Viability of Black Spruce Seed in or on a Boreal Forest Seedbed

1976 ◽  
Vol 52 (5) ◽  
pp. 229-231 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. W. Fraser
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Picea Mariana ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Direct Seeding ◽  
One Year ◽  
Do So

An informal experiment on the viability of black spruce (Picea mariana) [Mill.] B.S.P.) seed in or on a boreal forest seedbed indicates that seeds which do not germinate lose their ability to do so some time between 10 and 16 months after seeding. Foresters are cautioned that black spruce cutovers which have not regenerated one year after harvesting that eliminates seed-bearing trees should be seeded artificially or planted. Areas which have not regenerated one year after direct seeding should be reseeded.

scholarly journals Direct seeding of black spruce in northwestern Ontario: Temporal changes in seedbed coverage and receptivity

1995 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. L. Fleming ◽  
D. S. Mossa
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Picea Mariana ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Temporal Changes ◽  
Direct Seeding ◽  
Organic Debris ◽  
Northwestern Ontario ◽  
Thunder Bay ◽  
Moisture Regimes ◽  
Trees And Shrubs

Temporal changes in black spruce (Picea mariana [Mill.] B.S.P.) seedbed coverage and seedbed receptivity were investigated on coarse-textured upland sites near Thunder Bay (48°25′N 89° 15′W), in northwestern Ontario. Sowing was completed in May for three consecutive years following summer scarification at each of 12 sites. Infilling by organic debris reduced the proportion of receptive soil strata three to five years after scarification by 50–95%. Receptive seedbed coverage declined more quickly on fresh Soil Moisture Regimes with a variety of deciduous trees and shrubs than on moist Soil Moisture Regimes dominated by eracaceous shrubs. Pioneer mosses, which are also good seedbeds, invaded moist sites more readily than fresh sites, and mitigated losses in seedbed coverage. Compact Sphagnum seedbeds in lowland depressions maintained good areal coverage much longer than did receptive upland soil strata. Seedling establishment ratios varied greatly among seeding years, seedbeds and sites, but there was an underlying trend of decreasing seedbed receptivity with time since scarification. Seedlings originating from the first seeding year were taller at age 7–10 than those originating from the second or third seeding years. Key words: direct seeding, seedbed coverage, seedbed receptivity, scarification, black spruce, Picea mariana

Residual-tree growth responses to partial stand harvest in the black spruce (Picea mariana) boreal forestThis article is one of a selection of papers published in the Special Forum IUFRO 1.05 Uneven-Aged Silvicultural Research Group Conference on Natural Disturbance-Based Silviculture: Managing for Complexity.

2007 ◽  
Vol 37 (9) ◽  
pp. 1563-1571 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. C. Thorpe ◽  
S. C. Thomas ◽  
J. P. Caspersen
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Tree Growth ◽  
Picea Mariana ◽  
Radial Growth ◽  
Growth Response ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Tree Age ◽  
Growth Responses ◽  
Partial Harvest ◽  
Partial Harvesting

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.

Ten-year results of strip clear-cutting in Quebec black spruce stands

2000 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Pothier
Keyword(s):  
Picea Mariana ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Height Growth ◽  
Clear Cutting ◽  
Advance Regeneration ◽  
Spruce Stands ◽  
Harvesting Method ◽  
Cost Efficient ◽  
One Year ◽  
Cutting System

Regeneration of first-cut strips in a two-cut system of strip clear-cutting was compared to that of large clear-cutting in four different areas representative of the black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) stands of the boreal forest of Quebec. Seedlings were more evenly distributed in clearcut strips than in large clearcuts. Differences of about 10 000 black spruce seedlings per hectare and 20% of stocking were observed in favour of clearcut strips compared to large clearcuts. Black spruce stocking was about 14% larger on lowland than on upland sites but height growth was better on upland sites. A regeneration problem similar to that of large clearcuts was observed when the second strips were cut. One year after cutting these second strips, winter harvesting resulted in a 23% gain in black spruce stocking as compared to summer harvesting. Even if black spruce stocking marginally increased during the years following winter harvesting, the height advantage of the preserved advance growth justifies the application of this harvesting method. The strip clear-cutting system effectively improved the stocking of former black spruce stands but if the stocking level of advance growth is adequate, careful harvesting to preserve advance regeneration should be the preferred method since it would be more cost-efficient.

Structure, composition, and diversity of old-growth black spruce boreal forest of the Clay Belt region in Quebec and Ontario

2003 ◽  
Vol 11 (S1) ◽  
pp. S79-S98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Harper ◽  
Catherine Boudreault ◽  
Louis DeGrandpré ◽  
Pierre Drapeau ◽  
Sylvie Gauthier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Picea Mariana ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Structural Development ◽  
Spruce Forest ◽  
Forest Stands ◽  
Old Growth ◽  
Old Growth Forest ◽  
Old Growth Forests

Old-growth black spruce (Picea mariana) boreal forest in the Clay Belt region of Ontario and Quebec is an open forest with a low canopy, quite different from what many consider to be "old growth". Here, we provide an overview of the characteristics of old-growth black spruce forest for three different site types on organic, clay, and coarse deposits. Our objectives were (1) to identify the extent of older forests; (2) to describe the structure, composition, and diversity in different age classes; and (3) to identify key processes in old-growth black spruce forest. We sampled canopy composition, deadwood abundance, understorey composition, and nonvascular plant species in 91 forest stands along a chronosequence that extended from 20 to more than 250 years after fire. We used a peak in tree basal area, which occurred at 100 years on clay and coarse sites and at 200 years on organic sites, as a process-based means of defining the start of old-growth forest. Old-growth forests are extensive in the Clay Belt, covering 30–50% of the forested landscape. Black spruce was dominant on all organic sites, and in all older stands. Although there were fewer understorey species and none exclusive to old-growth, these forests were structurally diverse and had greater abundance of Sphagnum, epiphytic lichens, and ericaceous species. Paludification, a process characteristic of old-growth forest stands on clay deposits in this region, causes decreases in tree and deadwood abundance. Old-growth black spruce forests, therefore, lack the large trees and snags that are characteristic of other old-growth forests. Small-scale disturbances such as spruce budworm and windthrow are common, creating numerous gaps. Landscape and stand level management strategies could minimize structural changes caused by harvesting, but unmanaged forest in all stages of development must be preserved in order to conserve all the attributes of old-growth black spruce forest. Key words: boreal forest, old growth, paludification, Picea mariana, structural development, succession.

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