Prescribed burning after clearcut limits paludification in black spruce boreal forest

Renard, Sébastien M.; Gauthier, Sylvie; Fenton, Nicole J.; Lafleur, Benoît; Bergeron, Yves

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2015.09.037

Cited by 43 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…While some studies have focused on natural disturbances (Carcaillet et al 2001;Bergeron et al 2004) and stand dynamics (Harper et al 2003;Gauthier et al 2004;Lecomte et al 2006a), others sought to contrast the effects of silvicultural treatments with those of natural disturbances (Nguyen-Xuan et al 2000;Bescond et al 2011;Simard et al 2001;Arseneault et al 2012;Lafleur et al 2010bRenard et al 2016).…”

Section: Black Spruce Forests As Shaped By Natural Disturbances Naturmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Over the past decade, several studies have compared the effects of logging and fire on soil properties, tree growth, stand productivity, and understory vegetation in the northern Clay Belt (Nguyen-Xuan et al 2000; Simard et al 2001;Fenton and Bergeron 2007;Fenton et al 2009;Lafleur et al 2010bRenard et al 2016). More specifically, these studies compared several logging methods (i.e.…”

Section: How Do Natural and Managed Black Spruce Forests Differ?mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ecosystem management in paludified boreal forests: enhancing wood production, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration at the landscape level

Lafleur¹,

Fenton²,

Simard³

et al. 2018

For. Ecosyst.

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Canada's boreal forest represents an important contributor of the world's wood supply industry. However, maintaining or increasing productivity of the boreal forest may be challenging in areas dominated by forested peatlands. Moreover, sustainable management of these forests must also consider other important aspects of the forest ecosystem such as biodiversity and carbon sequestration. To address these concerns, ecosystem-based management has been implemented in some Canadian jurisdictions, such as in regions where a large portion of the boreal forest is dominated by forested peatlands. The objectives of this paper are (1) to summarize our current understanding of how natural disturbances influence stand dynamics and biodiversity in forested peatlands, and (2) to review the main differences between natural and managed forest stands with respect to soil properties, stand productivity, understory plant communities. We also discuss how even-age management regime succeeds or fails to preserve old forests and how this loss affects both forest structure and habitat diversity at the landscape level. We conclude by showing how, in boreal forested peatlands, forest management could contribute to carbon sequestration and mitigate projected climate change.

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Section: Black Spruce Forests As Shaped By Natural Disturbances Naturmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: How Do Natural and Managed Black Spruce Forests Differ?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecosystem management in paludified boreal forests: enhancing wood production, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration at the landscape level

Lafleur¹,

Fenton²,

Simard³

et al. 2018

For. Ecosyst.

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“…Prescribed burning occurs in many peatland ecosystems worldwide including areas of North America [ 11 ] and Europe [ 12 , 13 ]. Fires are often controlled to burn vegetation without igniting the underlying peat, so results from studies of wildfire, where moss and surface peat layers can be consumed, may not be directly applicable.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of prescribed burning on Sphagnum mosses in a long-term peatland field experiment

Noble

O’Reilly²,

Crowle

et al. 2018

PLoS ONE

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Understanding fire impacts on peatland vegetation can inform management to support function and prevent degradation of these important ecosystems. However, time since burn, interval between burns and number of past burns all have the potential to modify impacts. Grazing regime may also affect vegetation directly or via an interaction with burning. We used new, comprehensive survey data from a hillslope-scale field experiment initiated in 1954 to investigate the effects of burning and grazing treatments on Sphagnum. Historical data were consulted to aid interpretation of the results. The unburned reference and the most frequently burned (10-year rotation) treatments had greater Sphagnum abundance and hummock height than intermediate treatments (20-year rotation and no-burn since 1954). Abundance of the most common individual species (S. capillifolium, S. subnitens and S. papillosum) followed similar patterns. Light grazing had no impact on Sphagnum-related variables, nor did it interact with the burning treatments.These results suggest that in some cases fire has a negative impact on Sphagnum, and this can persist for several decades. However, fire return interval and other factors such as atmospheric pollution may alter effects, and in some cases Sphagnum abundance may recover. Fire severity and site specific conditions may also influence effects, so we advise consideration of these factors, and caution when using fire as a management tool on peatlands where Sphagnum is considered desirable.

