ingredient (a.i.)·ha-1 followed by chemical tending in the second and fourth growing season with glyphosate applied at 1.78 kg a.i.·ha-1. Black spruce stem volume growth was second highest and the vegetation indices for competing trees and shrubs the highest, on plots treated with hexazinone site preparation. Among mechanical treatments, black spruce stem volume was highest on plots treated with mixed-mound site preparation. No other mechanical site-preparation treatment improved the growth of black spruce over boot-screef site preparation alone. The vegetation index of trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) was reduced on mixed-mound and area-mixed site preparation treatments. The vegetation index of red raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) was reduced on area-mix and area- and strip-screef treatments. By the fifth growing season, site-preparation treatment had little effect on the comparative growth of grasses and forbs. High-speed strip-mixing with 80 cm wide strips spaced at 2-m centres, on deep, fertile, silty loams of Site Region 3W-Lake Nipigon, does not appear feasible as an alternative to chemical site preparation or conventional manual and mechanical site preparation.

Aspen plant community response to organic matter removal and soil compaction

2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (8) ◽  
pp. 2030-2044 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sybille Haeussler ◽  
Richard Kabzems
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Species Diversity ◽  
Plant Community ◽  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
Soil Compaction ◽  
Forest Floor ◽  
Community Response ◽  
Organic Matter Removal ◽  
Soil Aeration ◽  
Year Effect

Organic matter removal and reduced soil aeration porosity during logging are important factors influencing the sustained productivity of managed forest ecosystems. We studied the 4-year effect of these factors on diversity and composition of a trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) plant community in northeastern British Columbia, Canada, in a completely randomized experiment with three levels of organic matter removal (tree stems; stems and slash; stems, slash, and forest floor) and three levels of soil compaction (none; intermediate (2-cm impression); heavy (5-cm impression)). Tree stem removal caused the greatest change in species diversity (30% of variance; ANOVA p ≤ 0.01), increasing the dominance of aspen and Calamagrostis canadensis (Michx.) Beauv. over other species. Slash removal had little effect. Forest floor removal caused the greatest compositional change (37% of variance; MANOVA p = 0.001), favoring ruderal over bud-banking species. Presence or absence of forest floor better explained these changes than any soil physical or chemical parameter. Although dominance of aspen over Calamagrostis was positively correlated with soil aeration porosity (R2 = 0.50, n = 27, p < 0.001), there were few differences between intermediate and heavy compaction. In this ecosystem, disturbances that reduce forest floor thickness without compacting soils will likely optimize plant species diversity and enhance aspen regrowth.

scholarly journals Jack pine establishment in Ontario: 5-year comparison of stock types ± bracke scarification, mounding, and chemical site preparation

1993 ◽  
Vol 69 (5) ◽  
pp. 545-553 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. F. Sutton ◽  
T. P. Weldon
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Banksiana ◽  
Jack Pine ◽  
Site Preparation ◽  
Stem Volume ◽  
Relative Growth Rates ◽  
Mechanical Site Preparation ◽  
Total Height ◽  
Growing Seasons ◽  
Rate Of Increase ◽  
Stock Types

Field experimentation was begun in 1984 to assess performance of jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) (2 + 0 bareroot and FH408 Japanese paperpot) in relation to mechanical site preparation, including Bracke scarification with and without supplementary mounding, and site preparation using Roundup® herbicide. Twenty treatments encompassed 4480 trees in 40-tree plots split equally between bareroot and paperpot stock. The study site, about 200 km north of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, had deep silt loam soil. After 3 growing seasons, survival was significantly higher among bareroot than among paperpot stock, but survival no longer differed significantly (P < 0.05) between stock types 2 years later. In years 4 and 5, the rate of increase in mean total height of bareroot stock was 11% less than that of paperpot stock, though bareroot stock was 40 and 4.7 cm greater in mean total 5th-year height and 5th-year height increment, respectively. Paperpot stock needed mechanical site preparation more than did bareroot stock. By the end of year 5, positive responses of survival and growth to mounding had become clear in both stock types; however, although mound size had little or no effect on survival or total height, mean stem volume was significantly (P < 0.01) greater on 20-L vs. 10-L mounds. Fifth-year mean stem volume was also significantly (P < 0.01) greater on mineral-on-organic (M/O) than on mineral-on-mineral (M/M) mounds. Chemical site preparation had no effect on relative growth rates beyond year 3. Indices that combined survival with total height or stem volume after 5 years show the significant (P < 0.01) superiority of: 20-L vs. 10-L mounds, M/O vs. M/M mounds, and chemical vs. no-chemical site preparation.

