Summary
Canadian Journal of Forest Research 00: 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfr-2024-0179
Background tree mortality can be defined as the death of trees that naturally occurs as stands develop, in the absence ofmajor or sudden stand disturbances. The phenomenon is often linked to ontogeny and competition and generally affects individual trees, unlike catastrophic mortality, which affects most trees in the stand. To forecast stand characteristics and to estimate how stand development could change in response to changing climate, it is necessary to quantify background mortality and to identify the most important factors involved. Using data from 10 045 permanent sample plots, we modeled background tree mortality for the nine most abundant tree species of the eastern Canadian boreal forest.We used explanatory variables related to stand and tree ontogeny, competition, site characteristics, and climate to calibrate the models. We found that an increase in age, competition, and the presence of partial cut increased the mortality risk. However, the effect of DBH and site-related variables varied among species. We also found that higher temperatures, less precipitation, and higher aridity index values increased background tree mortality. According to mortality simulations under different future climate scenarios, background tree mortality could increase in the next decades for six of the nine tree species studied.
File
Sector(s):
Forests
Categorie(s):
Scientific Article
Theme(s):
Forest Growth and Yield Modelling, Forestry Research, Forests
Departmental author(s):
Author(s)
POWER, Hugues, Isabelle AUGER, Marie-Claude LAMBERTA, Mathieu FORTIN and Mathieu BOUCHARD
Year of publication :
2025
Format :
Keywords :
Scientific article, mortality, climate change, boreal forest, background mortality, climate variables, forest growth and yield modelling, article scientifique, mortalité de fond, changements climatiques, mortalité, forêt boréale, variables climatiques, modélisation de la croissance et du rendement des forêts
