Abundance and Impacts of Competing Species on Conifer Regeneration Following Careful Logging in the Eastern Canadian Boreal Forest

Louis-Philippe Ménard; Jean-Claude Ruel; Nelson Thiffault

doi:10.3390/f10020177

Abundance and Impacts of Competing Species on Conifer Regeneration Following Careful Logging in the Eastern Canadian Boreal Forest

Forests ◽

10.3390/f10020177 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 177 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Louis-Philippe Ménard ◽

Jean-Claude Ruel ◽

Nelson Thiffault

Keyword(s):

Boreal Forest ◽

Basal Area ◽

Low Fertility ◽

Percent Cover ◽

Large Area ◽

Competing Species ◽

Competing Vegetation ◽

Conifer Regeneration ◽

Ericaceous Shrubs ◽

Canadian Boreal Forest

Managing competing vegetation is crucial in stand establishment strategies; forecasting the abundance, composition, and impact of competing vegetation after harvesting is needed to optimize silviculture scenarios and maintain long-term site productivity. Our main objective was to identify factors influencing the short-term abundance and composition of competing vegetation over a large area of the Canadian boreal forest. Our second objective was to better understand the mid-term evolution of the regeneration/competing vegetation complex in cases of marginal regeneration conditions. We used operational regeneration surveys of 4471 transects sampled ≈5 years after harvesting that contained data on regeneration, competing vegetation, elevation, ecological classification, soil attributes, and pre-harvest forest stands. We performed a redundancy analysis to identify the relationships between competing vegetation, harvesting and biophysical variables. We then estimated the probability of observing a given competing species cover based on these variables. In 2015, we re-sampled a portion of the sites, where conifer regeneration was marginal early after harvesting, to assess the temporal impact of different competing levels and species groups on the free-to-grow stocking, vigour and basal area of softwood regeneration. Results from the first inventory showed that, after careful logging around advance growth, ericaceous shrubs and hardwoods were not associated with the same sets of site attributes. Ericaceous shrubs were mainly found on low fertility sites associated with black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) or jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.). The distinction between suitable environments for commercial shade-intolerant hardwoods and non-commercial hardwoods was less clear, as they responded similarly to many variables. Analysis of data from the second inventory showed a significant improvement in conifer free-to-grow stocking when commercial shade-intolerant hardwood competing levels were low (stocking 0%–40%) and when ericaceous shrubs competing levels were moderate (percent cover 26%–75%). In these conditions of marginal regeneration, the different types and intensities of competition did not affect the vigour or basal area of softwood regeneration, 9–14 years after harvesting.

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Large-area mapping of Canadian boreal forest cover, height, biomass and other structural attributes using Landsat composites and lidar plots

Remote Sensing of Environment ◽

10.1016/j.rse.2017.12.020 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 209 ◽

pp. 90-106 ◽

Cited By ~ 67

Author(s):

Giona Matasci ◽

Txomin Hermosilla ◽

Michael A. Wulder ◽

Joanne C. White ◽

Nicholas C. Coops ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Boreal Forest ◽

Forest Cover ◽

Large Area ◽

Canadian Boreal Forest

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Integrating accessibility and intactness into large-area conservation planning in the Canadian boreal forest

Biological Conservation ◽

10.1016/j.biocon.2013.08.032 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 167 ◽

pp. 371-379 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Ryan P. Powers ◽

Nicholas C. Coops ◽

Trisalyn Nelson ◽

Michael A. Wulder ◽

C. Ronnie Drever

Keyword(s):

Boreal Forest ◽

Conservation Planning ◽

Large Area ◽

Canadian Boreal Forest

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The response of the feather moss, Pleurozium schreberi, to 5 years of simulated acid precipitation in the Canadian boreal forest

Canadian Journal of Botany ◽

10.1139/b88-012 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 66 (1) ◽

pp. 82-88 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

Thomas C. Hutchinson ◽

Martha G. Scott

Keyword(s):

Boreal Forest ◽

Dry Weight ◽

Acid Precipitation ◽

Permanent Plots ◽

Pleurozium Schreberi ◽

Forest Site ◽

Percent Cover ◽

Feather Moss ◽

Lateral Branches ◽

Canadian Boreal Forest

Permanent plots dominated by the feather moss, Pleurozium schreberi (Brid.) Mitt., were established at a Canadian boreal forest site to study the effects of simulated acid precipitation on percent cover, growth, and photosynthesis of vegetation. For a 5-year period, beginning in 1981, plots of P. schreberi received twice-monthly sprayings of simulated rain, adjusted to pH 5.6, 4.0, 3.5, 3.0, or 2.5 with a 2:1 molar mixture of sulfuric and nitric acids. Unsprayed plots were also monitored. Almost complete elimination of the moss had occurred in the plots sprayed with pH 2.5 by the end of the 2nd year of treatment, and substantial decreases in cover were also recorded at pH 3.0 and 3.5 over the 5 years. Significant reductions of up to 75% in total and living frond height and dry weight were recorded at pH 3.5 and lower. Lateral branches produced in acid-treated plots also were stunted and few in number. This decline in growth and percent cover of P. schreberi may have resulted from the decreased net photosynthetic rates measured in the field and would be accelerated by increased rates of evapotranspiration in the altered moss microhabitat.

