Abstract
Shrub communities established on former pasture land are currently under-used and their forestry potential is of interest to land owners wishing to increase valuable hardwood regeneration on their properties. The comparative effects of strip clearing and total clearing, both treatments applied with or without herbicide, on competing vegetation cover, light availability, and survival and growth of planted white ash (Fraxinus americana L.) were examined in two different shrub dominated sites for 3 years in southwestern Québec, Canada. Survival was high in all treatments. At the site with the richest soil and in comparison to total clearing, strip clearing produced the lowest light level in the third year, which induced lower total herbaceous weed cover. These combined effects produced the same growth results for white ash seedlings in all treatments. At the second site, with the highest woody vegetation regrowth, strip clearing has promoted seedling height growth and produced the highest height: diameter ratio for white ash. This ratio was also superior at this site in the absence of herbicide. Treatment effects were soil/site dependant. Because partial clearing in strips has never reduced tree growth in comparison to total clearing, it represents a promising method for the establishment of valuable hardwoods in shrubby vegetation, with lower management intensity and lower landscape impact than total clearing.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Explore related subjects
Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
J.C. Adams (1997) ArticleTitleMulching improves early growth of four oak species in plantation establishment South. J. Appl. For. 2 44–46
C. Allegrini (1995) ArticleTitleMaîtriser le recrû dans les plantations de feuillus précieux Forêts de France 382 2–3
G. Armand (1995) Feuillus précieux. Conduite des plantations en ambiance forestière; merisierérable sycomorefrênechêne rouge d’Amérique. Groupe de réflexion interrégional sur les feuillus précieux Institut pour le développement forestier (IDF) Paris 112
C.L. Ballaré A.L. Scopel R.A. Sanchez (1990) ArticleTitleFar-red radiation reflected from adjacent leaves: an early signal of competition in plant canopies Science 247 329–332 Occurrence Handle17735851
A.K. Barg R.L. Edmonds (1999) ArticleTitleInfluence of partial cutting on site microclimatesoil nitrogen dynamics, and microbial biomass in Douglas-fir stands in western Washington Can. J. For. Res. 29 705–713 Occurrence Handle10.1139/cjfr-29-6-705
Bates D.M., Belisle J.M., Cameron B.H., Evans L.J., Jones R.K., Pierpoint G. and et Broek B.V.D. 1985. Field Manual for Describing Soils. 3rd ed.. Ontario Institute of Pedology, University of Guelph, pp. 38
M. Beaudet C. Messier (1998) ArticleTitleGrowth and morphological responses of yellow birchsugar mapleand beech seedlings growing under a natural light gradient Can. J. For. 28 1007–1015 Occurrence Handle10.1139/cjfr-28-7-1007
J. Becquey (1997a) Les noyers à bois. Les Guides du Sylviculteur. 3rd ed Institut pour le développement forestier Paris 144
J. Becquey (1997b) ArticleTitlePlantations de noyers avec accompagnement ligneux: quelques recommandations Forêt entreprise 118 16–20
D. Binkley (1984) ArticleTitleDoes forest removal increase rates of decomposition and nitrogen release? For. Ecol. Manage. 8 229–233 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0378-1127(84)90055-0
A. Bouchard G. Domon (1997) ArticleTitleThe transformation of the natural landscapes of the Haut-Saint-Laurent (Québec) and their implications on future resource management Landscape Urban Plan. 37 99–107 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0169-2046(96)00374-X
B. Boulet-Gercourt G. Lebleu (2000) ArticleTitleLes plantations d’enrichissement: leur utilisation après chablis Forêt-entreprise 135 53–59
D.S. Buckley T.L. Sharik J.G. Isebrands (1998) ArticleTitleRegeneration of northern red oak: positive and negative effects of competitor removal Ecology 79 65–78 Occurrence Handle10.2307/176865
