The diet of woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou Gmelin, 1788) in the boreal zone of North America is poorly understood. In large part this is because they occur at low densities in environments that are difficult to access. The only method available for identifying food requirements of wildlife has been histological examination of fecal samples, a technique that suffers from a number of serious limitations. Our study used fecal samples from 125 woodland caribou and animal-borne videos to address two questions: (1) How do the new technologies, video cameras and DNA barcoding, compare with conventional diet analyses of fecal pellets? and (2) Can these techniques be used to determine the diet of woodland caribou? Our results show that microhistology estimates provide an inaccurate approximation of diet; <15% correlation with either barcoding or video techniques. Taxonomic resolution of the histology estimates was very low. Taxonomic resolution to species found in fecal samples was good using video (42%) but better using DNA barcoding (94%). DNA barcoding and video technologies provided dietary data that were highly correlated (70%) among major groups of plants, with terrestrial lichens dominating the late winter through early spring diet. The high species resolution of DNA barcoding may be supplemented by information on habitat preference and degree of feeding selectivity obtained by video surveillance. These novel technologies may be important tools for identifying critical habitat requirements and associated conservation strategies needed for elusive wildlife species that are endangered.

Lichens are an important winter food source for woodland caribou ( Rangifer tarandus caribou ), but quantifying their abundance is difficult. Here, we present an efficient method for assessing lichen biomass at the stand level in boreal forests. We measured lichens occurring in high enough abundance to serve as a winter food source for woodland caribou in 51 boreal forest stands. Samples of each species or genus were collected from each stand and a mean abundance (cover) to biomass ratio was established. The method does not require samples to be collected or weighed, due to this predetermined relationship, and it also accounts for the variation in biomass among lichen species that are equally abundant. The variation in lichen growth between stands was assessed by means of five lichen abundance classes. The proposed method was tested in 34 stands with a wide range of ages and stem densities. The average time to complete a lichen biomass assessment was approximately 2 h. This method is an efficient and accurate tool that can assist forest managers and researchers with ecological studies on lichens or with monitoring changes in lichen biomass over time and with habitat assessments for organisms for which lichens are important, such as woodland caribou.

The Intensive Management Science Partnership: NEBIE Plot Network is a stand-scale, multi-agency research project designed to compare the ecological effects of a range of silvicultural treatments in northern temperate and boreal forest regions of Ontario. The NEBIE plot network was established in 2001 with randomized complete block experiments installed at eight sites. The NEBIE acronym stands for Natural disturbance, and Extensive, Basic, Intensive, and Elite silviculture. Each NEBIE treatment was replicated at least three times at each site, using large experimental units (2-ha plots).The NEBIE plot network provides researchers with an opportunity to conduct long-term scientific studies at multiple scales and disciplines. The operational-scale treatment plots allow assessment of a variety of forest values in a context directly relevant to informing forest planning and management. In this paper, we document the experimental design and describe the sites and silviculture treatments. Information about sampling designs is provided, along with preliminary results, in a companion paper published in this edition of The Forestry Chronicle.

The NEBIE plot network is a stand-scale, multi-agency research project designed to compare the ecological effects of a range of silvicultural treatments in northern temperate and boreal forest regions of Ontario, Canada. While research on silviculture intensities has been previously conducted, the NEBIE plot network is at a larger scale, and covers a wider range of intensities in a variety of northern temperate and boreal forest types. Details about experimental design, treatment designs and research sites, are presented in a companion paper which is published in this edition of The Forestry Chronicle. The operational scale of treatment plots allow for assessment of a variety of forest values. We used a criteria and indicator approach to organize long-term research studies on the network sites, with the goal of providing scientific findings that would inform forest policy. Pre-treatment, and 2-, 5-, and 10-year post-harvesting data have been collected. These initial data add to existing information on the effects of intensification of silviculture on biological diversity, forest productivity, ecosystem health and vitality, soil and water resources, contribution of enhanced forest management global carbon cycles, and long-term multiple socio-economic benefits of northern forests.Keywords: ecosystem services, forest research, silviculture, sustainable forest management RÉSUMÉ Le réseau de placettes NEBIE est un projet de recherche à l' échelle du peuplement regroupant plusieurs organismes et destiné à comparer les effets écologiques d'une gamme d'interventions sylvicoles dans les régions tempérée et boréale en Ontario au Canada. Même s'il y a déjà eu des travaux de recherche sur l'intensification de la sylviculture, le réseau de placettes NEBIE se situe à une bien plus grande échelle et se prête ainsi à expérimenter une plus vaste gamme d'intensités dans une variété de conditions dans les forêts tempérées et boréales. On trouvera plus de renseignements sur le plan expé-rimental, les traitements et les sites expérimentaux dans un autre article de ce numéro du The Forestry Chronicle. Le fait qu' on dispose de placettes à l' échelle opérationnelle permet d' évaluer une variété de valeurs forestières en même temps. Nous avons adopté une approche par critères et indicateurs pour disposer les sites expérimentaux à long terme sur les différentes stations du réseau en vue d' obtenir des résultats scientifiques qui puissent apporter des éclairages pour guider la politique forestière. On dispose maintenant de mesures prises avant les traitements puis 2, 5 et 10 ans après la récolte. Ces données de départ s'ajoutent à la documentation portant sur les effets de la sylviculture intensive sur la biodiversité, la productivité forestière, la santé et la vitalité des écosystèmes, les sols et les ressources en eau, la contribution de l'aménage-ment bonifié sur les cycles planétaires du carbone et les nombreux bienfaits socioéconomiques à long terme liés aux forêts nordiques.