Following the appointment of the new Cabinet, the Forest Sector now reports to the ministère des Ressources naturelles et des Forêts, while the Wildlife and Parks Sectors report to the ministère de l'Environnement, de la Lutte aux changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs. Adjustments will be made to the website over time.

Back to publications

Commercial thinning to meet wood production objectives and develop structural heterogeneity: A case study in the spruce-fir forest, Québec, Canada

Summary

Published in Forests 6: 510-532. https://doi.org/10.3390/f6020510

We evaluated the effectiveness of commercial thinning mainly from below (CT; 0, 26%, 32% and 40% merchantable basal area removals) in meeting wood production demands and developing structural heterogeneity in a balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill) and spruce (Picea spp.) stand. After 10 years, 32%–40% removals showed a 12%–18% increase in mean diameter and 27%–38% increase in gross merchantable volume (GMV) per tree compared to the unthinned control. At the stand level, all thinning treatments generated as much cumulative GMV (harvested volume + GMV after 10 years) and gross sawlog volume per hectare as the unthinned control. As for stand structure, eight out of nine thinned experimental units showed increased structural heterogeneity after 10 years, i.e., irregular, positively-skewed diameter distribution with an elongated right tail toward larger trees. The diameter distribution in the unthinned control became more symmetric, unimodal and regular over time, with fewer saplings than at the beginning of the experiment and lower density of larger trees compared to CT. Regeneration density and stocking were abundant in all treatments, largely dominated by balsam fir. Results indicate that thinning can be used to meet wood production objectives and help develop structural heterogeneity in this forest.

Sector(s): 

Forests

Categorie(s): 

Scientific Article

Theme(s): 

Forestry Research, Forests, Silviculture

Departmental author(s): 

Barrette, Martin, Tremblay, Stéphane

Author(s)

GAUTHIER, Martin-Michel, Martin BARRETTE and Stéphane TREMBLAY

Year of publication :

2015

Format :

PDF available upon request

Keywords :

aménagement écosystémique, attributs de structure, coupes partielles, éclaircie commerciale, régénération, sylviculture et rendement des forêts naturelles - peuplements résineux, article scientifique de recherche forestière, silviculture and yield of natural forests - softwood stands, commercial thinning, forest ecosystem management, partial cuts, regeneration, spruce-fir, structural heterogeneity

Partagez