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

Canadian Journal of Botany ◽

10.1139/b06-059 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 84 (6) ◽

pp. 1025-1029 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

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.

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Aircraft vertical profiling of variation of CO2over a Canadian Boreal Forest Site: a role of advection in the changes in the atmospheric boundary layer CO2content

Tellus B ◽

10.3402/tellusb.v59i2.16984 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 59 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Alexander Shashkov ◽

Kaz Higuchi ◽

Douglas Chan

Keyword(s):

Boundary Layer ◽

Boreal Forest ◽

Atmospheric Boundary Layer ◽

Forest Site ◽

Vertical Profiling ◽

Canadian Boreal Forest

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Two new species of Oidiodendron from boreal forest soils

Canadian Journal of Botany ◽

10.1139/b68-034 ◽

1968 ◽

Vol 46 (3) ◽

pp. 203-206 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

R. A. A. Morrall

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Boreal Forest ◽

Forest Soils ◽

Nomen Dubium ◽

Two New Species ◽

Canadian Boreal Forest

Oidiodendron periconioides Morrall sp. nov. and O. chlamydosporicum Morrall sp. nov. are described from Canadian boreal forest soils. O. gracile Zhdanova is considered to be a nomen dubium.

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Developmental Trends of Black Spruce Fibre Attributes in Maturing Plantations

International Journal of Forestry Research ◽

10.1155/2016/7895289 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2016 ◽

pp. 1-12 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Peter F. Newton

Keyword(s):

Black Spruce ◽

Microfibril Angle ◽

Basal Area ◽

Temporal Correlation ◽

Wood Formation ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Forest Region ◽

Cambial Age ◽

Canadian Boreal Forest ◽

Crown Closure

This study assessed the temporal developmental patterns of commercially relevant fibre attributes (tracheid length and diameters, wall thickness, specific surface area, wood density, microfibril angle, fibre coarseness, and modulus of elasticity) and their interrelationships within maturing black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) plantations. A size-based stratified random sample procedure within 5 semimature plantations located in the Canadian Boreal Forest Region was used to select 50 trees from which radial cross-sectional xylem sequences at breast-height (1.3 m) were cut and analyzed. Statistically, the graphical and linear correlation analyses indicated that the attributes exhibited significant (p≤0.05) relationships among themselves and with morphological tree characteristics. Relative variation of each annually measured attribute declined with increasing size class (basal area quintile). The transitional shifts in temporal correlation patterns occurring at the time of approximate crown closure where suggestive of intrinsic differences in juvenile and mature wood formation processes. The temporal cumulative development patterns of all 8 of the annually measured attributes varied systematically with tree size and exhibited the most rapid rates of change before the trees reached a cambial age of 20 years. At approximately 50 years after establishment, plantation mean attribute values were not dissimilar from those reported for more mature natural-origin stands.

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Fungi of the Canadian boreal forest region: Catulus aquilonius gen. et sp.nov., a hyperparasite on Seuratia millardetii

Canadian Journal of Botany ◽

10.1139/b78-284 ◽

1978 ◽

Vol 56 (19) ◽

pp. 2344-2347 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

D. Malloch ◽

C. T. Rogerson

Keyword(s):

Boreal Forest ◽

New Genus ◽

New Genus And Species ◽

Forest Region ◽

Canadian Boreal Forest ◽

Boreal Forest Region

A new genus and species of ascomycetes, Catulus aquilonius, is described, illustrated, and tentatively assigned to the Mycosphaerellaceae. It grows as a parasite on stromata of Seuratia millardetii (Raciborski) Meeker and is characterized by two-celled, setulose ascospores.

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Present-day expansion of American beech in northeastern hardwood forests: Does soil base status matter?

Canadian Journal of Forest Research ◽

10.1139/x09-172 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 39 (12) ◽

pp. 2273-2282 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Louis Duchesne ◽

Rock Ouimet

Keyword(s):

Acer Saccharum ◽

Sugar Maple ◽

Basal Area ◽

Base Cation ◽

Hardwood Forests ◽

Fagus Grandifolia ◽

Soil Base ◽

Large Area ◽

American Beech ◽

Permanent Sample Plots

Recently, sugar maple ( Acer saccharum Marsh.) decline in northeastern North America has been regarded as a major factor structuring hardwood forests by favouring American beech ( Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.) in the understory of maple-dominated stands. To determine whether soil fertility differences associated with sugar maple decline may have promoted the expansion of American beech, we explored the relationships between the soil base status and the sapling and tree strata density and composition, using data from 426 permanent sample plots distributed throughout Quebec. Our results indicate that American beech is currently expanding in the sugar maple range of Quebec. The abundance and proportion of American beech in the sapling stratum are mainly associated with the proportion of American beech in the tree stratum, the relative basal area of dead sugar maple trees, and the base status of soils. In accordance with the many studies reporting on the high sensitivity of sugar maple to the acid–base status of soils and the decline of the sugar maple population, this study supports the hypothesis that soil base cation depletion, caused in part by atmospheric acid deposition, is among the main factors involved in the present-day expansion of American beech over a large area in Quebec.

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