Silvicultural Options for Rehabilitating High-graded Yellow Birch-conifer Stands
| Authors: | Patricia Raymond, Marcel Prévost, Vincent Roy |
| Year: | 2023 |
| Type: | Proceedings - Paper |
| Station: | Northern Research Station |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.2737/NRS-GTR-P-211-paper26 |
| 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: 127–130. |
Abstract
Prior to the 1990s, diameter-limit cutting was widely used in Québec, Canada, to harvest valuable trees in hardwood-dominated temperate forests. This practice can impoverish stands in terms of volume, structure, composition, wood quality and regeneration. As a result, many high-graded stands still require rehabilitation today. This study assessed the 15-year effects of four regeneration methods combined with three scarification treatments in yellow birch–conifer stands. Cutting and scarification treatments did not increase the regeneration of desired species (birches, spruces and fir). Rather, they stimulated competition, because they were applied during a poor seed year. Stand recovery after 15 years in terms of growth, vigor and regeneration in the untreated control and the strip clearcut leave strips reflected the resilient nature of these stands. However, silviculture would be required to improve overall stand quality. An active rehabilitation strategy combining shelterwood and ground disturbance during a good seed year should help to improve stand quality and regeneration.