S.W. Childs H.R. Holbo E.L. Miller (1985) ArticleTitleShadecard and shelterwood modification of the soil temperature environment Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 49 1018–1023 Occurrence Handle10.2136/sssaj1985.03615995004900040046x
S.W. Childs L.E. Flint (1987) ArticleTitleEffect of shadecards, shelterwoods, and clear-cuts on temperature and moisture environments For. Ecol. Manage. 18 205–217 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0378-1127(87)90161-7
A. Cogliastro D. Gagnon D. Coderre P. Bhereur (1990) ArticleTitleResponses of seven hardwood tree species to herbiciderototilling, and legume cover at two southern Quebec plantation sites Can. J. For. Res. 20 1172–1182 Occurrence Handle1:CAS:528:DyaK3cXmt1Kgt7Y%3D Occurrence Handle10.1139/x90-156
A. Cogliastro D. Gagnon A. Bouchard (1993) ArticleTitleEffet des sites et des traitements sylvicoles sur la croissancel’allocation en biomasse et l’utilisation de l’azote de semis de quatre espèces feuillues en plantation dans le sud-ouest du Québec Can. J. For. Res. 23 199–209
R.J. Davies (1988) ArticleTitleSheet mulching as an aid to broadleaved tree establishment II. Comparison of various sizes of black polythene mulch and herbicide treated spot Forestry 61 107–124
F. Gendron C. Messier P.G. Comeau (1998) ArticleTitleComparison of various methods for estimating the mean growing season percent photosynthetic photon flux density in forests Agr. For. Meteorol. 92 55–70 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0168-1923(98)00082-3
J. Goulet C. Messier E. Nikinmaa (2000) ArticleTitleEffect of branch position and light availability on shoot growth of understory sugar maple and yellow birch saplings Can. J. Bot. 78 1077–1085 Occurrence Handle10.1139/cjb-78-8-1077
M.M. Grandtner (1966) La végétation forestière du Québec méridional Presses de l’Université de Montréal Laval, Québec 216
J.W. Groninger S.G. Baer D.-A. Babassana D.H. Allen (2004) ArticleTitlePlanted green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh.) and herbaceous vegetation responses to initial competition control during the first 3 years of afforestation For. Ecol. Manage. 90 161–169 Occurrence Handle10.1016/j.foreco.2003.07.039
H.R. Holbo S.W. Childs (1987) ArticleTitleSummertime radiation balances of clear-cut and shelterwood slopes in southwest Oregon For. Sci. 33 504–516
H.N.L. Houerou (1993) ArticleTitleLand degradation in Mediterranean Europe: can agroforestry be a part of the solution? A prospective review Agro. Syst. 21 43–61 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00704925
C. Kim T.L. Sharik M.F. Jurgensen (1995) ArticleTitleCanopy cover effects on soil nitrogen mineralization in northern red oak (Quercus rubra) stands in northern Lower Michigan For. Ecol. Manage. 76 21–28 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0378-1127(95)03563-P
R. Man V. Lieffers (1999) ArticleTitleEffects of shelterwood and site preparation on microclimate and establishment of white spruce seedlings in a boreal mixedwood forest For. Chron. 75 837–844
A. Meilleur A. Bouchard Y. et Bergeron (1994a) ArticleTitleThe relation between geomorphology and forest community types of the Haut-St-LaurentQuébec Vegetatio 111 173–192 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF00040336
A. Meilleur H. Véronneau A. Bouchard (1994b) ArticleTitleShrub communities as inhibitors of plant succession in southern Quebec Environ. Manage. 18 907–921 Occurrence Handle10.1007/BF02393620
C. Mercier J. Brisson A. Bouchard (2001) ArticleTitleDemographic analysis of tree colonization in a 20-year-old right-of-way Environ. Manage. 28 777–787 Occurrence Handle11915966 Occurrence Handle1:STN:280:DC%2BD387ot1elsg%3D%3D Occurrence Handle10.1007/s002670010261
Ministère de l’Environnement du Québec. 2000. Sommaire climatologique du Québec. Sommaires 1998, 1999 et 2000, Station St-Anicet. Direction des réseaux atmosphériques ministère de l’Environnement du Québec, Québec.
Ministère des Ressources naturelles, de la Faune et des Parcs du Québec 2003. Ressources et industries forestières. Portrait statistique 1999–2002., Direction du développement de l’industrie des produits forestiers, Chapitre 5.6 Reboisement.
