STEM- AND STAND-LEVEL GROWTH AND MORTALITY FOLLOWING PARTIAL CUTTING IN EASTERN BOREAL POPLAR-WHITE SPRUCE STANDS

Variable retention (VR) and partial cutting are both considered important silvicultural tools of natural disturbance- or ecosystem-based forest management approaches. Partial harvesting differs from VR in that post-treatment growth responses and stand regeneration are the primary objective rather than the maintenance of biodiversity. This partial cutting study is undertaken in mixed poplar (Populus spp.) â white spruce (Picea glauca) stands in the eastern Canadian boreal mixedwood forest. It compares, at the tree level, absolute (AGR) and relative growth rates (RGR) of basal area (BA) and stem survivorship and, at the stand level, absolute BA growth, mortality and sapling density 10 years post-treatment. The completely randomized experiment was established with four intensities of partial cutting (0, 50, 65 and 100% of poplar BA). All partial cutting intensities had a significant and similar positive effect on AGR of residual spruce stems. Complete poplar removal resulted in the highest increase in RGR of suppressed and intermediate spruce stems but also in higher spruce mortality. Removal of 50 % of the initial poplar stand basal area provided the best balance between positive residual stem growth of spruce and poplar and limited post-treatment mortality.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