The Effects of Various Treatments on Yellow Birch Regeneration: Results from Multiple Midterm Experiments
| Authors: | Philippe Nolet, Steve Bédard, Pascal Rochon, Donald Blouin, Sylvain Delagrange |
| Year: | 2023 |
| Type: | Proceedings - Paper |
| Station: | Northern Research Station |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.2737/NRS-GTR-P-211-paper12 |
| 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: 52–55. |
Abstract
In response to concerns about yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britton; YB) regeneration in Quebec, new treatments have been tested in the 1990s, including patch cuts and small clearcuts. The objective of this project was to draw an overall portrait, at the scale of the province, on YB regeneration success 10 to 20 years after treatment. We resampled 36 experiments and 466 logging areas. The logging areas sampled were mostly dominated at the sapling stage by sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.; SM) (23 percent) and YB (18 percent). The proportion of sites where YB was the dominant species was higher in gaps and small clearcuts than in partial cuts or controls. When we added up the proportions of YB and SM, no significant difference among treatment openings was observed. The high variability in regeneration dominance led us to conclude that, without intense monitoring, early efforts to favor YB may not be worthwhile.