Woody vegetation responses to fire versus clear-cutting logging: A comparative survey in the central Canadian boreal forest

Carleton, T. J.; MacLellan, Patricia

doi:10.1080/11956860.1994.11682238

Cited by 162 publications

(105 citation statements)

References 35 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…This is presumably due to two features of the harvesting system that reduced the damage to the forest floor: restriction of machine movements to the cleared travel corridors and winter harvesting. Logging-related disturbances to the forest floor can have important effects on the understorey plant communities; for example, frequently leading to dominance by fast-growing deciduous tree species on upland sites (Hearnden et al 1992, Carleton andMacLellan 1994). The HARP system thus has the potential to offset these negative effects of mechanized clearcutting; a conclusion also supported by research on understorey plant communities at this site (Ramprasad 2001).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 58%

A comparison of forest structure among old-growth, variable retention harvested, and clearcut peatland black spruce (Picea mariana) forests in boreal northeastern Ontario

Deans¹,

Malcolm²,

Smith³

et al. 2003

The Forestry Chronicle

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Harvesting techniques that retain structural elements of the original forest may help to preserve the characteristic ecological features and biological diversity of old-growth forests. Harvesting with advance regeneration protection (HARP) is one such technique practised in the Lake Abitibi Model Forest of northeastern Ontario on peatland sites. In this system, winter harvesting operations clear trees in strips about 5-7 m wide and using a minimum diameter limit cut extract trees from the adjacent residual forest rows, 5-9 m wide. In order to assess the effectiveness of HARP in retaining forest structure, we quantified forest and understorey structural features in 24 1.65-ha plots spanning a wide range of forest retention, including clearcuts, three levels of HARP, and the edge and interior of unharvested forest (logging had occurred 2.5-3.5 years before the study). Mean tree age, diameter, and height in HARP forests in all cases exceeded 68% of the mean values found in unharvested forest, which was strikingly higher than the percent retention of basal area (20-43%). Also, unlike clearcuts, HARP forests retained the inverse-J curves between stem density and size class observed in unharvested forests, although stem densities in all size classes were lower. The percentage of black spruce regeneration originating from seed versus vegetative layering was directly related to the amount of forest basal area retained, averaging 2-5% in unharvested forests, 9-38% in HARP forests, and 67% in clearcuts. Many understorey characteristics closely followed the harvest intensity gradient, with amounts of moss, lichen, and Ledum highest at the unharvested end of the gradient and amounts of decaying moss, coarse and fine downed woody debris, exposed soil, and sedge highest at the clearcut end of the gradient. When the structural features were combined into a single composite variable using Principal Components Analysis (PCA) and the scores plotted against basal area, the relationship was curvilinear, with HARP treatments retaining greater amounts of structural characteristics than expected based solely on the basal area of wood harvested. This research suggests that the retention and redevelopment of old-growth features in peatland black spruce forests will be better under a HARP system than under a traditional clearcut system. Longer-term research, specifically on the edge habitats created by the HARP system, is required.Key words: boreal, peatland, black spruce, alternative harvesting methods, forest ecology Les techniques de récolte conservant les éléments structuraux de la forêt d'origine peuvent aider à préserver les caractéristiques écologiques et la diversité biologique des vieilles forêts. La récolte accompagnée de la protection de la régénération préexistante (RPRP) est l'une de ces techniques appliquées dans les stations à tourbières de la forêt modèle du lac Abitibi, dans le Nord-Est de l'Ontario. Elle consiste à couper, l'hiver, les arbres à partir d'une limite minimale de diamètre, sur des bandes de 5 à 7 m de large...

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 58%

A comparison of forest structure among old-growth, variable retention harvested, and clearcut peatland black spruce (Picea mariana) forests in boreal northeastern Ontario

Deans¹,

Malcolm²,

Smith³

et al. 2003

The Forestry Chronicle

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Harvesting techniques in the southern boreal forest changed from hand-felling and horse-skidding methods (Carleton and MacLellan 1994) in the 1940s to mechanized logging and transport in the 1960s. All the studied spruce-moss stands were clear-cut; that is, all the trees were cut except those too small (less than 1 m high: advance generation or natural generation, advance growth, and so on) to be of use, and no tree planting was done after the logging.…”

Section: Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shift of Conifer Boreal Forest to Lichen–Heath Parkland Caused by Successive Stand Disturbances

