scholarly journals Silviculture and wildlife relationships in the boreal forest of Interior Alaska

1996 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. A. Haggstrom ◽  
D. G. Kelleyhouse
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Environmental Science ◽  
Wildland Fire ◽  
Timber Harvest ◽  
Natural Disturbances ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
Natural Processes ◽  
Clearcut Logging ◽  
Political Economic

Wildlife diversity and abundance are directly tied to the ever changing nature of the boreal forest. Wildland fire and fluvial action have been primarily responsible for maintaining diversity and productivity. However, there is an increasing need to protect people, human developments and a forest base for timber harvest from natural disturbances. Differences between logging, prescribed fire and wildland fire, and their effects on wildlife are discussed. We also discuss the value of riparian and late successional forest types within the boreal forest, our concerns for proposals that seek to optimize timber harvests for large areas, and some professional, political, economic and biological challenges facing managers who attempt to supplement or supplant natural processes with silvicultural practices. We conclude by urging forest managers to make decisions carefully, based on the best environmental science available, with full public and agency involvement, and with the understanding that there is still much to be learned about the boreal forest ecosystem. Key words: boreal forest, wildlife, wildland fire, clearcut logging, old growth

scholarly journals Impacts of Alternative Harvesting and Natural Disturbance Scenarios on Forest Biomass in the Superior National Forest, USA

Forests ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Russell ◽  
Stephanie Patton ◽  
David Wilson ◽  
Grant Domke ◽  
Katie Frerker
Keyword(s):  
Forest Management ◽  
Forest Biomass ◽  
Natural Disturbance ◽  
Timber Harvest ◽  
Timber Harvesting ◽  
Volume Control ◽  
National Forest ◽  
Total Biomass ◽  
Natural Disturbances ◽  
Project Area

The amount of biomass stored in forest ecosystems is a result of past natural disturbances, forest management activities, and current structure and composition such as age class distributions. Although natural disturbances are projected to increase in their frequency and severity on a global scale in the future, forest management and timber harvesting decisions continue to be made at local scales, e.g., the ownership or stand level. This study simulated potential changes in natural disturbance regimes and their interaction with timber harvest goals across the Superior National Forest (SNF) in northeastern Minnesota, USA. Forest biomass stocks and stock changes were simulated for 120 years under three natural disturbance and four harvest scenarios. A volume control approach was used to estimate biomass availability across the SNF and a smaller project area within the SNF (Jeanette Project Area; JPA). Results indicate that under current harvest rates and assuming disturbances were twice that of normal levels resulted in reductions of 2.62 to 10.38% of forest biomass across the four primary forest types in the SNF and JPA, respectively. Under this scenario, total biomass stocks remained consistent after 50 years at current and 50% disturbance rates, but biomass continued to decrease under a 200%-disturbance scenario through 120 years. In comparison, scenarios that assumed both harvest and disturbance were twice that of normal levels and resulted in reductions ranging from 14.18 to 29.85% of forest biomass. These results suggest that both natural disturbances and timber harvesting should be considered to understand their impacts to future forest structure and composition. The implications from simulations like these can provide managers with strategic approaches to determine the economic and ecological outcomes associated with timber harvesting and disturbances.

scholarly journals The origins of prescribed burning in Scandinavian forestry: the seminal role of Joel Wretlind in the management of fire-dependent forests

2019 ◽  
Vol 139 (3) ◽  
pp. 393-406
Author(s):  
Sarah Cogos ◽  
Samuel Roturier ◽  
Lars Östlund
Keyword(s):  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Prescribed Burning ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Fire Suppression ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
The State ◽  
Natural Processes ◽  
Forest Manager ◽  
Forest District

