Research has demonstrated the potential of soil scarification, fertilization, and herbicide application to improve conifer seedling establishment and early growth. However, tree responses to and interactions among silvicultural treatments vary, making it difficult to predict mid-and long-term impacts of silviculture on stand productivity. We thus evaluated the 25-year effects of scarification and herbicide-fertilization combinations on black spruce (Picea mariana), jack pine (Pinus banksiana) and tamarack (Larix laricina) planted on a Kalmia angustifolia-dominated site. Our results show that the effects of scarification and herbicide-fertilization combinations diverged among species. Black spruce was the most responsive species to scarification for height and diameter at breast height. The combination of herbicide and fertilization treatments still had significantly positive effects on the long-term height and diameter growth of all species. Silvicultural treatments resulted in significant reductions in rotation length (based on height) when compared to height in nontreated-plots, depending on the species; reductions in years to attain a given height were greater for black spruce than for the other species. Our results illustrate the need to take species autecology into account when predicting productivity gains associated with early silviculture, and to provide managers with specific guidelines for the reforestation of ericaceous-dominated sites in Canadian boreal ecosystems. KeywordsKalmia angustifolia, vegetation management, scarification, autecology, herbicide, fertilization, black spruce, jack pine, tamarack RÉSUMÉLa recherche scientifique a déjà montré que le scarifiage, la fertilisation et les épandages d'herbicides pouvaient améliorer l'établissement et la croissance initiale des semis de conifères. Cependant, la réaction des arbres aux interventions sylvicoles et leurs interactions viennent compliquer la prédiction des effets à moyen et long termes des interventions sylvicoles sur la productivité à l'échelle du peuplement. Ainsi, nous avons voulu évaluer après 25 ans l' effet de du scarifiage et de diverses combinaisons d'herbicides-fertilisation sur l' épinette noire (Picea mariana), le pin gris (Pinus banksiana) et le mélèze laricin (Larix laricina) en plantation sur une station à dominance de Kalmia angustifolia. Nous avons observé que le scarifiage et différentes combinaisons d'herbicides-fertilisation avaient des effets différents selon les essences. C' est l' épi-nette noire qui a connu la réponse la plus importante au scarifiage, tant en hauteur qu' en diamètre. Les combinaisons de traitements avec des herbicides et des engrais ont amélioré de façon significative la croissance à long terme en hauteur et en diamètre de toutes les essences. Les traitements sylvicoles ont réduit de façon variable la révolution (basée sur la hauteur) par rapport aux placettes non traitées, cette réduction variant suivant les essences; la réduction a été plus importante pour l'épinette noire que pour les autre...
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