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Enhancing Forest Productivity, Value, and Health through Silviculture in a Changing World

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A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Ecology and Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 February 2021) | Viewed by 34349

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Nelson Thiffault

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Canadian Wood Fibre Centre, Natural Resources Canada, Quebec, QC G1V 4C7, Canada
Interests: silviculture; reforestation; regeneration; boreal forest; plantation; vegetation management; site preparation; stock type; competition; nutrition; conifers

Dr. Brad Pinno

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E3, Canada
Interests: silviculture; trembling aspen; seedling establishment; site preparation; forest soil; forest ecology; enhanced forest management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Global change is inducing important stresses to forests worldwide. For example, increases in the frequency and intensity of drought events and invasions by new exotic invasive plants and insects have started to modify forest dynamics, including regeneration, recruitment, and growth, with significant effects on the provision of ecosystem services. Meanwhile, the world population is exerting a growing pressure on forest ecosystems as a source of materials supporting the transition to a low-carbon economy. Silviculture, the art and science of controlling the establishment, growth, composition, and quality of forest vegetation to achieve management objectives, offers the opportunity to create and maintain forest ecosystems that can meet these challenges. There is a vibrant need to conduct and disseminate silviculture research that provides the knowledge required to favor the resistance, resilience, or transition of forest ecosystems in the face of climate change.

This Special Issue of Forests is focused on silviculture. We invite the submission of review papers or research articles that focus on any functions of silviculture (regeneration, stand tending, and harvesting) or their combinations, including, but not restricted to the development of new silviculture treatments that will help to adapt forests to climate change, interactions between silviculture and climate, site characteristics, genetics, and biotic pressures, such as browsing or diseases. Studies with a focus on the development of planting material (e.g., species, stock type) or other aspects of forest management (e.g., enhanced forest inventories, wood quality, social license, modeling) should include interactions with silvicultural treatments or systems (e.g., site preparation, fertilization, vegetation management, partial harvest).

Dr. Nelson Thiffault
Dr. Brad Pinno
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Regeneration
Plantation
Stand restoration
Site preparation
Fertilization
Vegetation management
Thinning
Harvesting
Partial harvesting

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Published Papers (10 papers)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research

5 pages, 655 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Enhancing Forest Productivity, Value, and Health through Silviculture in a Changing World

by Nelson Thiffault and Bradley D. Pinno

Forests 2021, 12(11), 1550; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12111550 - 10 Nov 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1876

Abstract

Global change is inducing important stresses to forests worldwide [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enhancing Forest Productivity, Value, and Health through Silviculture in a Changing World)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

11 pages, 1709 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Opportunities and Challenges for Intensive Silviculture in Alberta, Canada

by Bradley D. Pinno, Kazi L. Hossain, Ted Gooding and Victor J. Lieffers

Forests 2021, 12(6), 791; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12060791 - 16 Jun 2021

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3821

Abstract

Intensive silviculture is practiced in many parts of the world but is rare in the public forests of western Canada. Here, we make the argument that intensive silviculture could be justified in Alberta but has not been implemented due to philosophies and policy decisions by foresters from government, industry and academia. These include adherence to long rotations, management goals that are aimed at sustained total volume yield rather than economic value, limitations in the types of stands that are allowed to be regenerated and models that do not include intensive silviculture options. In Mixedwood Growth Model projections, we demonstrate the potential of intensive silviculture that includes combinations of selecting good sites and thinning to produce merchantable stands by age 50 compared to the standard rotation age of 80 with basic silviculture. There could be even more gains if forest level constraints in timber flow were removed due to the increased growth of regenerating stands. Finally, we examine the attitude and policy changes that we believe are necessary for adoption of more intensive silviculture systems on parts of Alberta’s forest landbase. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enhancing Forest Productivity, Value, and Health through Silviculture in a Changing World)

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22 pages, 1079 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Trade-Offs among Release Treatments in Jack Pine Plantations: Twenty-Five Year Responses

by Holly D. Deighton, Frederick Wayne Bell, Nelson Thiffault, Eric B. Searle, Mathew Leitch, Mahadev Sharma and Jennifer Dacosta

