Canopy openings created by partial cutting increase growth rates and maintain the cover of three Cladonia species in the Canadian boreal forest

Boudreault, Catherine; Zouaoui, Saliha; Drapeau, Pierre; Bergeron, Yves; Stevenson, Susan K.

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2013.05.043

Cited by 33 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…The association between C. stellaris and late successional forests [51,52] has previously been explained by the low growth rate of this species compared with the other caribou lichen species studied [53]. However, as den Herder et al [54] found in Finland, higher growth rates for C stellaris compared with C. mitis and C. rangiferina were previously found in our study area, including in dense forest stands where the abundance of C. stellaris is naturally relatively low [55]. Thus, it is unlikely that the association between C. stellaris and older forests in this study can be attributed to a lower growth rate for this species.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 56%

Influence of Time since Fire and Micro-Habitat Availability on Terricolous Lichen Communities in Black Spruce (Picea mariana) Boreal Forests

Zouaoui

Boudreault

Drapeau

et al. 2014

Forests

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Abstract:Terricolous lichens are an important component of boreal forest ecosystems, both in terms of function and diversity. In this study, we examined the relative contribution of microhabitat characteristics and time elapsed since the last fire in shaping terricolous lichen assemblages in boreal forests that are frequently affected by severe stand-replacing fires. We sampled 12 stands distributed across five age classes (from 43 to >200 years). In each stand, species cover (%) of all terricolous lichen species and species richness were evaluated within 30 microplots of 1 m 2 . Our results show that time elapsed since the last fire was the factor that contributed the most to explaining terricolous lichen abundance and species composition, and that lichen cover showed a quadratic relationship with stand age. Habitat variables such as soil characteristics were also important in explaining lichen richness. These results suggest that the presence of suitable substrates is not sufficient for the conservation of late-successional terricolous lichen communities in this ecosystem, and that they also need relatively long periods of times for species dispersal and establishment. OPEN ACCESSForests 2014, 5 2794

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 56%

Influence of Time since Fire and Micro-Habitat Availability on Terricolous Lichen Communities in Black Spruce (Picea mariana) Boreal Forests

Zouaoui

Boudreault

Drapeau

et al. 2014

Forests

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“…Also the landscape structure ) and the structure of forest stands affect reindeer's pasture preferences and ground vegetation (Helle et al 1983;Matila and Kubin 1998;Kumpula et al 2007;Boudreault et al 2013). In the present study, stand development class and canopy cover (i.e.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 58%

Effects of reindeer grazing and forestry on ground lichens in Finnish Lapland

Akujärvi¹,

Hallikainen²,

Hyppönen³

et al. 2014

Silva Fenn.

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Akujärvi A., Hallikainen V., Hyppönen M., Mattila E., Mikkola K., Rautio P. (2014). Effects of reindeer grazing and forestry on ground lichens in Finnish Lapland. Silva Fennica vol. 48 no. 3 article id 1153. 18 p. Highlights• Both reindeer grazing and forestry affect the cover and biomass of reindeer lichens.• Reindeer grazing has bigger impact than forestry.• The lichen cover was about five-fold and the biomass about fifteen-fold in the ungrazed (fenced) sites than in the grazed ones.• The decrease of not only the biomass, but also the cover of lichens, is alarming. AbstractReindeer husbandry and forestry are practiced in the same areas in northern Fennoscandia. Reindeer pastures have largely deteriorated. We aimed to quantify the separate and combined effects of reindeer grazing and forestry on the amount of ground lichens. To do this, we mapped and inventoried all larger enclosures (49) in Finnish Lapland where forest management practices were similar in both sides of the fence. The average time since fencing was 43 years. We recorded the cover and estimated dry biomass of ground lichens, as well as parameters describing forest stand characteristics. The effect of reindeer grazing on both the cover and estimated dry biomass of lichens was clear: in the ungrazed (fenced) sites, the lichen cover (35.8%) was on average 5.3-fold and the dry biomass (1929 kg ha -1 ) 14.8-fold compared with the corresponding estimates in the grazed sites (6.8% and 130 kg ha -1 ). The effect of forestry on lichens was smaller. In the grazed stands the cover and biomass of lichens were higher in the mature stands compared to the younger stand development classes, whereas in the ungrazed stands there were no significant differences between the development classes. Both reindeer grazing and forestry affect the cover and biomass of ground lichens. The influence of reindeer grazing is, however, much heavier than that of forestry. The decrease of not only the biomass, but also the lichen cover, is alarming. The decrease of lichen cover may hinder the recovery of reindeer pastures, which in the long run endangers the sustainability of reindeer husbandry.

