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Type: Journal Article
Author(s): Guillaume Cote; Mathieu Bouchard; David Pothier; Sylvie Gauthier
Publication Date: 2010

In the North American boreal forest, the adoption of forest ecosystem management strategies usually increases the number of forest stands to be treated with irregular or uneven-aged silvicultural systems. However, it is difficult to properly target the stands most appropriate for partial cut treatments in remote areas where road access is limited, because current inventory data do not include an assessment of key stand characteristics for silvicultural prescriptions, such as the abundance of small stems in the understory. In this study, we present a forest classification performed using classification and ordination methods, based on ground-measured structural and compositional stand characteristics, in a region of eastern Quebec, Canada. This classification resulted in six forest types, which range in composition and structure from relatively regular post-fire stands dominated by black spruce (Picea mariana) to relatively irregular stands co-dominated by balsam fir (Abies balsamea) and black spruce. This classification was linked with cartographic information currently available to forest managers. Information from a fine-scale forest map predicted slightly better the presence of forest types with irregular stand structures compared with a coarse-scale forest map complemented with a fire map. Thus, areas most suitable for the implementation of uneven-aged silvicultural systems can be roughly delineated from existing cartographic information, which will facilitate their integration into large-scale and long-term forest management plans.

Citation: Cote, G., M. Bouchard, D. Pothier, and S. Gauthier. 2010. Linking stand attributes to cartographic information for ecosystem management purposes in the boreal forest of eastern Quebec. Forestry Chronicle, v. 86, no. 4, p. 511-519.

Cataloging Information

Topics:
Regions:
Alaska    California    Eastern    Great Basin    Hawaii    Northern Rockies    Northwest    Rocky Mountain    Southern    Southwest    International    National
Keywords:
  • Abies balsamea
  • Abies spp.
  • age classes
  • balsam fir
  • Betula papyrifera
  • black spruce
  • boreal forest
  • boreal forests
  • Canada
  • Choristoneura fumiferana
  • coniferous forests
  • diameter classes
  • ecosystem dynamics
  • fire frequency
  • forest classification
  • forest dynamics
  • forest management
  • forest types
  • jack pine
  • Picea
  • Picea mariana
  • Pinus banksiana
  • population density
  • Populus tremuloides
  • quaking aspen
  • Quebec
  • regeneration
  • silviculture
  • size classes
  • spruce
  • spruce budworm
  • stand characteristics
  • stand structure
  • succession
  • white birch
Tall Timbers Record Number: 25157Location Status: In-fileCall Number: Fire FileAbstract Status: Fair use, Okay, Reproduced by permission
Record Last Modified:
Record Maintained By: FRAMES Staff (https://www.frames.gov/contact)
FRAMES Record Number: 48915

This bibliographic record was either created or modified by Tall Timbers and is provided without charge to promote research and education in Fire Ecology. The E.V. Komarek Fire Ecology Database is the intellectual property of Tall Timbers.