AbstractIn Sweden, prescribed burning was trialed as early as the 1890s for forest regeneration purposes. However, the origins of prescribed burning in Sweden are commonly attributed to Joel Efraim Wretlind, forest manager in the State Forest district of Malå, Västerbotten County, from 1920 to 1952. To more fully understand the role he played in the development of prescribed burning and the extent of his burning, we examined historical records from the State Forest Company’s archive and Wretlind’s personal archive. The data showed that at least 11,208 ha was burned through prescribed burning between 1921 and 1970, representing 18.7% of the Malå state-owned forest area. Wretlind thus created a new forestry-driven fire regime, reaching, during peak years, extents close to historical fire regimes before the fire suppression era, and much higher than present-day burning. His use of prescribed fire to regenerate forests served as a guide for many other forest managers, spreading to all of northern Sweden during the 1950–1960s. Our analysis of Wretlind’s latest accounts also shows how he stood against the evolutions of modern forestry to defend a forestry system based on the reproduction of natural processes, such as fire.

scholarly journals Study of Fuel-Smoke Dynamics in a Prescribed Fire of Boreal Black Spruce Forest through Field-Deployable Micro Sensor Systems

Fire ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 30
Author(s):  
Quamrul Huda ◽  
David Lyder ◽  
Marty Collins ◽  
Dave Schroeder ◽  
Dan K. Thompson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Half Life ◽  
Black Spruce ◽  
Wildland Fire ◽  
Near Field ◽  
Balance Model ◽  
Sensor Systems ◽  
Spruce Forest ◽  
Combustion Dynamics ◽  
Micro Sensor

Understanding the combustion dynamics of fuels, and the generation and propagation of smoke in a wildland fire, can inform short-range and long-range pollutant transport models, and help address and mitigate air quality concerns in communities. Smoldering smoke can cause health issues in nearby valley bottoms, and can create hazardous road conditions due to low-visibility. We studied near-field smoke dynamics in a prescribed fire of 3.4 hectares of land in a boreal black spruce forest in central Alberta. Smoke generated from the fire was monitored through a network of five field-deployable micro sensor systems. Sensors were placed within 500–1000 m of the fire area at various angles in downwind. Smoke generated from flaming and smoldering combustions showed distinct characteristics. The propagation rates of flaming and smoldering smoke, based on the fine particulate (PM2.5) component, were 0.8 and 0.2 m/s, respectively. The flaming smoke was characterized by sharp rise of PM2.5 in air with concentrations of up to 940 µg/m3, followed by an exponential decay with a half-life of ~10 min. Smoldering combustion related smoke contributed to PM2.5 concentrations above 1000 µg/m3 with slower decay half-life of ~18 min. PM2.5 emissions from the burn area during flaming and smoldering phases, integrated over the combustion duration of 2.5 h, were ~15 and ~16 kilograms, respectively, as estimated by our mass balance model.

Restoration measures emulating natural disturbances alter beetle assemblages in boreal forest

2020 ◽  
Vol 462 ◽  
pp. 117934
Author(s):  
Ruaridh Hägglund ◽  
Mats Dynesius ◽  
Therese Löfroth ◽  
Jörgen Olsson ◽  
Jean-Michel Roberge ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Natural Disturbances ◽  
Beetle Assemblages ◽  
Restoration Measures

Potential for Nonnative Endozoochorous Seed Dispersal by White-Tailed Deer in a Southeastern Maritime Forest

2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren S. Pile ◽  
Geofeng Geoff Wang ◽  
Robert Polomski ◽  
Greg Yarrow ◽  
Claire M. Stuyck
Keyword(s):  
Timber Harvest ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
Triadica Sebifera ◽  
Treatment Methods ◽  
Native Plant Species ◽  
Invasive Tree ◽  
Maritime Forest ◽  
Invasive Tree Species

