Effects of two silvicultural practices on soil fauna abundance in a northern hardwood forest, Québec, Canada

2002 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-David Moore ◽  
Rock Ouimet ◽  
Claude Camiré ◽  
Daniel Houle

Soil fauna play a key role in soil fertility and productivity of forest ecosystems and represent an important base of terrestrial food chains. The impact of forest management on soil fauna should be considered when sustainable forest management and conservation of biodiversity are desired. We evaluated the impact of selective cutting and strip clearcutting on soil fauna abundance in a northern hardwood forest of the Lower Laurentians of Québec. Twelve years after strip clearcutting, the abundance of carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae), collembolans (Hexapoda: Collembola) and snails (Stylommatophora: Sigmurethra) was greater in the strip clearcuts than the adjacent undisturbed strips. Snails and millipedes (Polydesmida: Polydesmidae) were more abundant in the selective cuts 6 to 8 yr after treatment. Spiders (Arachnida) were the only organism whose abundance was lower in the selective cuts than in the adjacent undisturbed forest . No significant negative effect of the silvicultural treatments was noted for the abundance of other caught organisms. This one-season sampling suggests there are few negative impacts associated with low intensity selective cutting and strip clearcutting on the abundance of soil fauna in this northern hardwood forest stands 6 to 12 yr after harvest. Key Words: Salamander, arthropod, shrew, northern hardwood, selective cutting, strip clearcutting

2004 ◽  
Vol 34 (4) ◽  
pp. 959-968 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-David Moore ◽  
Rock Ouimet ◽  
Daniel Houle ◽  
Claude Camiré

The impact of selective cutting (6 and 8 years after treatment) and strip clear-cutting (12 and 13 years after treatment) on abundance and diversity of carabid beetles was evaluated in a northern hardwood forest of Quebec, Canada. A total of 1078 individuals belonging to 14 species were captured with pitfall traps from June to September 1996 during 2568 day-trap. Abundance of Synuchus impunctatus Say was significantly higher in clear-cut compared with uncut control strips. There were no within-species differences between selectively cut and uncut plots. None of these two silvicultural systems had any significant impacts on species diversity and richness 6–13 years after treatment. Although we observed an effect of strip clear-cutting on the abundance of S. impunctatus in this northern hardwood forest, the discrepancy between the response of carabids to forest disturbance in this study compared with other studies in different ecological regions suggests that the same carabid beetle species cannot be used as an indicator of forest disturbance over a large region. Our results suggest the use of carabid beetles as a disturbance indicator at the ecological-type scale (relatively similar soil and forest type) in a given region.


1995 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 121-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louise M. Tritton ◽  
Paul E. Sendak

Abstract In a stand managed for timber production, increased crown dieback and mortality of trees generally signal a need for reevaluating site conditions, management objectives, and harvesting practices. In this paper, we describe a case study of a northern hardwood forest stand intended for timber production but showing crown dieback and mortality. Plans for a diameter-limit cut were confounded by the presence of diseased and poor quality trees (especially sugar maples), a history of high-grading, and fair to poor site characteristics for sugar maple growth over much of the area. After evaluating the site, we suggested a revised management plan including a shelterwood cut favoring regeneration of both yellow birch and sugar maple. Forest management decisions based on ecological and economic considerations can promote both the long-term health and productivity of forest stands. However, management for long-term health and productivity are not likely to be accomplished under current market conditions in much of New England. North. J. Appl. For. 12(3):121-126.


2000 ◽  
Vol 151 (12) ◽  
pp. 502-507
Author(s):  
Christian Küchli

Are there any common patterns in the transition processes from traditional and more or less sustainable forest management to exploitative use, which can regularly be observed both in central Europe and in the countries of the South (e.g. India or Indonesia)? Attempts were made with a time-space-model to typify those force fields, in which traditional sustainable forest management is undermined and is then transformed into a modern type of sustainable forest management. Although it is unlikely that the history of the North will become the future of the South, the glimpse into the northern past offers a useful starting point for the understanding of the current situation in the South, which in turn could stimulate the debate on development. For instance, the patterns which stand behind the conflicts on forest use in the Himalayas are very similar to the conflicts in the Alps. In the same way, the impact of socio-economic changes on the environment – key word ‹globalisation› – is often much the same. To recognize comparable patterns can be very valuable because it can act as a stimulant for the search of political, legal and technical solutions adapted to a specific situation. For the global community the realization of the way political-economic alliances work at the head of the ‹globalisationwave›can only signify to carry on trying to find a common language and understanding at the negotiation tables. On the lee side of the destructive breaker it is necessary to conserve and care for what survived. As it was the case in Switzerland these forest islands could once become the germination points for the genesis of a cultural landscape, where close-to-nature managed forests will constitute an essential element.


2012 ◽  
Vol 114 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 269-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy J. Fahey ◽  
Joseph B. Yavitt ◽  
Ruth E. Sherman ◽  
John C. Maerz ◽  
Peter M. Groffman ◽  
...  

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