Evaluating Four Silvicultural Prescriptions for Selective Harvest in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Forest, Ontario, Canada
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Authors
England, Nicolae
Date
Type
thesis
Language
eng
Keyword
Silviculture , Ontario , Bioenergy , Thinning , Forestry , Selective harvest , Forest fire , Bioproducts; Bioproducts; Basal area , Basal area
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Abstract
Selective harvesting of forests, also known as thinning, is a widely used treatment in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Forest ecosystem that dominates the central part of the province of Ontario. Increasingly, the application of selective harvest is discussed as a method of reducing the risk of forest fire and increasing the availability of biomass for emerging bioproducts. There are a variety of approaches to selective harvest that can be employed, including single tree selection (STS), diameter limit cutting (DLC), financial maturity selection (FMS), and intensive crop-tree release (ICTR). These silvicultural treatments are tested against control plots (CON) in a research forest (Blue Heron Demonstration Forest) located within the Haliburton Forest and Wildlife Reserve, in Haliburton, Ontario. The objectives of this research are to assess stand level responses to these silvicultural treatments (including harvested material and regrowth potential) as well as individual tree species response to these treatments, using measurements of tree basal area and stand basal area. These measurements are taken across 28 compartments delineated within the Blue Heron Demonstration Forest, using four sample plots per compartment. A scoring methodology is proposed to help determine the optimal silvicultural treatment. At the stand level, the treatments that provided the most timber are diameter limit cutting (DLC), delivering an average of 16.9 m2/ha, followed by FMS, ICTR, and finally STS. For regrowth, the best performing prescriptions are STS, followed by DLC, FMS, and finally ICTR. At a species level, the best growth rates for sugar maple are observed with STS, followed closely by DLC, FMS, ICTR, and finally the control. For American beech, the best performance is found with DLC, followed by FMS, STS, ICTR, and the control. Overall, the scores indicate that the best treatment to provide timber, promote regrowth, and support species diversity is STS, followed closely by DLC, then FMS. By comparison, ICTR does not perform well, providing less biomass and less regrowth than the other prescriptions.
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Proquest PhD and Master's Theses International Dissemination Agreement
Intellectual Property Guidelines at Queen's University
Copying and Preserving Your Thesis
This publication is made available by the authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research and may not be copied or reproduced except as permitted by the copyright laws without written authority from the copyright owne