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“…This increase was mainly caused by a higher richness of common macrolichens, such as Cladonia spp. (III, IV), which may have benefited from the higher light levels that resulted from canopy openings (Boudreault et al, 2013). Furthermore, fire intensity was lower on the controls compared to the harvested sites, as the control sites lacked easily flammable logging residues.…”

Section: Impact Of Prescribed Burning On Epiphytic Lichensmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, lichen morphology is regarded as important in determining their ability to survive in open sites (Jairus et al, 2009). High light levels can be harmful for microlichens, especially those that lack a protective cortex (Hedenås and Hedström, 2007;Jairus et al, 2009), while certain foliose macrolichens may, on the contrary, benefit from the increased light (Sillett et al, 2000a;Gauslaa et al, 2006) or from higher precipitation at ground level after harvest (Boudreault et al, 2013).…”

Section: Retention Treesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Retention forestry and intensified biomass harvest: epiphytic lichen assemblages under opposing ecological effects in pine-dominated boreal forests

Hämäläinen¹

2016

Diss. For.

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Intensive forestry has led to changes in the structure and function of boreal forests and to the endangerment of forest-dwelling species. Different management methods, such as retention forestry, have been developed to counter the negative biodiversity impacts, although forest use has intensified at the same time: for example, stumps and logging residues are commonly harvested for biofuel. This thesis examines the potential impacts of biofuel harvest, retention forestry and prescribed burning on epiphytic lichen assemblages in pine-dominated boreal forests. In addition, post-harvest dynamics of retention trees were studied to assess their capacity to support species diversity in the early successional forests. The study is based on a large, empirical dataset collected in eastern Finland from 24 study sites that were treated experimentally with a combination of retention harvest and prescribed burning, and, additionally, from 13 sites that represent different stages of forest succession.The results show that retention forestry has the potential to maintain pre-harvest legacies and support high lichen diversity on harvested sites: 85 lichen species, including Red-Listed species and dead wood specialists, were recorded on retained Scots pines (Pinus sylvestris L.) or their dead wood legacies 11 years post-harvest. However, the outcome of retention forestry is affected by post-harvest mortality rates and the fall patterns of the retained trees, which in turn differ depending on the retention tree volume, possible application of prescribed burning, and tree-level factors.Prescribed burning of harvested sites increased retention tree mortality rates and decreased epiphytic lichen richness 11-12 years post-fire. However, in combination with high retention volumes, burning created more diverse dead wood habitats than retention forestry alone. Thus, despite the initial negative effect, the application of prescribed burning on part of the harvested sites could eventually increase lichen diversity at the landscape scale.Scots pine stumps on harvested sites hosted 83 lichen species, and may be a valuable habitat resource for wood-dwelling lichens if dead wood volumes in the landscape are otherwise low. Therefore, large-scale stump harvest may decrease lichen diversity. Instead, fine woody debris was found to be a less valuable substrate for epiphytic lichens and could be harvested for biofuel without notable effects on lichen populations.This study shows that retention forestry can be used to enhance lichen species richness in managed forests, while stump harvest has the opposite effect by reducing lichens' habitats. Prescribed burning decreases lichen species richness at the stand scale but may enhance it at the landscape scale, provided that burning is avoided on the most valuable, lichen-rich stands.

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Canopy openings created by partial cutting increase growth rates and maintain the cover of three Cladonia species in the Canadian boreal forest

Cited by 33 publications

References 39 publications

Influence of Time since Fire and Micro-Habitat Availability on Terricolous Lichen Communities in Black Spruce (Picea mariana) Boreal Forests

Influence of Time since Fire and Micro-Habitat Availability on Terricolous Lichen Communities in Black Spruce (Picea mariana) Boreal Forests

Effects of reindeer grazing and forestry on ground lichens in Finnish Lapland

Retention forestry and intensified biomass harvest: epiphytic lichen assemblages under opposing ecological effects in pine-dominated boreal forests

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