Payette

Delwaide

2003

Ecosystems

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In the southern boreal forest (Qué bec, Canada), tree harvesting is a major disturbance affecting the dominant black spruce (Picea mariana) stands already suffering from naturally recurrent insect and fire disturbances. Although recovery of the spruce forest after an insect infestation or a fire is possible under current site conditions, it is less likely when both types of disturbance occur during a short period of time. The addition of yet another disturbance, such as tree harvesting, can thus have catastrophic consequences. We analyzed the impact of three successive disturbances-tree harvesting, insect infestation, and fire-on the regeneration of boreal spruce-moss forests within a period of approximately 50 years. The spruce forests were harvested in the 1940s and the 1950s. Recovery from the logging consisted of advance regeneration (spruce layers less than 1 m high that were left intact during clear-cuts), which was burned in 1991. The vegetation cover (mostly heath and lichen species) and soil conditions (acidic, nutrientpoor podzolic soils developed from coarse materials) of the postfire sites that we studied were similar. Stand structure and tree regeneration were documented from large quadrats (0.25 ha) using age, size, and tree ring data from postlogged and postfire spruce. At an early stage of development, the growing advance regeneration was damaged by insect defoliators in the late 1970s and the mid1980s, and several trees died a few years before the 1991 fire. The successive disturbances considerably reduced the number of seed-bearers, leading to the collapse of postfire regeneration and a shift to parkland. Through a successional trajectory far from the expected trend for boreal forests influenced by single disturbance, the shift resulted in the formation of divergent plant communities. The development of divergent communities at the landscape scale is generally overlooked due to their small size. They indicate, however, the weak resilience of boreal forests faced with cascading perturbations, which are likely to increase in intensively logged areas.

show abstract

“…After having manually and chemically released balsam fir seedlings from shrub competition (mountain maple) in northwestern New Brunswick by clearing a 1-m radius circle around each seedling, MacLean and Morgan (1983) reported an increase of 64% for total fir volume, 36% for mean dbh, and 22% for mean height, in comparison with a control plot, 32 years later. Finally, Carleton and MacLellan (1994) reported that a higher proportion of plantations fails due to competitive suppression by, and superior growth of, broad-leaved deciduous shrubs and trees invading the site. This situation may last for a long period of time.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are clearcuts appropriate for the mixed forest of Québec?

Hébert¹

2003

The Forestry Chronicle

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Sustainable forest management involves, among other things, maintaining diversity of ecosystems and preserving their natural processes. The main objective of this paper is to consider the validity of current harvesting techniques applied to the mixed forest of Québec. The old-growth mixed forest naturally regenerates by gap dynamics. However, the harvesting technique most commonly used in the mixed forest is clearcutting, with the result that succession must start over from the beginning. A general forest succession model applicable after such large disturbances is proposed. The most positive estimate indicates that the mixed forest will not be re-established earlier than 250 years after clearcutting. To ensure sustainable development in the mixed forest, harvesting techniques should imitate natural regeneration processes.Key words: balsam fir-yellow birch stands, CPRS, gap dynamics, succession model, sustainability, sustainable development Le développement durable des forêts implique, entre autres, le maintien de la diversité des écosystèmes et la conservation de leurs processus naturels. L'objectif principal de cette étude était donc de discuter des techniques de récolte actuelles: sont-elles adaptées pour la forêt mixte au Québec? La forêt mature mixte se régénère naturellement par des petites ouvertures. Cependant, la technique de récolte qui est la plus communément utilisée en forêt mixte est la coupe à blanc. Le principal résultat est que la succession repart du début. Nous proposons donc un modèle général de succession forestière après d'aussi grandes perturbations. Notre estimation la plus positive indique que la forêt mixte ne sera pas de retour avant au moins 250 ans après la coupe à blanc. Afin d'assurer le développement durable dans la forêt mixte, les techniques de récolte devraient imiter son processus naturel de régénération.Mots clés: CPRS, développement durable, durabilité, dynamique par trouée, modèle de succession, sapinière à bouleau jaune

show abstract

Woody vegetation responses to fire versus clear-cutting logging: A comparative survey in the central Canadian boreal forest

Cited by 162 publications

References 35 publications

A comparison of forest structure among old-growth, variable retention harvested, and clearcut peatland black spruce (Picea mariana) forests in boreal northeastern Ontario

A comparison of forest structure among old-growth, variable retention harvested, and clearcut peatland black spruce (Picea mariana) forests in boreal northeastern Ontario

Shift of Conifer Boreal Forest to Lichen–Heath Parkland Caused by Successive Stand Disturbances

Are clearcuts appropriate for the mixed forest of Québec?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About