Can Postharvest Regeneration in Group Selection and Patch Cutting Predict Future Species Composition?
| Authors: | Simon Bilodeau-Gauthier, Steve Bédard, François Guillemette |
| Year: | 2023 |
| Type: | Proceedings - Paper |
| Station: | Northern Research Station |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.2737/NRS-GTR-P-211-paper11 |
| Source: | In: Kern, Christel C.; Dickinson, Yvette L., eds. Proceedings of the first biennial Northern Hardwood Conference 2021: Bridging science and management for the future. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-P-211. Madison, WI: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station: 48–51. |
Abstract
In Quebec, Canada, multicohort forest management in hardwood and mixedwood stands include group selection cutting and patch cutting. We assessed the success of these cuts in regenerating the intermediate shade tolerant yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britt.; YB) at an operational scale and over a large territory using surveys conducted at 2, 5, 10, and 15 years after harvest. Regeneration of the target species was successful, with YB showing a mean stocking around 60 percent and a mean sapling density around 3,400 stems ha-1 after 15 years. The relative presence of YB in 15-year-old canopy openings—a proxy for future species composition—was best predicted by that species' relative abundance, stocking based on one stem per sampling unit, and mean maximum height measured in year five (rather than year two) using smaller sampling units (6.25 m2 rather than 25 m2). See Bilodeau-Gauthier et al. (2020) for further details.