A comparison of forest structure among old-growth, variable retention harvested, and clearcut peatland black spruce (<i>Picea mariana</i>) forests in boreal northeastern Ontario

Deans, A. M.; Malcolm, Jay R.; Smith, Sandy M.; Carleton, Terance J

doi:10.5558/tfc79579-3

Cited by 30 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Red-backed voles are known for their high water requirements and their preference for mesic habitats (Getz 1968;Morris 1996). The removal of canopy cover and soil disturbance from harvesting can reduce live moss cover relative to uncut stands (Deans et al 2003), and decreases in vole density following harvesting disturbance have been attributed to reductions in the availability of moist microhabitats (Sullivan et al 2008). Accordingly, the isodar intercept (equal to: b 0 ?…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An appraisal of the fitness consequences of forest disturbance for wildlife using habitat selection theory

et al. 2010

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Isodar theory can help to unveil the fitness consequences of habitat disturbance for wildlife through an evaluation of adaptive habitat selection using patterns of animal abundance in adjacent habitats. By incorporating measures of disturbance intensity or variations in resource availability into fitness-density functions, we can evaluate the functional form of isodars expected under different disturbance-fitness relationships. Using this framework, we investigated how a gradient of forest harvesting disturbance and differences in resource availability influenced habitat quality for snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) and red-backed voles (Myodes gapperi) using pairs of logged and uncut boreal forest. Isodars for both species had positive intercepts, indicating reductions to maximum potential fitness in logged stands. Habitat selection by hares depended on both conspecific density and differences in canopy cover between harvested and uncut stands. Fitness-density curves for hares in logged stands were predicted to shift from diverging to converging with those in uncut forest across a gradient of high to low disturbance intensity. Selection for uncut forests thus became less pronounced with increasing population size at low levels of logging disturbance. Voles responded to differences in moss cover between habitats which reflected moisture availability. Lower moss cover in harvested stands either reduced maximum potential fitness or increased the relative rate of decline in fitness with density. Differences in vole densities between harvested and uncut stands were predicted, however, to diminish as populations increased. Our findings underscore the importance of accounting for density-dependent behaviors when evaluating how changing habitat conditions influence animal distribution.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An appraisal of the fitness consequences of forest disturbance for wildlife using habitat selection theory

et al. 2010

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“…To date, most research examining responses to partial harvesting in the boreal has focussed on biodiversity, specifically looking at how levels of retention affect taxa of conservation or ecological concern, such as small mammals (Moses and Boutin 2001, Fisher and Bradbury 2006), birds (Lance and Phinney 2001, insects (Gandhi et al 2004, Deans et al 2005, Martikainen et al 2006, ectomycorrhizal fungi (Dahlberg et al 2001, Lazaruk et al 2005, understorey plants Vanha-Majamaa 2001, Bradbury 2004), and coarse woody debris, an important habitat substrate (Deans et al 2003, Lilja et al 2005. Most studies find that partial cuts maintain levels of biodiversity higher than those found in clearcuts but lower than those of uncut stands.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Partial harvesting in the Canadian boreal: Success will depend on stand dynamic responses

