by Marie-Claude Boileau | 27 April 2020
Published in Soil Science Society of America Journal 78(S1): S196-S207. doi: 10.2136/ssaj2013.08.0373nafsc
While post-harvest residue (“slash”) is increasingly viewed as a source of biofuel, few studies have considered the potential ecological impact of the spatial distribution of forest harvest residue. We hypothesized that slash pilescreate islands of high soil fertility and light, leading to greater abundance, growth, and reproduction of plants. In 6-yr-old intensively managed hybrid poplar (Populus balsamifera L. ´ P. maximowiczii A. Henry) plantations, we showed that soluble organic N, NO3–N, NH4–N, and P decreased as a negative exponential function with distance from the pile. Pin cherry (Prunus pensylvanica L. f.) relative growth rate was fastest near piles in the first few years after harvest. We found significantly greater stem size, flowers per plant, and foliar P near piles for cherry, and this inverse gradient sharpened in a 16-yr-old white spruce [Picea glauca (Moench) Voss] plantation. For the two other flowering species, strawberry (Fragaria virginiana Mill.) and raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.), flower and fruit abundance were also significantly and strongly negatively correlated with distance to the pile. Further, directly correlating soil nutrient availability with plant traits, we found significant positive relationships between plant growth, reproductive output, and N availability. Partial correlation analysis indicated that more of the variance in plant traits was explained by distance than by soil nutrition. We conclude that in industrial forests, piles replace canopy gaps as sites where understory plant species can episodically reproduce and are therefore important for many plant species as well as the pollinators and frugivores dependent on them.
by Marie-Claude Boileau | 23 April 2020
Publisher in Remote Sensing 11(23): 2745. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11232745
Satellite remote sensing is a widely accessible tool to investigate the spatiotemporal variations in the bud phenology of evergreen species, which show limited seasonal changes in canopy greenness. However, there is a need for precise and compatible data to compare remote sensing time series with field observations. In this study, fortnightly MODIS-NDVI was fitted using double-logistic functions and calibrated using ordinal logit models with the sequential phases of bud phenology collected during 2015, 2017 and 2018 in a black spruce stand. Bud break and bud set were spatialized for the period 2009–2018 across 5000 stands in Quebec, Canada. The first phase of bud break and the last phase of bud set were observed in the field in mid-May and at the beginning of September, when NDVI was 80.5% and 92.2% of its maximum amplitude, respectively. The NDVI rate of change was estimated at 0.07 in spring and 0.04 in autumn. When spatialized on the black spruce stands, bud break was detected earlier in the southwestern regions (April–May), and later in the northeastern regions (mid to end of June). No clear trend was observed for bud set, with different patterns being detected among the years. Overall, the process bud break and bud set lasted 51 and 87 days, respectively. Our results demonstrate the potential of satellite remote sensing for providing reliable timings of bud phenological events using calibrated NDVI time series on wide regions that are remote or with limited access.
by Marie-Claude Boileau | 23 April 2020
Published in FACETS 5(1): 166-181.
Sustainable forest management implies successful regeneration after disturbances. Low N availability and competition can, however, limit tree establishment in boreal ecosystems. To develop silviculture strategies that maintain productivity in such context, we established a field trial in northern Québec, Canada. We evaluated if a companion N2-fixing species (Alnus alnobetula) promotes or hinders Picea mariana and Pinus banksiana establishment over six growing seasons. We tested if Alnus has a facilitation effect through nutritional processes and a competition effect through light interception. Foliar stable nitrogen isotope ratio (δ15N=15N/14N, ‰) results confirmed that Alnus obtains a substantial part of its N through biological fixation and represents an N source in this system. Although we did not observe increased foliar N concentrations in either conifer species in the presence of Alnus, Pinus growth was nonetheless higher in presence of Alnus, whereas no difference was observed for Picea. In the plots where Alnus cohabited with the conifers, the former had a negative impact on seedling growth, suggesting a significant competition for light. Overall, the net effect of Alnus was positive for Pinus and neutral for Picea. Our results have significant implications for silviculture in N-limited systems, especially in the context of climate change that imposes increased levels of stress on regeneration.
by Audrey Verreault | 17 April 2020
Published in Forests 7(9): 205. doi:10.3390/f7090205
This study presents the long-term (over the last 8000 years) natural variability of a portion of the Picea mariana-moss bioclimatic domain belonging to Québec’s Clay Belt. The landscapes are dominated by mesic-subhydric clay and early successional forests composed of Populus tremuloides, Pinus banksiana and Picea mariana. The natural variability (fires and vegetation) of one of these landscapes was reconstructed by means of pollen and macroscopic charcoal analysis of sedimentary archives from two peatlands in order to assess when and how such landscapes were formed. Following an initial afforestation period dominated by Picea (8000–6800 cal. Years BP), small and low-severity fires favored the development and maintenance of landscapes dominated by Picea and Abies balsamea during a long period (6800–1000 BP). Over the last 1000 years, fires have become more severe and covered a larger area. These fires initiated a recurrence dynamic of early successional stands maintained until today. A decline of Abies balsamea has occurred over the last centuries, while the pollen representation of Pinus banksiana has recently reached its highest abundance.
We hypothesize that the fire regime of the last millennium could characterize Québec’s Clay Belt belonging to the western Picea mariana-moss and Abies balsamea–Betula papyrifera domains.
by Marie-Claude Boileau | 17 April 2020
Published in Ecosphere 7(10): e01488. doi: 10.1002/ecs2.1488
Heavy browsing pressure from large ungulates is a multicontinent phenomenon that causes regeneration failure of many palatable tree species and induces important socioeconomic and ecological impacts in forest ecosystems. The development of forest management practices that address adequately this issue, however, remains scarce and challenging because (1) large herbivores are both a resource and a source of disturbance; (2) the management of forests and ungulate populations remains largely disconnected in practice; and (3) we still lack a good understanding of the role of critical factors, especially deer densities, vegetation attributes, and their interactions, on the magnitude of browsing damages on forest regeneration. We bring new insights into these challenging issues by critically reviewing the current methods used by managers and conservationists to mitigate deer impacts on forest regeneration, emphasizing the spatial scale at which these methods are undertaken. Specifically, we review management actions at multiple scales on both deer populations (e.g., hunting) and vegetation (e.g., silvicultural treatments) that are common to most deer–forest systems and, for that reason, deserve priority investigation. We identify strengths and limitations of current management actions and highlight the main research gaps. Based on this review, we propose a new integrated management scheme that explicitly addresses: (1) the integration and prioritization of management actions, (2) the development of adaptive management plans, and (3) the participation of stakeholders. Conflicting demands by different stakeholders have challenged the effectiveness of management strategies in deer–forest systems. To reverse this situation, we advocate for a shift of paradigm and the development of integrated strategies that (1) bridge the gap between management actions and the design of in situ experiments and (2) coordinate actions at multiple spatial scales on both deer populations and forests. We propose a new framework informed by key objectives and grounded in the adaptive management paradigm to support this transition, and suggest a research agenda for the next decade(s).
