A landscape-level tool for assessing natural regeneration density of Picea mariana and Pinus banksiana following fire and salvage logging

Assessing Spatial Patterns of Burn Severity for Guiding Post-Fire Salvage Logging in Boreal Forests of Eastern Canada

“…forest characteristics and burn severity are good indicators of post-fire tree mortality, regeneration and wildlife habitat quality and diversity (Baltzer et al, 2021;Boucher et al, 2016;Greene et al, 2004;Perrault-Hébert et al, 2017). Spontaneous dynamic trajectories of regeneration, succession and biodiversity in salvaged areas can thus deviate from those in un-salvaged forests (Bognounou et al, 2021;Boucher et al, 2014;Greene et al, 2006;Splawinski et al, 2016). thus proposed a simple ecosystem-based management approach that would aim to maintain a proportion of unsalvaged residual forests, which is representative of the spatial variability in burn severity and pre-fire vegetation.…”

“…There is undeniably a lack of knowledge on the long-term ecological impacts of salvage logging since most existing studies focus on the first five years following the initial disturbance (Thorn et al, 2018). However, many short-term studies have shown that salvage logging can strongly affect initial natural post-fire regeneration (Boucher et al, 2014;Greene et al, 2006;Splawinski et al, 2016) and burn-associated biodiversity (Lindenmayer et al, 2018;Thorn et al, 2018Thorn et al, , 2020. For example, salvage logging in eastern Canadian boreal forests tends to favour encroaching broadleaved species (Greene et al, 2006;Boucher et al, 2014) and can also increase the risk of a disturbance-driven switch toward poorly regenerated forests or even non-forested vegetation (i.e., regeneration failure; Splawinski et al, 2016).…”

“…However, many short-term studies have shown that salvage logging can strongly affect initial natural post-fire regeneration (Boucher et al, 2014;Greene et al, 2006;Splawinski et al, 2016) and burn-associated biodiversity (Lindenmayer et al, 2018;Thorn et al, 2018Thorn et al, , 2020. For example, salvage logging in eastern Canadian boreal forests tends to favour encroaching broadleaved species (Greene et al, 2006;Boucher et al, 2014) and can also increase the risk of a disturbance-driven switch toward poorly regenerated forests or even non-forested vegetation (i.e., regeneration failure; Splawinski et al, 2016). Moreover, salvage logging removes essential habitats for a large community of saproxylic insects, birds and mammals taking advantage of dead and dying trees (Nappi et al, 2004;Azeria et al, 2011;Bognounou et al, 2021).…”

Impact of silvicultural system on natural regeneration in Western Himalayan moist temperate forests of Pakistan

“…Site conditions like topography, aspect, moisture availability, humus thickness, light exposure, and grazing activities play a vital role in the germination process (Brewer et al 2012;Vacek et al 2017a;Gallo et al 2020). Forest stand structure and density also affect natural regeneration by allowing the required light and availability of enough seed for germination (Rocha et al 2016;Splawinski et al 2016). Soil depth and decomposed humus with more nutrients are prone to be ideal space for regeneration.…”