Productivity of black spruce and Jack pine stands in Quebec as related to climate, site biological features and soil properties
Introduction
Declines in productivity induced by nutritional limitations, particularly N, have been abundantly demonstrated in the boreal forest with fertilization trials (Carlyle, 1986, Attiwil and Adams, 1993, Kimmins, 1996, Reich et al., 1997). The relationship between soil nutrient availability and forest productivity is also apparent in comparison of sites of contrasting productivity. For example, Reich et al. (1997) found a relationship between net primary productivity of 50 hardwoods and coniferous stands of Minnesota and Wisconsin and net N mineralization (R2=0.54). However, permanent site variables such as climate, drainage and soil physical properties have such a strong influence on forest productivity that soil nutrient availability may not contribute to improve the precision of site productivity estimates when these variables are taken into account. For example, Post and Curtis (1970) investigated the influence of climate and soil variables on the productivity of northern Vermont hardwoods. They found that climate and soil moisture explained more than 60% of the variability in growth but that soil chemical variables did not add more to the prediction capabilities of the model. This may be due to strong correlation between permanent site factors and soil nutrient availability. However, changes in soil nutrient availability that is due to disturbances such as fire or clear-cut may have some influence on forest productivity that is not captured in permanent site variables.
The influence of permanent site variables on the productivity of black spruce and Jack pine stands was studied extensively (Pawluk and Arneman, 1961, Wilde, 1970, Shetron, 1972, Schmidt and Carmean, 1988, Beland and Bergeron, 1996, Ung et al., 2001). However, to our knowledge, with the exception of Lowry (1975) and Hamilton and Krause (1985) for black spruce, the relationships between soil nutrient availability and black spruce or Jack pine productivity were not investigated. Fertilization trials with N alone or in combination with P and/or K stimulated the growth of Jack pine (Weetman and Algar, 1974, Camire and Bernier, 1981, Groot et al., 1984, Morrison and Foster, 1995, Weetman et al., 1995) and black spruce (Weetman, 1962, Mahendrappa and Salonius, 1982, Wells, 1994, Paquin et al., 1998). These suggest that the added contribution of soil chemical variables to a permanent site variable-based productivity model could be significant. The first objective of this paper was to assess if the productivity of black spruce and Jack pine stands in Quebec can be predicted using simulated degree-days (DD) and permanent site variables. The second objective was to explore the possibility that site biological features and chemical soil properties could improve the determination of site productivity of Jack pine and black spruce when permanent site variables are taken into account.
Section snippets
Field study and sampling
The study area covered mainly a longitudinal gradient from western to central Quebec. Sites were located in the black spruce-moss and balsam fir-white birch biogeoclimatic zones (Robitaille and Saucier, 1998). Table 1 gives a brief overview of the study sites. Thirty-two black spruce stands and 27 Jack pine sites were selected for this study during the fall of 1997 and 1998. Site selection was done carefully in order to allow the computation of a productivity gradient conducive to statistical
Site quality indices and degree-days
Site quality indices for black spruce and Jack pine varied considerably across the sites. For black spruce, SQI ranged between 6.67 and 12.3 m. These SQI values fit in the lowest productivity class for black spruce in Quebec (Robitaille and Saucier, 1998). The mean SQI for black spruce was 10.1 m with a coefficient of variation (CV) of 13.7%. For Jack pine, SQI ranged between 9.63 and 20.3 m. This range covers about 95% of Jack pine growth classes in Quebec (Robitaille and Saucier, 1998). The mean
Discussion
There are three major findings that can be drawn from the series of regressions conducted in this study: (1) degree-days estimated with the BIOSIM model in combination with parent material type are relatively good indicators of black spruce and Jack pine productivity; (2) lichen cover on the ground increases the reliability of both permanent site variable-based SQI models; and (3) the significant coupling of exchangeable Mg concentrations, Mge:CEC, Ale:CEC or Mge:Ale ratios in the forest floor
Conclusion
The results of this study suggest that some of the variability in the productivity of black spruce and Jack pine stands in Quebec can be captured by simulated degree-days and parent material type. The abundance of lichens on the ground and the acid–base status of the forest floor further explained the variability in growth. The contribution of lichens may be due to its capacity to reduce soil temperature and in turn, nutrient mineralization, or to produce allelochemicals that influence root
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