scholarly journals Black spruce seedling growth response in controlled organic and organic-mineral substrates

Silva Fennica ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Henneb ◽  
Osvaldo Valeria ◽  
Nelson Thiffault ◽  
Nicole Fenton

Picea mariana

2007 ◽  
Vol 37 (9) ◽  
pp. 1563-1571 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. C. Thorpe ◽  
S. C. Thomas ◽  
J. P. Caspersen

Variants of partial harvesting are gaining favour as means to balance ecosystem management and timber production objectives on managed boreal forest landscapes. Understanding how residual trees respond to these alternative silvicultural treatments is a critical step towards evaluating their potential from either a conservation or a wood supply perspective. We used dendroecological techniques combined with a chronosequence approach to quantify the temporal radial growth response pattern of residual black spruce ( Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) trees to partial harvest in northeastern Ontario. At its peak, 8–9 years after harvest, radial growth of residual trees had doubled. The growth pattern was characterized by a 2-year phase of no response, a subsequent period of increase 3–9 years after harvest, and a stage of declining rates 10–12 years after harvest. The magnitude of tree growth response depended strongly on tree age: peak postharvest growth was substantially higher for young trees, while old trees displayed only modest growth increases. Both the large magnitude and the time delay in postharvest growth responses have important implications for the development of more accurate quantitative tools to project future yields and, more generally, for determining whether partial harvesting is a viable management option for the boreal forest.


2010 ◽  
Vol 86 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Geoff Wang ◽  
Kevin J Kemball

Two boreal mixedwood stands burned by the 1999 Black River wildfire in southeastern Manitoba, Canada were selected to study the effect of fire severity on early survival and growth of planted jack pine (Pinus banksiana), black spruce (Picea mariana) and white spruce (Picea glauca) seedlings. In each stand, three fire severity classes (scorched, lightly burned, and severely burned) were identified based on the degree of forest floor consumption. Fire severity was not a significant factor on mortality. No mortality difference was found among species, except for year 5 when jack pine had significantly higher mortality than both black spruce and white spruce. Jack pine and black spruce had their highest mortality in year 4, while white spruce had its highest mortality in year 1. Under natural competition, seedling growth increased with increasing fire severity. When competition was removed, fire severity did not affect seedling growth. Regardless of fire severity and competition, jack pine had better diameter and height growth than black spruce, which, in turn, grew slightly taller than white spruce. Planted seedlings faced less intense vegetation competition on severely burned plots compared to scorched or lightly burned plots. Regardless of fire severity and species, competition increased with time since planting. Our study results indicate that planting immediately after a wildfire is a viable option to establish conifer components on burned boreal mixedwood stands. Key words: fire severity, plantation, regeneration, Pinus banksiana, Picea mariana, Picea glauca


2004 ◽  
Vol 34 (10) ◽  
pp. 2089-2098 ◽  
Author(s):  
V R Timmer ◽  
Y Teng

The role of the root plug as a nutrient source for newly planted seedlings was evaluated for one growing season on soil bioassays retrieved from a boreal forest site. Intact (control) and bare-rooted (peat plug removed) black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) seedlings reared in Jiffy pellets, some fertilized before ("spiked" with 60 mg N) or after (topdressed with 300 mg N) planting, were transplanted to potted soil blocks (bioassays) under greenhouse conditions. Compared with the intact control, bare-rooting alone reduced plant dry mass (16%) and N, P, and K (15%–25%) uptake, but increased these parameters (62%–101%) when combined with topdressing, suggesting that the root plug served as a crucial nutrient reserve soon after transplanting. Nutrient spiking or topdressing alone stimulated growth and nutrient uptake as well (35%–118%), but generated the largest response (81%–205%) when applied together. Mortality (7%–18%) occurred only with bare-rooting treatments. The responses reflected the sensitivity of seedlings to nutrient supply changes both in root plugs and in field soils. Nutrient spiking was more efficient in improving seedling performance than traditional topdressing because of reduced fertilizer requirements and closer availability of added nutrients for early root development.


Botany ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 89 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marios Viktora ◽  
Rodney A. Savidge ◽  
Om P. Rajora

Black spruce (Picea mariana) reproduces sexually from seeds and asexually by layering. There is a prevalent concept that clonal reproduction maintains populations of this species in the subarctic and arctic regions. We used microsatellite DNA markers of the nuclear genome to investigate the genetic structure of montane and subalpine black spruce populations from the Western Yukon Plateau in relation to this concept. Sixty individual trees at a minimum distance of 4 m from each other were sampled from each of four populations and individual trees were genotyped for eight microsatellite loci. Each of the 60 individuals from three montane pure black spruce populations growing on flat terrain at relatively low elevations had unique multilocus genotypes, indicating an absence of clonal structure in those populations. However, in an anthropologically undisturbed climax white spruce-dominated subalpine black spruce population on a northwest slope near Mount Nansen, the majority of the sampled individuals belonged to eight genetically distinct clones (genets). Clone size differed by altitude, the dominant genet being nearest the timberline–tundra ecotone. The results indicate that black spruce reproduction is variable and adaptive, being primarily sexual in flat-terrain montane populations previously subjected to fire disturbance, but mixed vegetative–sexual in the anthropogenically undisturbed subalpine population. This study is the first to employ molecular markers a priori to examine the mode of reproduction in natural black spruce populations.


1978 ◽  
Vol 54 (6) ◽  
pp. 296-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas A. Mead

Height growth of eastern larch (Larix laricina (Du Roi) K. Koch) and black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) was determined using standard stem analysis methods on trees from two sites in northwestern Ontario. The data were obtained from mixed larch-spruce stands which were relatively undisturbed. The larch exhibited substantially better height growth than the spruce through age 65.


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