Forests 2021, 12(3), 370; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12030370 - 20 Mar 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3046

Abstract

We assessed 27 indicators of plant diversity, stand yield and individual crop tree responses 25 years post-treatment to determine long-term trade-offs among conifer release treatments in boreal and sub-boreal forests. This research addresses the lack of longer-term data needed by forest managers to implement more integrated vegetation management programs, supporting more informed decisions about release treatment choice. Four treatments (untreated control, motor-manual brushsaw, single aerial spray, and complete competition removal) were established at two jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) sites in Ontario, Canada. Our results suggest that plant diversity and productivity in boreal jack pine forests are significantly influenced by vegetation management treatments. Overall, release treatments did not cause a loss of diversity but benefitted stand-scale yield and individual crop tree growth, with maximum benefits occurring in more intensive release treatments. However, none of the treatments maximized all 27 indicators studied; thus, forest managers are faced with trade-offs when choosing treatments. Research on longer term effects, ideally through at least one rotation, is essential to fully understand outcomes of different vegetation management on forest diversity, stand yield, and individual crop tree responses. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enhancing Forest Productivity, Value, and Health through Silviculture in a Changing World)

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12 pages, 745 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Nitrogen Recovery from Enhanced Efficiency Fertilizers and Urea in Intensively Managed Black Walnut (Juglans nigra) Plantations

by Joshua L. Sloan, Francis K. Salifu and Douglass F. Jacobs

Forests 2021, 12(3), 352; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12030352 - 17 Mar 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2381

Abstract

Intensively managed forest plantations often require fertilization to maintain site fertility and to improve growth and yield over successive rotations. We applied urea-based “enhanced-efficiency fertilizers” (EEF) containing 0.5 atom% ¹⁵N at a rate of 224 kg N ha⁻¹ to soils under mid-rotation black walnut (Juglans nigra L.) plantations to track the fate of applied ¹⁵N within aboveground ecosystem components during the 12-month period after application. Treatments included Agrotain Ultra (urea coated with a urease inhibitor), Arborite EC (urea coated with water-soluble boron and phosphate), Agrium ESN (polymer-coated urea), uncoated urea, and an unfertilized control. Agrotain Ultra and Arborite EC increased N concentrations of competing vegetation within one month after fertilization, while neither Agrium ESN nor uncoated urea had any effect on competing vegetation N concentrations during the experiment. Agrotain Ultra and Arborite EC increased δ¹⁵N values in leaves of crop trees above those of controls at one and two months after fertilization, respectively. By contrast, Agrium ESN and uncoated urea had no effect on δ¹⁵N values in leaves of crop trees until three months after fertilization. Fertilizer N recovery (FNR) varied among ecosystem components, with competing vegetation acting as a sink for applied nutrients. There were no significant differences in FNR for all the urea-based EEF products compared to uncoated urea. Agrium ESN was the only EEF that exhibited controlled-release activity in this study, with other fertilizers behaving similarly to uncoated urea. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enhancing Forest Productivity, Value, and Health through Silviculture in a Changing World)

21 pages, 2415 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Thinning Practice, High Pruning and Slash Management on Crop Tree and Stand Growth in Young Even-Aged Stands of Planted Silver Birch (Betula pendula Roth)

by Jens Peter Skovsgaard, Ulf Johansson, Emma Holmström, Rebecka McCarthy Tune, Clémentine Ols and Giulia Attocchi

Forests 2021, 12(2), 225; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12020225 - 16 Feb 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3386