Thorpe¹,

Thomas²

2007

The Forestry Chronicle

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In the past 10 to 15 years, alternative silvicultural treatments involving partial harvesting have been developed for boreal forests, with the goal of achieving a balance between biodiversity maintenance and continued timber production. Most prior research has focussed on the impacts of partial harvesting on biological diversity, while stand dynamic responses remain little studied. In this paper we explore partial stand harvesting in the Canadian boreal-its rationale, current extent, and impact on stand dynamic patterns. Empirical studies from the boreal and elsewhere indicate that residual trees of many species respond to partial harvesting with enhanced growth, commonly showing a lagged response after which peak growth occurs five to 25 years following harvest. Post-harvest mortality is also prevalent but much more variable, with losses of residual trees ranging from nearly zero to more than 50% above background mortality rates in the initial years following harvest. With the exception of strip cutting in parts of northern Ontario and Quebec (HARP/CPPTM), operational partial harvesting in the Canadian boreal currently involves very low levels of retention. Available data suggest that such low retention levels, particularly when spatially dispersed, generally result in unacceptably high rates of post-harvest mortality, which are unlikely to be offset by increases in residual tree growth. There is an urgent need for development of spatially explicit stand simulation models that will allow accurate yield predictions for partial harvest systems to assess their feasibility in boreal forest management.Key words: ecosystem management, natural disturbance emulation, boreal forest, partial cut, structural retention, growth response, windthrow, post-harvest mortality RÉSUMÉ Au cours des dix à quinze dernières années, des traitements sylvicoles alternatifs comprenant une coupe partielle ont été élaborés en forêt boréale, dans le but d'obtenir un équilibre entre le maintien de la biodiversité et la production continue de matière ligneuse. La majeure partie de la recherche réalisée à ce jour a porté sur les impacts de la coupe partielle sur la diversité biologique, tandis que les réactions au niveau de la dynamique du peuplement recevaient peu d'attention. Dans cet article, nous explorons la coupe partielle des peuplements dans les forêts boréales du Canada : le rationnel, le niveau actuel d'utilisation et les conséquences sur les patrons de dynamique des peuplements. Les études empiriques en provenance des forêts boréales et des autres forêts indiquent que les arbres résiduels de plusieurs espèces réagissent à la coupe partielle par un accroissement de la croissance, démontrant généralement une réaction déphasée suivie d'un pic de croissance survenant entre 5 et 25 ans après la récolte. La mortalité après coupe est également présente quoique plus variable, avec des pertes parmi les arbres résiduels avec des taux de zéro à plus de 50 % de mortalité par rapport au milieu naturel au cours des premières années suivant...

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“…Deans et al 2003). This is because the simple creation or preservation of irregular structure does not guarantee that these stands will be used by old-growth specialist species.…”

Section: Management Solutionsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Emulating natural disturbances: the role of silviculture in creating even-aged and complex structures in the black spruce boreal forest of eastern North America

Fenton

Simard

Bergeron

2009

Journal of Forest Research

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Ecosystem-based forest management is based on the principle of emulating regional natural disturbance regimes with forest management. An interesting area for a case study of the potential of ecosystem-based forest management is the boreal forest of north-western Québec and north-eastern Ontario, where the disturbance regime creates a mosaic of stands with both complex and simple structures. Old-growth stands of this region have multistoried, open structures, thick soil organic layers, and are unproductive, while young post-fire stands established following severe fires that consumed most of the organic soil show dense and even-sized/aged structures and are more productive. Current forest management emulates the effects of low severity fires, which only partially consume the organic layers, and could lead to unproductive even-aged stands. The natural disturbance and forest management regimes differ in such a way that both young productive and old-growth forests could ultimately be under-represented on the landscape under a fully regulated forest management regime. Two major challenges for ecosystem-based forest management of this region are thus to: (1) maintain complex structures associated with old-growth forests, and (2) promote the establishment of productive post-harvest stands, while at the same time maintaining harvested volume. We discuss different silvicultural approaches that offer solutions to these challenges, namely the use of (1) partial harvesting to create or maintain complex structures typical of old-growth stands, and (2) site preparation techniques to emulate severe soil burns and create productive post-harvest stands. A similar approach could be applied to any region where the natural disturbance regime creates a landscape where both even-aged stands established after stand-replacing disturbances and irregular old-growth stands created by smaller scale disturbances are significant.

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A comparison of forest structure among old-growth, variable retention harvested, and clearcut peatland black spruce (Picea mariana) forests in boreal northeastern Ontario

Cited by 30 publications

References 31 publications

An appraisal of the fitness consequences of forest disturbance for wildlife using habitat selection theory

An appraisal of the fitness consequences of forest disturbance for wildlife using habitat selection theory

Partial harvesting in the Canadian boreal: Success will depend on stand dynamic responses

Emulating natural disturbances: the role of silviculture in creating even-aged and complex structures in the black spruce boreal forest of eastern North America

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