Alternatives to clearcutting in BC Coastal Montane Forests

Arnott, J. T.; Beese, William J.

doi:10.5558/tfc73670-6

Cited by 65 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…The site is typical of the montane moist maritime variant of the Coastal Western Hemlock biogeoclimatic zone (CWHmm2). Further site details can be found in Arnott and Beese (1997).…”

Section: Site Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These latter treatments were harvested between May and Nov. 1993, and hence the first full growing season for regeneration was 1994. (See Arnott and Beese (1997) for further site and treatment details. )…”

Section: Silvicultural Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These include both traditional silvicultural and variable retention systems (Mitchell and Beese 2002), in which some trees are left across the harvested site as aggregated (e.g., strip cut, patch cut) or dispersed (e.g., shelterwood, green tree) retention. The Montane Alternative Silvicultural Systems (MASS) partnership was formed in 1992 to test several alternative silvicultural systems in an old-growth coastal montane forest on Vancouver Island (Arnott and Beese 1997). The main objectives were to assess the operational costs and feasibility of using shelterwood, green tree retention, patch cut and clearcut systems to harvest an old-growth western hemlockamabilis fir-redcedar (Tsuga heterophylla ((Raf.)…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Post-harvest nitrogen cycling in clearcut and alternative silvicultural systems in a montane forest in coastal British Columbia

Titus¹,

Prescott²,

Maynard³

et al. 2006

The Forestry Chronicle

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The MASS (Montane Alternative Silvicultural Systems) trial was established in the coastal mountains of British Columbia to compare clearcut, patch cut, green tree and shelterwood systems. A number of studies were carried out at the MASS trial to determine the extent to which these variable levels of stand retention retained old-growth attributes of N cycling and associated ecological processes. Harvesting led to increases in N mineralization in the forest floor (2ϫ) and mineral soil (10ϫ), and fluxes of N through the upper 25 cm of mineral soil (2ϫ to 3ϫ). However, fluxes of N were not large (< 0.35 kg ha -1 per growing season). Nitrogen mineralized was predominantly ammonium and not nitrate in the forest floor (> 95% in all but clearcut, > 75% in clearcut) and upper mineral soil horizon (42-86%). The nitrate component came from heterotrophic decomposition of organic matter, not conversion of ammonium to nitrate by autotrophs, and nitrate increases resulted from decreased gross nitrate consumption with harvesting, rather than increased nitrate production. The increases in soil N availability resulting from harvesting were reflected in only slight increases in seedling foliar N concentrations for two to four years after logging (peak of~ 2% for western hemlock and ~ 1.6% for amabilis fir) before decreasing to below deficiency thresholds for both species. Overall, estimated losses of N from the rooting zone after harvesting (1 kg ha -1 yr -1 ) were minimal in comparison to estimated N inputs (4 kg ha -1 yr -1 ), N exports in logs at harvesting (250 kg ha -1 ) and soil reserves (11 400 kg ha -1 ). Although unlikely to affect future site productivity, losses of N could be reduced somewhat through the use of shelterwood harvesting.

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“…The site is typical of the montane moist maritime variant of the Coastal Western Hemlock biogeoclimatic zone (CWHmm2). Further site details can be found in Arnott and Beese (1997).…”

Section: Site Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Silvicultural Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Post-harvest nitrogen cycling in clearcut and alternative silvicultural systems in a montane forest in coastal British Columbia

Titus¹,

Prescott²,

Maynard³

et al. 2006

The Forestry Chronicle

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“…Unfortunately, long-term silvicultural experiments in Canadian forests (e.g., Decie, 1957;Glew, 1963;Lees, 1964;Hughes, 1967) have rarely been followed for more than a decade or two due to changing priorities and funding problems. Many new long-term studies established in Canada and elsewhere are currently examining alternatives to conventional silviculture, or comparing and contrasting the effects of natural and human disturbances in forest ecosystems Arnott and Beese, 1997;Halpern and Raphael, 1999;Mitchell and Vyse, 1999;Veeman et al, 1999;McClellan et al, 2000). Results will take time to arrive and these experiments may also fade into history before long-term results are available.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of a spatially explicit individual-tree model (SORTIE/BC) to explore the implications of patchiness in structurally complex forests

