by Svetlana Savin | 9 May 2023
Published in Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 335(January): 109469. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2023.109469 
Total soil CO2 efflux (FCO2) is the second most important carbon flux after photosynthesis in boreal forests. However, accurate modelling of FCO2 remains challenging because of its high variability, both temporally and spatially. Using an Abies balsamea-dominated boreal landscape in Quebec (eastern Canada) as a case study, we modelled seasonal, intra-seasonal and spatial variability of FCO2 using climate variables and topographic and canopy structure attributes derived from Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and assessed their respective contributions to soil CO2 emissions. Weekly point measurements of FCO2 at 99 sites were taken over an area of 122 ha between June and October 2020. The seasonal component of FCO2 was quantified and subtracted from FCO2 measurements to isolate the spatial and intra-seasonal components of the flux. The two components were then modelled using a Random Forest Regression model and studied using accumulated local effect plots (ALE plots). Our approach explained 81% of the variation in FCO2: the seasonal pattern explained 36% of the variation in FCO2 measurements, while spatial and intra-seasonal patterns together explained 45%. The most important factors explaining spatial variation were vegetation height and the slope height. Average air temperature of the last two days before efflux measurements was the most important factor explaining intra-seasonal variation. The proposed methodology makes it possible to predict FCO2 from external factors derived from climate and remote sensing data and enables the decomposition of FCO2 into its seasonal, intra-seasonal and spatial components. Our results demonstrate the importance of spatial and intra-seasonal variations in FCO2 compared to seasonal variation, a finding that has implications for the measurement and modelling of FCO2 at landscape and global scales.
by Audrey Verreault | 8 May 2023
Published in Forests 14(4): 858. https://doi.org/10.3390/f14040858
The physical properties of peat substrates from eight tree nurseries were characterized to determine bulk density, air-filled porosity, saturated hydraulic conductivity, pore effectiveness, relative gas diffusivity and chemical properties. There were significant variations among nurseries both in growth of white spruce [Picea glauca (Moench) Voss] seedlings (1+0) and substrate properties. Shoot dry mass and root collar diameter were negatively correlated with air-filled porosity and saturated hydraulic conductivity, whereas root dry mass was positively correlated with bulk density. Seedling growth increased with increasing substrate bulk density up to ~0.11 g cm−3, above which value conditions may become limiting to plant performance. Our results suggest that there was no growth limitation due to restricted aeration (Ds D0−1 > 0.005 m2 s−1 m−2 s for all substrates except one) and that over-aeration reduced seedling growth under dry irrigation management.
by Audrey Verreault | 8 May 2023
Published in Frontiers in Forests and Global Change 6: 1146758. https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2023.1146758
Boreal lichen woodlands (LWs) are stable low tree-density zones of the Canadian boreal forest whose afforestation has been proposed as a way to create new C sinks and thus mitigate climate change. Planting operations in these remote areas are however costly and time-consuming, and may not be necessary when soil scarification is followed by dense natural regeneration. In the present study, we assessed the natural regeneration potential and dynamics in six boreal LWs of Québec, Canada, 11 years after soil scarification. The number, size (height and stem diameter) and age of seedlings were measured in 2-4 sampling plots per site (18 plots in total). Our data show that scarification operations produced on average 1,400 m2 ha–1 of exposed mineral soil (scarification intensity of 14%) with, however, a large within-site variability. The natural regeneration was mainly composed of black spruce seedlings (> 95%), averaged ∼12,000 seedlings ha–1 across the six sites and significantly varied among sites, mostly due to the variation in scarification intensity. Seedling density averaged ∼9 seedlings m–2 of exposed mineral soil and increased with seed tree mean diameter at breast height (DBH) (R2 = 0.51; P < 0.05) but not with the density of seed trees, revealing the importance of old and large seed trees in natural regeneration success. Together, scarification intensity and the DBH of remaining seed trees explained ∼60% of the variation in natural regeneration density across the 18 sampled plots. The rate of establishment of seedlings was generally high – with on average 60% of the carrying capacity of the substrate being reached within three years following scarification – and increased with seed tree mean DBH (R2 = 0.77; P < 0.05). However, the growth rate of seedlings was very low. Eleven years after scarification, 60% of the seedlings were < 15 cm and the height of 10-yr-old seedlings averaged 27.5 cm. Thus, even though seedling establishment was successful, the biomass accumulated by the natural regeneration was negligible in the span of a decade. Therefore, the implementation of afforestation following scarification appears to be necessary to create significant C sinks in the midterm.
by Audrey Verreault | 8 May 2023
Published in Forests 14(4): 802. http://doi.org/10.3390/f14040802
Despite new knowledge in recent years, our understanding of the phenology of wood formation for various species growing in different environments remains limited. To enhance our knowledge of the tree growth dynamics of boreal tree species, we investigated the average seasonal, monthly, daily, and diel patterns of tree growth and water status from 11 years of observations with the 15 min and 1.5 m resolved stem radial size variation data of 12 balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) trees growing in a cold and humid boreal environment. Growth only occurred above an air temperature threshold of 9–10 C, and the maximal growth rate over the year (23–24 June) was synchronous with the maximal day length (20–21 June) and not with the maximal air temperature, which occurred on average about 2 weeks later (4–5 July). Tree growth was mostly restricted by air temperature and solar radiation under these cold and wet boreal conditions, but our results also highlight a turgor-driven growth mechanism. Diel dynamics reveal that tree growth is minimal during the day when the stem dehydrates, and higher past midnight when the stem is fully rehydrated. This pattern suggests that carbon assimilation through photosynthesis occurs primarily during the day, while energy production and carbon allocation to woody tissues occur primarily at night via cellular respiration. Overall, our results show that the temporal patterns of the growth and water status of balsam fir growing in cold and humid boreal environments are controlled by a set of environmental factors that influence various physiological processes and mechanisms, many of which still need to be documented.
by Audrey Verreault | 8 May 2023
Published in Soil Systems 7(2): 39. https://doi.org/10.3390/soilsystems7020039
The use of forest biomass to produce energy is increasingly viewed as a means to reduce fossil fuel consumption and mitigate global warming. However, the impact of such practices on soils in the long term is not well known. We revisited forest plots that were subjected to either whole-tree (WTH, n = 86) or stem-only (SOH, n = 110) harvesting 30 years ago in the boreal forest in Quebec, Canada. The objective of the present study was to find soil properties that could explain the lower soil C and N stocks at the sites subjected to WTH compared to SOH after 30 years. Compared to SOH, lower soil C and N stocks attributable to WTH occurred when soil particle content <20 m was below 30%. The theoretical separation of soil organic matter into two fractions according to soil particle content <20 m—a recalcitrant and a labile fraction—could explain the observed pattern of soil C and N differences between WTH and SOH. Imperfect or poor soil drainage conditions were also associated with lower soil C and N in WTH compared to SOH. Limiting additional biomass harvesting from these sites would help to preserve soil C and N from potential losses