M. Newton M.L. McCormack SuffixJr. R.L. Sajdak J.D. Walstad (1987) Forest vegetation problems in the northeast and lake States/Provinces J.D. Walstad P.J. Kuch (Eds) Forest Vegetation Management for Conifer Production John Wiley and Sons Hoboken, NJ 77–103
D.A. Orwig M.D. Abrams (1994) ArticleTitleLand-use history (1720–1992), composition and dynamics of oak-pine forests within the Piedmont and Coastal Plain of northern Virginia Can. J. For. Res. 24 1216–1225
D. Pan G. Domon S. de Blois A. Bouchard (1999) ArticleTitleTemporal (1958–1993) and spatial patterns of land use changes in Haut-Saint-Laurent (Quebec, Canada) and their relation to landscape physical attributes Landscape Ecol. 14 35–52 Occurrence Handle10.1023/A:1008022028804
S. Parent C. Messier (1996) ArticleTitleA simple and efficient method to estimate microsite light availability under a forest canopy Can. J. For. Res. 26 151–154
F. Ponder SuffixJr. (2003) ArticleTitleTen-year results of tree shelters on survival and growth of planted hardwoods North. J. Appl. For. 20 104–108
C.E. Prescott (1997) ArticleTitleEffects of clearcutting and alternative silvicultural systems on rates of decomposition and nitrogen mineralization in a coastal montane coniferous forest For. Ecol. Manage. 95 253–256 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0378-1127(97)00027-3
F.E. Putz C.D. Canham (1992) ArticleTitleMechanisms of arrested succession in shrublands: root and shoot competition between shrubs and tree seedling For. Ecol. Manage. 49 267–275 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0378-1127(92)90140-5
Schlesinger R.C. 1990. Fraxinus americana L. In: Burns R.M., Honkala B.H. and Tech. coords.,(eds.), Sylvics of North America 2. Hardwoods. USDA Forest Service, Washington, pp. 333–338.
J. Schmitt R.D. Wulff (1993) ArticleTitleLight spectral quality, phytochrome and plant competition Trends Ecol. Evol. 8 47–51 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0169-5347(93)90157-K
InstitutionalAuthorNameStatistique Canada (1992a) Profil agricole du Québec. Partie 1. Statistique Canada Division de l’agriculture Ottawa, Ontario
InstitutionalAuthorNameStatistique Canada (1992b) Profil agricole du Québec. Partie 2. Statistique Canada Département de l’agriculture Ottawa, Ontario
InstitutionalAuthorNameStatistique Canada (1997) Profil agricole du Québec. Statistique Canada Département de l’agriculture Ottawa, Ontario
M.E. Stover P.L. Marks (1998) ArticleTitleSuccessional vegetation on abandoned cultivated and pastured land in Tompkins county, New York J. Torrey Bot. Soc. 125 150–164 Occurrence Handle10.2307/2997302
K. Takahashi T. Seino T. Kohyama (2001) ArticleTitleResponses to canopy openings in architectural development of saplings in eight deciduous broad-leaved tree species Can. J. For. Res. 31 1336–1347 Occurrence Handle10.1139/cjfr-31-8-1336
T. Tatoni P. Roche (1994) ArticleTitleComparison of old-field and forest revegetation dynamics in Provence J. Veg. Sci. 5 295–302 Occurrence Handle10.2307/3235852
B. Truax D. Gagnon (1993) ArticleTitleEffects of straw and black plastic mulching on the initial growth and nutrition of butternutwhite ash and bur oak For. Ecol. Manage. 57 17–27 Occurrence Handle10.1016/0378-1127(93)90159-K
B. Truax F. Lambert D. et Gagnon (2000) ArticleTitleHerbicide-free plantations of oaks and ashes along a gradient of open forested mesic environments For. Ecol. Manage. 137 155–169 Occurrence Handle10.1016/S0378-1127(99)00324-2
F.W. von Althen (1987) Site preparation and weed control in hardwood afforestation in Ontario R.L. Hay F.W. Woods H. DeSelm (Eds) Proceedings of the Sixth Central Hardwood Forest ConferenceKnoxvilleTNFebruary 24–26, 1987 University of Tennessee Knoxville 75–80
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cogliastro, A., Benjamin, K. & Bouchard, A. Effects of full and partial clearing, with and without herbicide, on weed cover, light availability, and establishment success of white ash in shrub communities of abandoned pastureland in southwestern Quebec, Canada. New Forest 32, 197–210 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11056-005-5960-8
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11056-005-5960-8