Coates

Canham

Beaudet

et al. 2003

Forest Ecology and Management

135

120

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The discipline of silviculture is evolving rapidly, moving from an agricultural model that emphasized simple stand structures toward a natural disturbance-or ecosystem-based model where stands are managed for multiple species and complex structures. Predicting stand dynamics and future yields in mixed-species complex structured stands cannot be easily accomplished with traditional field experiments. We outline the development and structure of SORTIE/BC, a descendent of the SORTIE model. SORTIE/BC is a light-mediated, spatially explicit, mixed-species forest model that makes population dynamic forecasts for juvenile and adult trees. We use the model to simulate partial cutting prescriptions in temperate deciduous, boreal and temperate coniferous mixed-species forests. The species, amount and spatial pattern of canopy tree removal had a major influence on understory light environments. Low and uniform removal of canopy trees were less successful in favouring the growth and survival of regenerating trees of intermediate to shade intolerant species and the growth of retained canopy trees than patch removal. In the boreal mixedwood, strip-cutting can maintain mixed stands but careful attention must be paid to buffer and strip management to optimize stand growth. We conclude that SORTIE/BC can be very useful to explore and explain the silvicultural implications of complex silvicultural prescriptions for which there are no existing long-term experiments. #

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“…30% of the original stand basal area) were retained within each 9-ha treatment block. See Arnott and Beese (1997) for detailed descriptions of the silvicultural systems used at MASS. Regeneration plots were established within the central core (180 m × 90 m) of each 9-ha silvicultural system block (Fig.…”

Section: Experimental Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Above-ground biomass predicts growth limitation in amabilis fir and western hemlock seedlings

Mitchell¹,

Dunsworth²,

Bown³

et al. 2003

The Forestry Chronicle

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Conifer regeneration on clearcut montane sites is frequently affected by post-planting growth stagnation. The ability to predict such stagnation would be a valuable asset to forest managers. In this study, we tested the usefulness of above-ground biomass and photosynthetic efficiency (as estimated by foliar nitrogen concentration) in diagnosing growth limitations in western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) and amabilis fir (Abies amabilis). Seedlings were grown under different silvicultural systems (clearcut, patch cut, green tree retention and shelterwood) and post-planting treatments (fertilization, vegetation removal) at the Montane Alternative Silvicultural Systems (MASS) site on Vancouver Island, BC. Foliar nitrogen was found to be a poor predictor of height and stem volume growth. However, above-ground biomass predicted current height and stem volume (year 3 after planting), as well as future stem volume (year 7 after planting), in both species. Above-ground biomass therefore represents a useful measure of likely future growth performance, and may provide early warning of incipient growth stagnation in these species.Key words: amabilis fir, Abies amabilis, biomass, western hemlock, Tsuga heterophylla, growth limitation, photosynthetic capacity, biomass, seedling growth, regeneration La régénération résineuse sur les stations montagneuses coupées à blanc est fréquemment affectée de stagnation de la croissance post-plantation. La capacité de prédire une telle stagnation constituerait un actif important pour les aménagistes forestiers. Au cours de cette étude, nous avons testé l'utilité de la biomasse au-dessus du sol et l'efficience photosynthétique (estimé par la concentration foliaire en azote) pour établir un diagnostique d'entraves de la croissance pour la pruche de l'ouest (Tsuga heterophylla) et le sapin gracile (Abies amabilis). Les semis ont été plantés selon divers régimes sylvicoles (coupe à blanc, coupe par trouées, rétention d'arbres et coupe avec réserve de semenciers) et selon divers traitements post-plantation (fertilisation, coupe de la végétation) sur le site du Montane Alternative Silvicultural Systems (MASS) sur l'île de Vancouver en Colombie-Britannique. L'azote foliaire s'est révélé être un pauvre indicateur de la croissance en hauteur et en volume de la tige. Cependant, la biomasse au-dessus du sol a permis de prédire la hauteur actuelle et le volume de la tige (trois ans après la plantation), ainsi que le volume futur de la tige (7 ans après la plantation), pour les deux espèces. La biomasse au-dessus du sol représente donc une mesure utile de la performance probable de croissance future et pourrait constituer un signal précurseur du début de la stagnation en croissance de ces espèces.

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Alternatives to clearcutting in BC Coastal Montane Forests

Cited by 65 publications

References 2 publications

Post-harvest nitrogen cycling in clearcut and alternative silvicultural systems in a montane forest in coastal British Columbia

Post-harvest nitrogen cycling in clearcut and alternative silvicultural systems in a montane forest in coastal British Columbia

Use of a spatially explicit individual-tree model (SORTIE/BC) to explore the implications of patchiness in structurally complex forests

Above-ground biomass predicts growth limitation in amabilis fir and western hemlock seedlings

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