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Quantifying the probability of decline in quality: implications for selection management in northern hardwood forests

Summary

Published in Forests 14: 280. https://doi.org/10.3390/f14020280

Northern hardwoods are susceptible to a wide range of defects that can reduce the amount of sound wood with desirable qualities, such as the clear sapwood of sugar maple trees. Yet, the rate at which trees decline in quality due to the development of such defects has never been quantified in northern hardwood forests due to a dearth of repeat inventories that record the appearance of defects over time. As a result, it remains uncertain whether, and how, selection management reduces the probability of decline in quality. In this study, we quantify the rate at which trees decline in quality due to the development of defects, and we test several hypotheses regarding the influence of selection management on quality. Our results show that (1) the probability of decline in quality increases as trees grow larger; (2) crown dieback also increases the probability of decline in quality; (3) the probability of decline in quality is slightly lower in managed stands than in unmanaged stands, and (4) the probability of decline in quality increases with the mean annual temperature of the site. Finally, we combined our estimates of the probability of decline in quality with previous estimates of the probability of mortality to assess the overall risk associated with retaining trees of different species, sizes, and vigour profiles. The resulting metric can inform efforts to improve the management of northern hardwood forests by providing an integrated estimate of the risk that the value of a tree will be reduced, or eliminated, due to mortality or decline in quality.

Sector(s): 

Forests

Categorie(s): 

Scientific Article

Theme(s): 

Forestry Research, Forests, Silviculture

Departmental author(s): 

Bédard, Steve, Guillemette, François

Author(s)

MOREAU, Guillaume, Malcolm J.L. CECIL-COCKWELL, Alexis ACHIM, Steve BÉDARD, François GUILLEMETTE and John CASPERSEN

Year of publication :

2023

Format :

PDF

Keywords :

article scientifique, scientific article, sylviculture et rendement des forêts naturelles – peuplements de feuillus, silviculture and yield of natural forests - hardwood stands, coupe de jardinage, érable à sucre, bouleau jaune, qualité, selection cutting, sugar maple, yellow birch, stem quality

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