A simulation of the development and restoration of old-growth structural features in northern hardwoods

Silviculture for old-growth attributes

“…This may be achieved through the management of density and tree regeneration (Kenk and Guehne, 2001;O'Hara, 2002;Choi et al, 2007;Davis et al, 2007). While these two aspects are part of ''traditional'' silvicultural practices, the new suite of restoration objectives provides unique challenges.…”

“…Choi et al, 2007), information about the influence of restoration activities on other attributes is lacking. For example, development of certain crown structures, such as dead branches, has been documented in old forests, but not in response to thinning in mature or old forests (Ishii and McDowell, 2002;Ishii and Kadotani, 2006).…”

“…Early attempts relied on standard growth and yield prediction models Table 3 Structural attributes of old-growth forests and silvicultural approaches to promote these (expanded from Keeton, 2006 Birch and Johnson, 1992). Alternatively, ecological gap models (Busing and Garman, 2002) or individual tree models provide more flexibility to simulate a variety of treatments (Choi et al, 2007). Most individual tree models have the limitation that they assume regular tree spacing.…”

“…However, the dynamics of the responses differ between ecosystems and initial conditions (e.g. Choi et al, 2007), and the timing and direction of the response of various structural components are not necessarily coupled. Some responses to restoration are very dynamic, e.g.…”

Commercial Thinning to Meet Wood Production Objectives and Develop Structural Heterogeneity: A Case Study in the Spruce-Fir Forest, Quebec, Canada

“…Studies where this was demonstrated include various forest types in North America and Europe [16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. As such, commercial thinning (CT) is a partial disturbance that reduces the density of stands that have reached the stem exclusion stage to capture mortality, redistribute growing space to fewer individuals and increase tree size [7,23].…”