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

Planting density and mechanical site preparation effects on understory composition, functional diversity and planted black spruce growth in boreal forests

Summary

Published in Silva Fennica 58(2): 2309. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.23029

Mechanical site preparation (MSP) is used prior to planting to control competing vegetation and enhance soil conditions, particularly in areas prone to paludification. Tree planting density can be adapted to the management context and objectives, as it influences yield and wood quality. However, the combined effects of MSP and planting density on understory vegetation composition, functional traits, and diversity remain uncertain. We thus conducted a study in the Clay Belt region of northwestern Quebec, Canada. After careful logging, the study area was divided into nine sites, each receiving one of three treatments: plowing, disc trenching, or no preparation. Sites were further divided into two, with black spruce (Picea mariana [Mill.] Britton, Sterns & Poggenb.) seedlings planted at either a low planting density of 1100 seedlings ha–1 or a high planting density of 2500 seedlings ha–1. After nine years, we assessed understory composition, diversity, key functional traits, sapling density and growth of planted trees. Careful logging alone led to a higher density of naturally established conifers compared to plowing or disc trenching. The interaction between planting density and MSP significantly influenced understory diversity and composition in plowed plots. Understory composition was affected by the soil C/N ratio, coniferous species, and deciduous species density. The growth of black spruce was notably enhanced with higher planting density in the plow treatment only. Neither planting density nor MSP alone affected tree height and diameter. Our results suggest that combining plowing with high-density planting can enhance stand growth and improve forest productivity. These findings guide future research on paludified forests.

Sector(s): 

Forests

Categorie(s): 

Scientific Article

Theme(s): 

Forest Ecology, Forestry Research, Forests, Silviculture

Departmental author(s): 

Barrette, Martin

Author(s)

FETOUAB, Amira, Nicole J. FENTON, Nelson THIFFAULT and Martin BARRETTE

Year of publication :

2024

Format :

PDF available upon request

ISSN

2242-4075

Keywords :

Écologie des communauté, écologie fonctionelle, paludification, établissement de plantation, reforestation, sylviculture, article scientifique, scientific article, sylviculture et rendement des plantations, silviculture and yield of plantations, community ecology, functional ecology, paludification, plantation establishment, reforestation, silviculture

Partagez