Abstract

The objective was to quantify the influence of thinning, high pruning and slash management on crop tree and stand growth in young even-aged stands of planted silver birch (Betula pendula Roth). This study was based on two field experiments, aged six and eleven years at initiation and re-measured after six and eight years, respectively. Treatments included the unthinned control, moderate thinning mainly from below (removing 28–33% of standing volume), point thinning to favor 300 trees per ha and with no thinning elsewhere in the plot (removing 16–25%), and heavy thinning leaving 600 evenly distributed potential future crop trees per ha (removing 64–75%). Slash management (extraction or retention) was applied to heavily thinned plots. High pruning removing 30–70% of the green crown was carried out in some plots with point or heavy thinning on 300 or 600 trees per ha, respectively. Stand volume growth increased with increasing pre-treatment mean annual volume increment and decreased with increasing thinning intensity as compared to the unthinned control. LS-means estimates indicated a reduction for moderate thinning by 14%, for point thinning by 12% and for heavy thinning (combined with pruning) by 62%. However, in the youngest experiment, heavy thinning (without pruning) reduced growth by 54%. Combining these results with results from a similar experiment in Canada, the reduction in stand volume growth (Red_Iv%) depending on thinning removal (Rem_V%), both expressed as a percentage of the unthinned control, was quantified as Red_Iv% = −23.67 + 1.16·Rem_V% (calibration range: 30–83%). For heavy thinning (large quantities of slash), slash extraction resulted in no reduction in stand volume growth as compared to slash retention. The instantaneous numeric reduction in the average stem diameter of the 300 thickest trees per ha (D₃₀₀) due to thinning was 3.5, 15–21% and 955–11% with moderate, point and heavy thinning, respectively. The subsequent average annual increase in D₃₀₀ during the observation period was 8.5%, 25 and 18%, respectively. In the youngest experiment, pruning in unthinned plots led to a reduction in the annual increase of D₃₀₀ by 14%, and heavy thinning in unpruned plots led to an increase by 30%. The growth of pre-selected potential future crop trees increased with increasing thinning intensity. In heavily thinned plots, pruning reduced growth increasingly with increasing pruning severity; LS-means estimates indicated 21% larger growth on stem diameter for unpruned trees and 3% for pruned trees. As an adverse side effect, heavily thinned plots with only 600 trees per ha were at increased risk of windthrow for some years after the thinning intervention. In the oldest experiment, 95–21% of the trees in these plots were damaged by wind. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enhancing Forest Productivity, Value, and Health through Silviculture in a Changing World)

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16 pages, 1943 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Moose Browsing Tends Spruce Plantations More Efficiently Than a Single Mechanical Release

by Laurent De Vriendt, Nelson Thiffault, Alejandro A. Royo, Martin Barrette and Jean-Pierre Tremblay

Forests 2020, 11(11), 1138; https://doi.org/10.3390/f11111138 - 28 Oct 2020

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3613

Abstract

Forest vegetation management can improve planted seedling survival and growth and is thus widely used in plantation silviculture. In some jurisdictions, mechanical release using brushsaws has replaced the traditional use of chemical herbicides for forest vegetation management purposes. However, its associated costs and the increasing difficulty of finding qualified labor represent a challenge. The browsing of competition by large herbivores may represent an alternative to mechanical release when planted seedlings are resistant to browsing. Here, we compare the efficacy of moose browsing relative to mechanical release in controlling competing vegetation and in promoting white spruce growth in plantations. In a high moose density region, we used an experimental design consisting of four pairs of moose exclosures and unfenced plots; fifty percent of both the access-restricted and unrestricted study areas received a mechanical release treatment. Moose browsing was more efficient than mechanical release in diminishing the sapling density and basal area of competing species. Mechanical release only reduced the sapling density of taller competitors (height > 201 cm), whereas browsing reduced the sapling densities of competitors across a greater size range (height > 130 cm). These effects of moose browsing on competition translated into a greater positive effect of moose browsing on the basal area of planted spruces. We attribute the higher effectiveness of moose browsing relative to mechanical release to its chronic nature. Moose browsed continuously throughout the year and for multiple years, whereas mechanical release was applied only one time between the second and fourth years after planting. Our results suggest that pairing wildlife management and silviculture decisions could be in the best interest of both the hunting and forestry industries in regions where plantations are frequent and use browse-resistant crop trees. Favouring browsers in controlling the density of competing species could increase the hunting experience and income, while providing an effective, cost-free, and socially acceptable forest vegetation management service. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enhancing Forest Productivity, Value, and Health through Silviculture in a Changing World)