AbstractNonnative invasive plants (NNIP) have far-reaching effects on native ecosystems worldwide. Understanding the role of generalist seed dispersers in spreading NNIP across the landscape is important to the conservation of native ecosystems and to the management of NNIP. We studied white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) as a seed disperser in a mixed maritime pine (Pinus spp.) forests on Parris Island, SC, with particular interest in the dispersal of Chinese tallowtree [Triadica sebifera (L.) Small], a highly invasive tree species in the southeastern United States, which is a management concern on Parris Island, SC. We collected deer scat pellet groups along transects in two forest types: those that had recently been treated with silvicultural timber harvest (thinned) and those that have not been so treated (unthinned). Using two pellet-treatment methods, directly planting or rinsing and sorting, we determined that, out of 25 species grown under greenhouse conditions, 28% (n = 7) were nonnative, small-seeded, herbaceous species. However, T. sebifera was not identified in either of the two treatment methods. Recent forest thinning significantly affected the number of species determined in deer pellet groups (F = 8.37; df = 1; P < 0.01), with more native plant species identified in unthinned (x̄ = 25 ± 11) than in thinned (x̄ = 3 ± 10) forest stands (F = 5.33; df = 1; P = 0.02). Our results indicate that white-tailed deer are actively dispersing nonnative seeds but not those of T. sebifera or other woody NNIP.

Lepidoptera wing scales: a new paleoecological indicator for reconstructing spruce budworm abundance

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 302-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lionel Navarro ◽  
Anne-Élizabeth Harvey ◽  
Hubert Morin
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Fire History ◽  
Choristoneura Fumiferana ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Spruce Budworm ◽  
Natural Disturbances ◽  
Original Approach ◽  
Size Scales ◽  
Forest Landscape Dynamics ◽  
Wing Scales

Natural disturbances have a major impact on boreal forest landscape dynamics, and although fire history is well documented at the Holocene scale, spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens)) (SBW) dynamics have only been known for the last three centuries. This is likely due to the difficulty in using and interpreting existing indicators (cephalic head capsules and feces). In this methodological study, we present an original approach using lepidopteran wing scales to reconstruct insect abundance. We analyzed two sediment cores from the boreal forest in central Quebec and extracted wing scales at every stratigraphic level. The required quantity of sediment for paleoecological analysis is relatively small given the large quantity of wing scales produced by Lepidoptera and their small size. Scales are well preserved due to their chitinous structure and their great variety of shapes offer a high potential for taxonomic identification. A statistical model based on the shape of scales of the three major epidemic lepidopterans in Quebec discriminated 68% of SBW scales. This indicator allows a more efficient and more precise reconstruction of SBW history with respect to the use of cephalic head capsules or feces.

Light extinction coefficients specific to the understory vegetation of the southern boreal forest, Quebec

2000 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 168-177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isabelle Aubin ◽  
Marilou Beaudet ◽  
Christian Messier
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Leaf Area Index ◽  
Light Transmission ◽  
Light Availability ◽  
Understory Vegetation ◽  
Light Extinction ◽  
Forest Types ◽  
Area Index ◽  
K Value ◽  
Extinction Coefficients

This study was conducted in six different forest types in Abitibi, Que., (i) to identify the factors that most influence understory light transmission in the southern boreal forest and (ii) to develop light extinction coefficients (k), which could be used to simulate light transmission in the understory. Light availability and understory vegetation (cover, composition, vertical distribution, and leaf area index) were characterized within three strata (0.05-5 m) in a total of 180 quadrats. Calculated k values were based on measured light availability and leaf area index. These values varied among forest types, strata, understory vegetation types, and cover in the upper stratum. The highest k values were generally associated with a dense stratum of Acer spicatum Lam. We developed five sets of k values based on the factors that most affected light transmission. Measured transmission (Tm) was compared with transmission predicted (Tp) from each set of k values. Light transmission predicted using a single k value (mean k = 0.54) underestimated Tm. More accurate predictions were obtained when we used the other four sets of k values. Our results indicate that, in the southern boreal forest, the understory vegetation can be quite heterogeneous and patterns of light transmission cannot be accurately simulated using a unique k value. However, the various sets of k values developed in this study could be used in prediction models of forest dynamics to obtain relatively good predictions of understory light extinction in forest types similar to the ones studied here.

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