{"id":82487,"date":"2019-01-30T12:17:55","date_gmt":"2019-01-30T17:17:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/?post_type=cpt_publication&#038;p=82487"},"modified":"2026-08-13T10:45:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T14:45:29","slug":"mechanical-site-preparation","status":"publish","type":"cpt_publication","link":"https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/en\/our-publications\/mechanical-site-preparation\/","title":{"rendered":"Mechanical site preparation: Key to microsite creation success on Clay Belt paludified sites"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Published in <strong>The Forestry Chronicle 91(2): 187-196.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Paludification is the accumulation of partially decomposed organic matter over saturated mineral soils. It reduces tree regeneration and growth, mainly because of low temperatures and high water content in the rooting zone, reduced organic matter decomposition, and hence, low nutrient availability. On the Clay Belt of western Qu\u00e9bec and eastern Ontario, forests tend to paludify naturally but this process might be promoted by logging methods. Our objective was to identify which of two commonly used mechanical site preparation (MSP) techniques is best adapted to reduce organic layer thickness (OLT) and generate favourable planting microsites post-harvest in paludified sites. Nine experimental blocks (between 20 ha\u201361 ha each) were delimited within a 35 km<sup>2<\/sup> forest sector with variable levels of paludification. The forest sector was harvested by careful logging to protect advance growth and soils and subsequently the nine experimental blocks were treated with either forest harrowing, disc trenching (T26) or left as untreated controls (harvesting only) with three replicate blocks per treatment. We measured OLT before and after MSP and determined planting microsite quality within each block. Results revealed significant differences in OLT between MSP treatments and harvesting only. Overall, harrowing was the best technique, as it reduced OLT more than T26 scarification and generated the highest percent of good microsites, except where initial OLT was 44 cm\u201356 cm. Our results contribute to the successful use of MSP in paludified forests.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Published in The Forestry Chronicle 91(2): 187-196. Paludification is the accumulation of partially decomposed organic matter over saturated mineral soils. It reduces tree regeneration and growth, mainly because of low temperatures and high water content in the rooting zone, reduced organic matter decomposition, and hence, low nutrient availability. On the Clay Belt of western Qu\u00e9bec [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","format":"standard","cptt_secteur":[1179],"cptt_theme":[1180,1181,1182],"cptt_categ_publi":[1149],"cptt_auteurs_ministeriels":[],"class_list":["post-82487","cpt_publication","type-cpt_publication","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","cptt_secteur-forests","cptt_theme-forestry-research","cptt_theme-forests","cptt_theme-silviculture","cptt_categ_publi-scientific-article"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Mechanical site preparation: Key to microsite creation success on Clay Belt paludified sites - Minist\u00e8re des Ressources naturelles et des For\u00eats<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Mechanical site preparation: Key to microsite creation success on Clay Belt paludified sites in western Qu\u00e9bec and eastern Ontario.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/en\/our-publications\/mechanical-site-preparation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mechanical site preparation: Key to microsite creation success on Clay Belt paludified sites - Minist\u00e8re des Ressources naturelles et des For\u00eats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mechanical site preparation: Key to microsite creation success on Clay Belt paludified sites in western Qu\u00e9bec and eastern Ontario.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/en\/our-publications\/mechanical-site-preparation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Minist\u00e8re des Ressources naturelles et des For\u00eats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RessourcesNaturellesForets\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-13T14:45:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/Image-g%c3%a9n%c3%a9rale-hiver_FB.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@mrnfqc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/en\/our-publications\/mechanical-site-preparation\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/en\/our-publications\/mechanical-site-preparation\/\",\"name\":\"Mechanical site preparation: Key to microsite creation success on Clay Belt paludified sites - Minist\u00e8re des Ressources naturelles et des For\u00eats\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2019-01-30T17:17:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-13T14:45:29+00:00\",\"description\":\"Mechanical site preparation: Key to microsite creation success on Clay Belt paludified sites in western Qu\u00e9bec and eastern Ontario.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/en\/our-publications\/mechanical-site-preparation\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/en\/our-publications\/mechanical-site-preparation\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/en\/our-publications\/mechanical-site-preparation\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Accueil\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Publications\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/nos-publications\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Mechanical site preparation: Key to microsite creation success on Clay Belt paludified sites\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/\",\"name\":\"Minist\u00e8re des Ressources naturelles et des For\u00eats\",\"description\":\"Prototype WordPress\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Mechanical site preparation: Key to microsite creation success on Clay Belt paludified sites - Minist\u00e8re des Ressources naturelles et des For\u00eats","description":"Mechanical site preparation: Key to microsite creation success on Clay Belt paludified sites in western Qu\u00e9bec and eastern Ontario.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/en\/our-publications\/mechanical-site-preparation\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Mechanical site preparation: Key to microsite creation success on Clay Belt paludified sites - Minist\u00e8re des Ressources naturelles et des For\u00eats","og_description":"Mechanical site preparation: Key to microsite creation success on Clay Belt paludified sites in western Qu\u00e9bec and eastern Ontario.","og_url":"https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/en\/our-publications\/mechanical-site-preparation\/","og_site_name":"Minist\u00e8re des Ressources naturelles et des For\u00eats","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RessourcesNaturellesForets\/","article_modified_time":"2026-08-13T14:45:29+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"\/wp-content\/uploads\/Image-g%c3%a9n%c3%a9rale-hiver_FB.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@mrnfqc","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/en\/our-publications\/mechanical-site-preparation\/","url":"https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/en\/our-publications\/mechanical-site-preparation\/","name":"Mechanical site preparation: Key to microsite creation success on Clay Belt paludified sites - Minist\u00e8re des Ressources naturelles et des For\u00eats","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/#website"},"datePublished":"2019-01-30T17:17:55+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-13T14:45:29+00:00","description":"Mechanical site preparation: Key to microsite creation success on Clay Belt paludified sites in western Qu\u00e9bec and eastern Ontario.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/en\/our-publications\/mechanical-site-preparation\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/en\/our-publications\/mechanical-site-preparation\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/en\/our-publications\/mechanical-site-preparation\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Accueil","item":"https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Publications","item":"https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/nos-publications\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Mechanical site preparation: Key to microsite creation success on Clay Belt paludified sites"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/#website","url":"https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/","name":"Minist\u00e8re des Ressources naturelles et des For\u00eats","description":"Prototype WordPress","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cpt_publication\/82487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cpt_publication"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cpt_publication"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cpt_publication\/82487\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":106709,"href":"https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cpt_publication\/82487\/revisions\/106709"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cptt_secteur","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cptt_secteur?post=82487"},{"taxonomy":"cptt_theme","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cptt_theme?post=82487"},{"taxonomy":"cptt_categ_publi","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cptt_categ_publi?post=82487"},{"taxonomy":"cptt_auteurs_ministeriels","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cptt_auteurs_ministeriels?post=82487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}