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“…Forest swamps can be formed in virtue of forest swamping, meadow swamping, and water body swamping [ 11 ]. Forest swamping refers to the conversion from forest to swamp with the spread of hygrophytes and helophytes caused by moist soil or water accumulation because the disturbance degrades forest transpiration capacity and forest dieback may also decrease transpiration resulting in excessive accumulation of water [ 12 , 13 ], which is difficult to infiltrate due to the presence of permafrost layers and low temperature conditions [ 11 , 14 , 15 ]. Meadow swamping means the conversion from meadow to swamp, with increases in peat accumulation because the organic plant residues cannot be fully mineralized and decomposed under conditions of excessive moisture, high groundwater level, anaerobic environment, and poor microbial activities [ 16 , 17 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the country, the conversion from forest swamps to farmland generally denotes that humans convert forest swamps into farmland through drainage irrigation due to food and economic needs and related polices [ 21 , 22 , 23 ]. Conversions of forest swamp to or from other land types are often driven by complex environmental factors [ 15 , 24 , 25 ]. Under what circumstances a given conversion may occur is of great interest for understanding the landscape characteristic of change and the potential driving factors, especially under a changing climate.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distribution and Driving Factors of Forest Swamp Conversions in a Cold Temperate Region

Zhao

Wang

et al. 2018

IJERPH

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Forest swamps are widely distributed in cold temperate regions, with important landscape and ecological functions. They are prone to conversion caused by complex factors. Forest swamp conversions involve forest swamping, meadow swamping, water body swamping, and conversion to farmland. An understanding of the landscape characteristics and primary environmental factors driving forest swamp conversions is imperative for exploring the mechanism of forest swamp conversions. We investigated the landscape characteristics of forest swamp conversions and quantified the relative importance of environmental factors driving these conversions for the period from 1990 to 2015 in the Great Xing’an Mountains of China. We found that forest swamping displayed high patch numbers (34,916) and density (8.51/100 ha), commonly occurring at the edge of large areas of forests. Meadow swamping was localized with low patch numbers (3613) and density (0.88/100 ha) due to lack of water recharge from ground water. Water body swamping had complex shapes (perimeter area ratio mean = 348.32) because of water table fluctuations and helophyte growth during this conversion process. Conversions to farmland presented fairly regular (perimeter area ratio mean = 289.91) and aggregated (aggregation index = 67.82) characteristics affected by agricultural irrigation and management. We found that climatic and geomorphic factors were relatively important compared to topographic factors for forest swamp conversions. Negative geomorphic conditions provided the waterlogging environment as a precondition of swamp formation. Sufficient precipitation was an important source of water recharge due to the existence of permafrost regions and long-term low temperature reduced the evaporation of swamps water and the decomposition rate of organisms. These wet and cold climatic conditions promoted forest swamp development in cold temperate regions. Humans exerted a relatively important role in forest swamping and conversions to farmland. Fire disturbance and logging accelerated the conversion from forest to swamp. This study provides scientific information necessary for the management and conservation of forest swamp resources in cold temperate regions.

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Prescribed burning after clearcut limits paludification in black spruce boreal forest

Cited by 43 publications

References 57 publications

Ecosystem management in paludified boreal forests: enhancing wood production, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration at the landscape level

Ecosystem management in paludified boreal forests: enhancing wood production, biodiversity, and carbon sequestration at the landscape level

Impacts of prescribed burning on Sphagnum mosses in a long-term peatland field experiment

Distribution and Driving Factors of Forest Swamp Conversions in a Cold Temperate Region

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