Variations in Northern white-cedar (Thuja occidentalis) regeneration following operational selection cutting in mixedwood stands of western Quebec.

Poorly adapted silvicultural practices and an increase in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus Zimmerman) populations have most likely contributed to a decline of northern white-cedar (Thuja occidentalis L.) in many regions of eastern North America. Suggestions have been made to use selection cutting in order to regenerate cedar in mixedwood stands but the approach has not yet been validated in an operational framework. The objective of this study was then to determine how local variations in stand condition and treatment application influence white-cedar regeneration at an operational scale in mixedwood stands. Seventy treated/control permanent plots, having at least 10% of basal area in cedar, were selected. A regeneration inventory was conducted in 2014, 15 to 20 years after harvesting activities. Results indicate that the selection cutting allows the establishment of white-cedar when deer densities are low, which was the case on the study sites. The abundance of seed trees, harvesting intensity, competition and the availability of establishment microsites influence the abundance, growth, and recruitment of white-cedar seedlings and saplings in the residual stand.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author