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20 pages, 1156 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Natural Regeneration Following Partial and Clear-Cut Harvesting in Mature Aspen-Jack Pine Stands in Eastern Canada

by Kobra Maleki, Freddy Nguema Allogo and Benoit Lafleur

Forests 2020, 11(7), 741; https://doi.org/10.3390/f11070741 - 8 Jul 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4025

Abstract

Over the last three decades, the ecological basis for the generalized use of even-aged silviculture in boreal forests has been increasingly challenged. In boreal mixed-wood landscapes, the diminishing proportion of conifers, to the benefit of intolerant hardwoods, has been a primary concern, coupled with the general rarefication of old-growth conifer-dominated stands. In this context, partial cutting, extended rotations and forest renewal techniques that eliminate or reduce regenerating hardwoods have been proposed as means of regaining greater conifer cover. As a result, experimentation and industrial application of various forms of both variable retention and partial harvesting are occurring across the commercial Canadian boreal forest. In this study, we compared the effects of two harvesting intensities, clearcutting and low-intensity partial cutting (removal of 25–31% of tree basal area), on hardwood and conifer regeneration levels 7–19 years following treatments in aspen (Populus tremuloides)-dominated stands and verified whether regeneration differences existed between micro-sites on and off machinery trails. The abundance of aspen regeneration increased with percent basal area removal and was positively correlated to the abundance of mature aspen prior to harvesting. The abundance of fir (Abies balsamea) regeneration after partial cutting was similar to controls and higher than after clear-cutting and was positively correlated with ground cover of mixed litter (i.e., mixture of needles and leaves) and negatively correlated with ground cover of broadleaf litter. These results suggest that it is possible in boreal mixed-woods to control aspen abundance and promote or maintain conifer regeneration through silvicultural treatments that limit canopy opening and promote mixed forest floor litter. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enhancing Forest Productivity, Value, and Health through Silviculture in a Changing World)

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16 pages, 3380 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Mechanical Site Preparation on Microsite Availability and Growth of Planted Black Spruce in Canadian Paludified Forests

by Mohammed Henneb, Osvaldo Valeria, Nelson Thiffault, Nicole J. Fenton and Yves Bergeron

Forests 2019, 10(8), 670; https://doi.org/10.3390/f10080670 - 8 Aug 2019

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 4173

Abstract

Low productivity caused by paludification in some parts of the closed black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P) dominated boreal forest threatens the provision of ecosystem services, including wood fiber production. The accumulation, over time, of organic matter in paludified soils leads to an anaerobic environment that reduces microbial activity, decelerates decomposition of organic matter, and generates nutrient-poor microsites for regeneration. Consequently, it results in significant impacts on site productivity. Considering its ability to disturb the soil, mechanical site preparation (MSP) is viewed as a potential treatment that can help restore productivity of paludified sites following harvesting. We conducted a field experiment to verify if (1) the availability of microsites conducive to reforestation varies with MSP, microtopography (slope and aspect) and initial OLT conditions; (2) the growth of planted seedlings depends on the intensity of mechanical disturbance of the organic layer, type of microsite, planting density, presence of Ericaceae, and the planting position and depth; (3) there are direct and indirect causal relationships between microsites availability after MSP, OLT, microtopography, planting quality and seedlings growth; and (4) if mechanical site preparation and microsite type exposed affect the Ericaceae cover after planting. Our results confirmed that MSP is effective in establishing conditions that permit a productive regeneration cohort on these paludified sites. To ensure successful establishment of plantations on these sites, it is necessary, however, to distinguish between those that are slightly or moderately paludified from those that are highly paludified, as treatment effectiveness of different MSP types depends on organic layer thickness. Our results also show that preference should be given to some microsite types as clay and mixed-substrate microsites for planting to ensure sufficient availability of water and nutrients for seedlings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enhancing Forest Productivity, Value, and Health through Silviculture in a Changing World)

