Tree species selection revisited for plantations in the Interior Cedar Hemlock zone of southern British Columbia

Abstract

We provide results from two trials comparing performance of species of known provenance planted on logged sites in the southern Interior Cedar Hemlock biogeoclimatic zone of southern British Columbia 20 and 26 years after establishment. The commonly used plantation species, lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia), interior spruce (a naturally occurring hybrid between Picea glauca and P. engelmannii) and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca), survived as well as, but grew more slowly than, western larch (Larix occidentalis), western white pine (Pinus monticola) and ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa), and faster than western redcedar (Thuja plicata). Site index values were generally higher than published values for similar sites. Numerous pests affected all species in the trials. Mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) caused heavy mortality in lodgepole pine in part of one trial, and Armillaria root disease caused widespread damage to western larch and Douglas-fir in the other trial. Western white pine from local seed sources were severely damaged by white pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola) in both trials but a rust-resistant seed source used in one trial survived better. Frost damage reduced survival and growth of Douglas-fir in one trial and may have affected western white pine. Survival of two planted broadleaves (Betula papyrifera) and a hybrid of black cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa) and black poplar (Populus nigra) was severely reduced by drought. The results support ongoing efforts to broaden the number of species used in British Columbia reforestation programs.Keywords: plantations, species selection, survival, growth and yield, pest damage résumé Nous présentons les résultats de deux essais comparant la performance des espèces de provenance connue plantées sur des parterres de coupe situés dans le sud de la zone biogéoclimatique Interior Cedar Hemlock (Thuya pruche de l'intérieur) dans le sud de la Colombie-Britannique 20 et 26 ans après leur création. Les espèces plantées courantes, soit le pin tordu (Pinus contorta var. latifolia), l' épinette de l'intérieur (un hybride naturel entre Picea glauca et P. engelmannii) et le sapin de Douglas (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca), ont eu le même taux de survie, mais une croissance plus lente que le mélèze de l'Ouest (Larix occidentalis), le pin argenté (Pinus monticola) et le pin ponderosa (Pinus ponderosa), et plus rapide que le thuya géant (Thuja plicata). Les valeurs de l'indice de station étaient généralement plus élevées que les valeurs publiées pour des sites similaires. De nombreux ravageurs ont affligé toutes les espèces dans ces essais. Le dendroctone du pin ponderosa (Dendroctonus ponderosae) a provoqué une forte mortalité dans les pins tordus dans un des deux essais, et le pourridié agaric causé des dommages considérables au mélèze de l'Ouest et au sapin de Douglas dans l'autre essai. Le pin argenté obtenu à partir de sources de semences locales a été gravement endommagé par la rouille vésiculeuse (Cronartium rib...

Symptom development and mortality rates caused by Armillaria ostoyae in juvenile mixed conifer stands in British Columbia’s southern interior region

“…Such effective resistance responses in western redcedar at the root level probably contribute to low mortality in western redcedar compared to other common conifers when growing in mixed stands. In a 20‐year‐old species trial in the ICH southern interior, Vyse et al (2013) reported mortality in Douglas‐fir and western larch was 7 and 10 times greater, respectively, than in western redcedar. Furthermore, results from a long‐term stumping trial showed mortality in western redcedar to be significantly lower than other planted conifers such as Douglas‐fir and western larch (Cleary et al, 2013; Cruickshank et al, 2018; Morrison et al, 2014).…”

“…shows considerable resistance to the fungus, but only after it reaches about 20–25 years of age (Robinson & Morrison, 2001). However, in young regenerating stands, mortality in western larch can be extremely high, exceeding that observed in Douglas‐fir (Vyse et al, 2013).…”

“…Cumulative mortality in juvenile stands can be as much as 20% by age 20 years (Morrison & Pellow, 1994;Vyse et al, 2013), and numerous small disease centres may coalesce to form unstocked or understocked openings in the stand.Few options are available to mitigate potential losses due to Armillaria root disease. Mechanical removal of stumps is an effective means to reduce the amount of Armillaria inoculum and woody substrates that would otherwise be available to the fungus, which minimizes the extent of Armillaria-caused mortality in the regenerating stand (Cleary et al, 2013;Morrison et al, 2014). A less intrusive option is to regenerate tree species that are killed less frequently by A. ostoyae.…”

Latest advances and future perspectives inArmillariaresearch

“…Variations in quantitative resistance to Armillaria species have been investigated both among (e.g. Ferguson et al 2003;Baumgartner et al 2011;Vyse et al 2013), and within (e.g. Baumgartner & Rizzo 2006;Solla et al 2011;Cruickshank & Jaquish 2014) host species.…”

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“…Environmental services of trees are no doubt having unquantifiable global notability benefits but the choice of many trees may limit their potential. The pressing need of trees for environmental quality restoration and improvement is a global goal, and good candidate character is in its highly adaptability and resistance to degrading agents [2,3]. Triplochiton scleroxylon (Family: Sterculiaceae) also known as obeche and Arere in Yoruba land and few indigenous trees like Delonix regia and Khaya spp.…”