Range of variability in boreal aspen plant communities after wildfire and clear-cutting

2004 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 274-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sybille Haeussler ◽  
Yves Bergeron
Keyword(s):  
Plant Communities ◽  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
Plant Biomass ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Basal Area ◽  
Structural Diversity ◽  
Clear Cutting ◽  
Dead Plant ◽  
Live Tree ◽  
Canadian Boreal Forest

Composition, structure, and diversity of vascular and nonvascular plant communities was compared 3 years after wildfire and clear-cutting in mesic trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) forests of the southern Canadian boreal forest. We examined mean response to disturbance and variability around the mean across four to five spatial scales. Four 1997 wildfires were located near Timmins, Ontario, and ten 1996–1997 clearcuts were located adjacent to the wildfires. We randomly located plots within mesic, aspen-dominated stands selected to minimize predisturbance environmental differences. Correspondence analysis separated wildfire and clearcut samples based on community composition: wildfires had more aspen suckers, Diervilla lonicera Mill., and pioneering mosses; clearcuts had more under story tall shrubs, forbs, bryophytes, and lichens. Live tree basal area averaged 1.7 m2/ha in wildfires and 1.8 m2/ha in clearcuts (p = 0.59), and understory community structure (the horizontal and vertical distribution of live and dead plant biomass) was not markedly different. Clearcuts had higher species richness with greater variance than wildfires across all spatial scales tested, but differences in beta and structural diversity varied with spatial scale. Generally, clearcut–wildfire differences were more evident and wildfire variability greater at larger analytical scales, suggesting that plant biodiversity monitoring should emphasize cumulative effects across landscapes and regions.

Fungal colonization of aspen roots following mechanical site preparation

2003 ◽  
Vol 33 (12) ◽  
pp. 2372-2379 ◽  
Author(s):  
J M Pankuch ◽  
P V Blenis ◽  
V J Lieffers ◽  
K I Mallett
Keyword(s):  
Populus Tremuloides ◽  
Picea Glauca ◽  
Pathogenic Fungi ◽  
White Spruce ◽  
Site Preparation ◽  
Fungal Colonization ◽  
Preparation Technique ◽  
Mechanical Site Preparation ◽  
Armillaria Ostoyae ◽  
Root Tissues

Fungal colonization of aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) roots was examined in boreal mixedwood sites that were mechanically site prepared 8–10 years earlier for white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) regeneration using disc trenchers or ripper plows. A survey of root wounds determined that Armillaria sinapina Bérubé & Dessureault and Armillaria ostoyae (Romagn.) Herink were both wound pathogens of aspen; however, A. sinapina was more frequently associated with wounds than was A. ostoyae. Armillaria ostoyae was more common on unwounded root tissues. Sixty percent of wounds infected by A. sinapina were not compartmentalized and the likelihood of an A. sinapina infection did not increase with increasing wound size. Pathogenic fungi other than Armillaria were rarely associated with root wounds. Sever wounds were associated with furrows; scrape wounds were located both along and between furrows irrespective of the site-preparation technique (ripper plow vs. disk trencher).

Long-term effects of mechanical site preparation on understorey plant communities in lowland floodplain forests

2021 ◽  
Vol 480 ◽  
pp. 118651
Author(s):  
Jan Šebesta ◽  
Paul C. Rogers ◽  
Petr Maděra ◽  
Tomáš Koutecký ◽  
Simon Dufour ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Communities ◽  
Site Preparation ◽  
Floodplain Forests ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Mechanical Site Preparation ◽  
Understorey Plant

Relationships between species diversity and C, N and P ecological stoichiometry in plant communities of sub-alpine meadow

2014 ◽  
Vol 37 (11) ◽  
pp. 979-987 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun-Qiang CHEN ◽  
Rui ZHANG ◽  
Yao-Chen HOU ◽  
Li-Na MA ◽  
Lu-Ming DING ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Diversity ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Ecological Stoichiometry ◽  
Alpine Meadow

scholarly journals Bedding and Fertilization Ameliorate Effects of Designated Wet-Weather Skid Trails after Four Years for Loblolly Pine (Pinus taeda) Plantations

1998 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 222-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Michael Aust ◽  
James A. Burger ◽  
William H. McKee ◽  
Gregory A. Scheerer ◽  
Mark D. Tippett
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Taeda ◽  
Loblolly Pine ◽  
Water Movement ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Site Preparation ◽  
Site Productivity ◽  
Mechanical Site Preparation ◽  
Wet Weather ◽  
Four Levels ◽  
Study Sites

Abstract Wet-weather harvesting operations on wet pine fiats can cause soil disturbances that may reduce long-term site productivity. Site preparation and fertilization are often recommended as ameliorative practices for such disturbances, but few studies have actually quantified their effects on restoration. The purposes of this study were to quantify the effects of wet-weather harvest traffic in designated skid trails on soil properties and loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) growth, and to evaluate the ameliorative effects of site preparation. Study sites were established on wet pine flats of the lower Coastal Plain within the Francis Marion National Forest (Berkeley County, SC). Treatments were arranged in a split-split plot within a randomized complete block design. Treatments were two levels of traffic (nontrafficked, trafficked), four levels of mechanical site preparation (none, disking, bedding, disking + bedding), and two levels of fertilization (none, 337 kg /ha of 10-10-10 fertilizer). initially, the trafficking increased soil bulk densities and reduced soil water movement and subsequent growth of loblolly pine (years 1 and 2). Bedding combined with fertilization restored site productivity to non trafficked levels within 4 yr, but disking or fertilization treatments alone were not effective at ameliorating the traffic effects. The effectiveness of the bedding and fertilization treatments for amelioration of traffic effects was probably facilitated by the relatively small area of disturbed skid trails (<10%) found on these sites. Areas having more severe disturbance or higher percentages of disturbance might not be ameliorated as rapidly. South. J. Appl. For. 22(4):222-226.

Development of species diversity in some mediterranean plant communities

Vegetatio ◽  
1980 ◽  
Vol 43 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 59-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Houssard ◽  
J. Escarr� ◽  
F. Bomane
Keyword(s):  
Species Diversity ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Mediterranean Plant
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