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15 pages, 2450 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Timing is Not Everything: Assessing the Efficacy of Pre- Versus Post-Harvest Herbicide Applications in Mitigating the Burgeoning Birch Phenomenon in Regenerating Hardwood Stands

by Alejandro A. Royo, Cornelia C. Pinchot, John S. Stanovick and Susan L. Stout

Forests 2019, 10(4), 324; https://doi.org/10.3390/f10040324 - 11 Apr 2019

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2505

Abstract

Sweet birch (Betula lenta L.) is aggressively recruiting in temperate forest understories of the eastern United States and often dominates the post-disturbance seedling community, diminishing diversity and hindering sustainable silviculture. The type and timing of silvicultural actions affect birch recruitment via their effects on seedling recruitment, survival, and growth. Here, we examine birch regeneration under two contrasting treatment sequences: pre- versus post-shelterwood harvest herbicide application (H–S vs. S–H) in combination with white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus Zimmerman) browsing (fenced vs. unfenced) at 22 sites in northwestern Pennsylvania, USA. Additionally, we examine how treatments interact with additional site factors, including potential propagule sources and site productivity (i.e., integrated moisture index). We found the S–H sequence initially reduced birch density by 71% relative to the H–S sequence; however, the magnitude of this reduction waned over five growing seasons. Furthermore, birch proliferated following the H–S sequence only where mature birch were present. Deer browsing reduced birch height by 29% relative to fenced areas protected from browsing; however, by the fifth growing season birch seedlings were over twice as tall as other hardwood species across all treatments. Finally, increasingly mesic sites enhanced birch height growth. In sum, although post-harvest herbicide (S–H) provides short-lived control over birch, land managers should also consider browse pressure, seed source, and site productivity, as these may enhance or diminish the efficacy of post-shelterwood herbicide sequence effects on birch. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enhancing Forest Productivity, Value, and Health through Silviculture in a Changing World)

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17 pages, 3090 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Abundance and Impacts of Competing Species on Conifer Regeneration Following Careful Logging in the Eastern Canadian Boreal Forest

by Louis-Philippe Ménard, Jean-Claude Ruel and Nelson Thiffault

Forests 2019, 10(2), 177; https://doi.org/10.3390/f10020177 - 19 Feb 2019

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 4172

Abstract

Managing competing vegetation is crucial in stand establishment strategies; forecasting the abundance, composition, and impact of competing vegetation after harvesting is needed to optimize silviculture scenarios and maintain long-term site productivity. Our main objective was to identify factors influencing the short-term abundance and composition of competing vegetation over a large area of the Canadian boreal forest. Our second objective was to better understand the mid-term evolution of the regeneration/competing vegetation complex in cases of marginal regeneration conditions. We used operational regeneration surveys of 4471 transects sampled ≈5 years after harvesting that contained data on regeneration, competing vegetation, elevation, ecological classification, soil attributes, and pre-harvest forest stands. We performed a redundancy analysis to identify the relationships between competing vegetation, harvesting and biophysical variables. We then estimated the probability of observing a given competing species cover based on these variables. In 2015, we re-sampled a portion of the sites, where conifer regeneration was marginal early after harvesting, to assess the temporal impact of different competing levels and species groups on the free-to-grow stocking, vigour and basal area of softwood regeneration. Results from the first inventory showed that, after careful logging around advance growth, ericaceous shrubs and hardwoods were not associated with the same sets of site attributes. Ericaceous shrubs were mainly found on low fertility sites associated with black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) or jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.). The distinction between suitable environments for commercial shade-intolerant hardwoods and non-commercial hardwoods was less clear, as they responded similarly to many variables. Analysis of data from the second inventory showed a significant improvement in conifer free-to-grow stocking when commercial shade-intolerant hardwood competing levels were low (stocking 0%–40%) and when ericaceous shrubs competing levels were moderate (percent cover 26%–75%). In these conditions of marginal regeneration, the different types and intensities of competition did not affect the vigour or basal area of softwood regeneration, 9–14 years after harvesting. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enhancing Forest Productivity, Value, and Health through Silviculture in a Changing World)

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