by Audrey Verreault | 25 July 2024
Published in The Leaflet – Northen Hardwood Research Institute – NHRI 6(2) p. 11-16
Little known until recently in North America, the practice of irregular shelterwood system (ISS) is gaining popularity, because it meets the management needs of natural stands with an irregular structure, i.e., stands that are neither even-aged nor balanced uneven-aged. In Québec for example, research by the Direction de la recherche forestière (DRF) of the ministère des Ressources naturelles et des Forêts has led to application guidelines for the main forest types published in 2013 in the provincial silvicultural guide. Since then, some 20,000 ha of public forests have been treated in this way every year, particularly to meet ecosystem management objectives. Given its ability to promote stand structural and compositional complexity, this silvicultural system could prove to be an asset in promoting resilience in the face of global change.
by Audrey Verreault | 5 July 2024
Published in Science of The Total Environment 946: 174387. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.174387
Northern temperate and boreal forests are large biomes playing crucial ecological and environmental roles, such as carbon sequestration. Despite being generally remote, these forests were exposed to anthropogenic nitrogen (N) deposition over the last two centuries and may still experience elevated N deposition as human activities expand towards high latitudes. However, the impacts of long-term high N deposition on these N-limited forest ecosystems remain unclear. For 18 years, we simulated N deposition by chronically adding ammonium nitrate at rates of 3 (LN treatment) and 10 (HN treatment) times the ambient N deposition estimated at the beginning of the experiment at a temperate sugar maple and a boreal balsam fir forest site, both located in northeastern America. LN and HN treatments corresponded respectively to addition of 26 kgN⋅ha-1⋅yr-1 and 85 kgN⋅ha-1⋅yr-1 at the temperate site and 17 kgN⋅ha-1⋅yr-1 and 57 kgN⋅ha-1⋅yr-1 at the boreal site. Between 2002 and 2018, soil solution was collected weekly during summer and concentrations of NO3– , NH4+, Ca2+ and pH were measured, totalling ~12,700–13,500 observations per variable on the study period. N treatments caused soil solution NO3–, NH4+ and Ca2+ concentrations to increase while reducing its pH. However, ion responses manifested through punctual high concentration events (predominantly on the HN plots) that were very rare and leached N quantity was extremely low at both sites. Therefore, N addition corresponding to 54 years (LN treatment) and 180 years (HN treatment) of accelerated ambient N deposition had overall small impacts on soil solution chemistry. Our results indicate an important N retention of northeastern American forests and an unexpected strong resilience of their soil solution chemistry to long-term simulated N deposition, potentially explained by the widespread N-limitation in high latitude ecosystems. This finding can help predict the future productivity of N-limited forests and improve forest management strategies in northeastern America.
by Audrey Verreault | 3 July 2024
Published in Journal of Ecology 00: 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.14350
1. Tree functional diversity can increase forest productivity by enhancing species interactions and providing greater growth stability. However, very few studies have examined the influence of tree community trait structure on survivor growth, recruitment and mortality simultaneously, which are the main drivers of forest population dynamics.
2. Here, we explore the interactions among functional diversity, productivity and climate to investigate the role of the trait structure of communities on forest productivity and to determine under what circumstances functional diversity should be promoted to ensure forest adaptive capacity under future climate.
3. Using random-forest modelling and a network of permanent sample plots covering a broad gradient of climatic conditions, we isolated the effects of functional diversity— described as the distribution of trait values in a community—and climate variables on net forest productivity (NFP), survivor growth, recruitment and mortality.
4. Based on our findings, community-level trait structure affects forest productivity in different ways. NFP was influenced by three traits from three different plant strategy dimensions, whereas survivor growth and recruitment were strongly correlated with leaf and resource acquisition traits, and tree mortality with a mix of traits reflecting various plant strategies.
