{"id":82844,"date":"2019-01-30T12:18:04","date_gmt":"2019-01-30T17:18:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/nos-publications\/irregular-shelterwood-system-alternative-clearcutting\/"},"modified":"2019-01-30T12:18:04","modified_gmt":"2019-01-30T17:18:04","slug":"irregular-shelterwood-system-alternative-clearcutting","status":"publish","type":"cpt_publication","link":"https:\/\/mrnf.gouv.qc.ca\/en\/our-publications\/irregular-shelterwood-system-alternative-clearcutting\/","title":{"rendered":"The irregular shelterwood system as an alternative to clearcutting to achieve compositional and structural objectives in temperate mixedwood stands"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Published in Forest Ecology and Management<b> 398(Suppl. C): 91-100. <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.foreco.2017.04.042\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.foreco.2017.04.042<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n<p>Even-aged systems including clearcutting and its variants have been used for decades in North America for managing conifer-dominated stands with the goal to achieve sustainable wood production. Although clearcutting has been successfully applied in conifer-dominated stands of the boreal forest, it has proved maladapted in the temperate mixedwood forest where hardwood and shrub competition is more intense. Over time, regulated even-aged management has simplified the structure and composition of the temperate mixedwood forest which used to be dominated by late-successional stands with high conifer proportions. This study assesses alternative silvicultural systems inspired by natural dynamics for balsam fir (<em>Abies balsamea<\/em> [L.] Mill.) \u2013 yellow birch (<em>Betula alleghaniensis<\/em> Britton) stands growing in Qu\u00e9bec, Eastern Canada. In absence of stand-replacing disturbances, spruce budworm outbreaks (<em>Choristoneura fumiferana<\/em> [Clem.]) and windthrow trigger regeneration phases through gap dynamics that result in multi-cohort, irregular stand structures. Here, we assess irregular shelterwood systems aiming at regenerating red spruce (<em>Picea rubens <\/em>Sarg.), balsam fir and yellow birch. In 2009, we established an experiment made of four randomized blocks comparing a gradient of treatments of increased cutting intensity: (i) uncut control (0% removal, 30m2\/ha); (ii) continuous cover irregular shelterwood (19 m<sup>2<\/sup>\/ha of residual basal area [RBA] at the first cut, 25\u201330 years intervals without final cut), (iii) extended irregular shelterwood (RBA 17 m<sup>2<\/sup>\/ha, final cut at year 30), (iv) uniform regular shelterwood (RBA 15 m<sup>2<\/sup>\/ha, final cut at year 10) and (v) clearcut (harvest of merchantable trees &gt;9 cm DBH). We monitored light transmission, seedbed quality and lower vegetation (&lt;3 m) during the first 5years postcut. Shelterwood treatments diversified both understory light and seedbed conditions, thereby increasing the array of available regeneration niches. Shade-tolerant red spruce and balsam fir established more successfully in the less intense irregular shelterwood treatment (continuous cover) and with a higher spruce: fir proportion. All cutting treatments increased seedling density &gt;30 cm of mid-tolerant yellow birch. Interspecific competition dominated by pin cherry (<em>Prunus pensylvanica<\/em> L.f.) and red maple (<em>Acer rubrum<\/em> L.) was the main factor limiting conifer establishment and was more abundant in the clearcut. Maintaining a partial cover in shelterwood treatments successfully limited competition expansion while regenerating target species. Even if relatively short term, results show that irregular shelterwood systems could be a sound alternative to clearcutting for regenerating and maintaining the structure of late-successional balsam fir-yellow birch stands.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Published in Forest Ecology and Management 398(Suppl. C): 91-100. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.foreco.2017.04.042 Even-aged systems including clearcutting and its variants have been used for decades in North America for managing conifer-dominated stands with the goal to achieve sustainable wood production. Although clearcutting has been successfully applied in conifer-dominated stands of the boreal forest, it has proved maladapted in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","format":"standard","cptt_secteur":[1179],"cptt_theme":[1180,1181,1182],"cptt_categ_publi":[1149],"cptt_auteurs_ministeriels":[1068,1111],"class_list":["post-82844","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","cptt_auteurs_ministeriels-s-bedard","cptt_auteurs_ministeriels-p-raymond"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The irregular shelterwood system as an alternative to clearcutting to achieve compositional and structural objectives in temperate mixedwood stands - Minist\u00e8re des Ressources naturelles et des For\u00eats<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This study assesses alternative silvicultural systems inspired by natural dynamics for balsam fir \u2013 yellow birch stands growing in Qu\u00e9bec.\" \/>\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\/irregular-shelterwood-system-alternative-clearcutting\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The irregular shelterwood system as an alternative to clearcutting to achieve compositional and structural objectives in temperate mixedwood stands - 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