5. We also observed climate interactions with the functional trait structure of tree communities. For instance, we observed an interaction between drought tolerance and mean annual temperature: At low temperatures, NFP biomass accumulation increased with the value of the drought tolerance trait; however, at higher temperatures, the opposite pattern was observed. However, we found contrasting patterns of population response to climate variability, depending on their functional diversity. Greater functional diversity does not necessarily increase biomass accumulation under different climatic conditions.
6. Synthesis. As all components of forest productivity contribute to NFP, studies on forest productivity should consider not only survivor growth but also recruitment and mortality. Each component responds differently in terms of biomass changes in climatic variation, according to the trait structure of tree communities. This study provides a framework to identify the trait structure that should be targeted under different climate scenarios to anticipate change and help strengthen forest response capacity to climate change.
by Audrey Verreault | 3 July 2024
Published in Forest Ecology and Management 566: 122084. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2024.122084
Clear-cutting is used by foresters worldwide to harvest timber from forest ecosystems. Clear-cutting of cool–wet boreal forests in late successional stages can maintain successional trajectories pointed toward the composition of a late successional stages. However, clear-cutting of warm–dry boreal forests in late successional stages can trigger reversion of successional trajectories back toward forests of earlier stages because early-successional shade-intolerant species are more abundant than in cool–wet boreal forests, a process that is referred to as a successional setback. Such successional setbacks can generate sustainability issues by extending the expected time to compositional recovery after clear-cutting. This can lead to an overestimation of allowable cuts of economically important late-successional species and subsequently to a temporary forest composition conversion if the occurrence of successional setbacks remains unassessed. Temperate forests in late successional stages are warmer and drier than boreal forests and consequently include more early-successional shade-intolerant species susceptible to encroach clear-cut areas. Even if current ecological knowledge suggests that temperate forests could be susceptible to post-clearcut successional setbacks, a comprehensive assessment has yet to be undertaken. The objective of the present study was to assess whether clear-cutting has triggered successional setbacks in temperate forests. Therefore, we studied post-clearcut successional trajectories by using forest inventory data covering the entire temperate forest of the province of Qu´ebec, eastern Canada (209 000 km2). Clear-cutting triggered successional setbacks in both ecological regions forming the temperate forest. After clear-cutting, successional trajectories of trees pointed toward the composition of an early successional stage. To address this sustainable management issue in a comprehensive manner with clear-cutting, foresters could use partial cut approaches.
by Audrey Verreault | 30 April 2024
Published in Evolutionary Applications 17(4): e13689. https://doi.org/10.1111/eva.13689
Arctic and subarctic ecosystems are rapidly transforming due to global warming, emphasizing the need to understand the genetic diversity and adaptive strategies of northern plant species for effective conservation. This study focuses on Betula glandulosa, a native North American tundra shrub known as dwarf birch, which demonstrates an apparent capacity to adapt to changing climate conditions. To address the taxonomic challenges associated with shrub birches and logistical complexities of sampling in the northernmost areas where species’ ranges overlap, we adopted a multicriteria approach. Incorporating molecular data, ploidy level assessment and leaf morphology, we aimed to distinguish B. glandulosa individuals from other shrub birch species sampled. Our results revealed three distinct species and their hybrids within the 537 collected samples, suggesting the existence of a shrub birch syngameon, a reproductive network of interconnected species. Additionally, we identified two discrete genetic clusters within the core species, B. glandulosa, that likely correspond to two different glacial lineages. A comparison between the nuclear and chloroplast SNP data emphasizes a long history of gene exchange between different birch species and genetic clusters. Furthermore, our results highlight the significance of incorporating interfertile congeneric species in conservation strategies and underscores the need for a holistic approach to conservation in the context of climate change, considering the complex dynamics of species interactions. While further research will be needed to describe this shrub birches syngameon and its constituents, this study is a first step in recognizing its existence and disseminating awareness among ecologists and conservation practitioners. This biological phenomenon, which offers evolutionary flexibility and resilience beyond what its constituent species can achieve individually, may have significant ecological implications.
