408 resources found

This paper outlines how the forestry community can integrate a climate change focus into sustainable forest management practices to address expected environmental shifts over the next century. The core argument is that while forests will autonomously adapt, active planned adaptation is necessary to reduce vulnerability and influence the timing and direction of changes in commercially valuable areas. To facilitate this crucial response, the authors present a framework for evaluating long-term impacts, developing cost-effective adaptive actions now and in the future, and managing disturbances while preserving genetic diversity and resilience. This paper views climate change adaptation as a necessary risk management component of forest planning, offering a comprehensive summary of potential actions across areas like gene management, forest protection, and silviculture.

This document investigates the effects of forest restoration thinning on the plant life beneath the tree canopy in two dry forest types. The initial findings consistently showed that the abundance of understorey shrubs and herbs was positively linked to light intensity and inversely related to the density of trees, emphasizing the negative impact of conifer ingrowth. However, immediately following mechanical thinning, the study observed an unexpected short-term reduction in understorey species richness, diversity, and cover, particularly when compounded by drought conditions. These results suggest that while thinning aims to mitigate the long-term negative impacts of increased tree density, the immediate mechanical disturbance requires careful management, especially concerning factors like the timing of treatment and post-treatment grazing.

This document serves as a practical guide for forest managers in British Columbia's Coast Forest Region. Its primary purpose is to help conserve and maintain suitable winter habitat for Roosevelt elk while simultaneously ensuring successful conifer regeneration. This document details crucial aspects like habitat features, risks associated with forestry activities such as road building and timber harvesting, and various silvicultural strategies to mitigate elk browse damage to young trees. By summarizing extensive research and expert discussions, this document provides foresters with the necessary information to balance wildlife conservation with timber production goals.

This document presents tools designed to assist silvicultural practitioners in making informed decisions about managing competing vegetation and forest health. This document provides crucial information on biological features and site-limiting factors for new and less experienced professionals, without making the decisions for them. The document presents three vegetation complexes in the Cariboo Forest Region including Dry Shrub, Fireweed, and Mixed Hardwood-Shrub, each detailing common species, treatment necessity based on site series, silvicultural considerations, and autecological characteristics, ultimately aiding in effective forest management strategies. The docuement also highlight other valuess such as the importance for First Nations, wildlife, and ecosystem protection.

This document introduces crucial tools for silvicultural practitioners in the Cariboo Forest Region. This document synthesizes research and local knowledge to provide guidance on managing factors like competing vegetation and forest health, rather than dictating decisions. Specifically, the document details stand establishment for various issues affecting lodgepole pine, including Comandra and Stalactiform Blister Rust, Lodgepole Pine Dwarf Mistletoe, Lodgepole Pine Terminal Weevil, Pine Needlecast, and Western Gall Rust. For each issue, hazard ratings are offered based on biogeoclimatic zones and subzones and outline silvicultural considerations for establishment, regeneration, and plantation maintenance, empowering practitioners to make informed management strategies.

This document provides essential guidance for forestry practitioners in British Columbia on managing timber operations to protect fisher habitat. Fishers are a forest-dependent carnivore considered a Species of Special Concern, relying on specific late-successional forest structures, such as large-diameter trees with cavities for dens and diverse habitats for foraging and resting. The guide outlines habitat requirements, distribution, and critical forest management considerations at landscape, stand, and patch levels, emphasizing the need to retain and recruit vital structural components that are often removed by conventional harvesting. The purpose of this document is to inform sustainable forestry practices that ensure the long-term survival of fisher populations within managed forests.

This document outlines a structured decision-making process for stand density management in forestry, emphasizing biological, economic, and forest-level considerations. It delves into the biological responses of timber production to various density management practices like pre-commercial and commercial thinning, explaining how these treatments impact factors such as yield, timber quality, and tree size. The document also details the economic principles necessary for evaluating the financial viability of such interventions, including cost analysis and future value predictions. Finally, it stresses the importance of aligning stand-level decisions with broader forest-level objectives and introduces various decision support tools and analytical techniques, like sensitivity analysis, to aid in complex forestry planning.

This document is a detailed report summarizing a commercial thinning experiment in the Horsefly Forest District in British Columbia. The primary goal was to assess the operational feasibility of commercial thinning as an alternative silviculture treatment, particularly focusing on developing higher-valued timber stands. The report delves into numerous technical and environmental issues, including desired crop tree characteristics, hydrological stability, and windthrow and snow-damage, backed by exhaustive production reports from the harvesting machinery and detailed snow breakage and crown growth surveys. The study concluded that commercial thinning is an operationally viable option within the Cariboo Forest Region, providing continued access to merchantable stands.

This study investigates the factors influencing natural regeneration in uniform shelterwood systems, specifically focusing on Douglas-fir in the Sub-Boreal Spruce Zone. The study details methods for assessing seedfall density, seed predation, seedbed distribution, and the germination and survival rates of seedlings under various harvesting treatments. The core purpose is to understand how these elements interact to determine successful conifer regeneration, particularly noting that rotting wood and mineral soil are superior seedbeds compared to forest floor and moss, and that while harvesting can increase mineral soil exposure, it is often insufficient to maximize regeneration without additional scarification. The findings suggest that while all tested shelterwood methods promote adequate regeneration and frost protection, lower residual basal areas combined with significant forest floor disturbance are most favorable for Douglas-fir seedling growth and survival.

This paper investigates innovative harvesting and silvicultural systems designed to sustainably manage western Canada's boreal mixedwood forests, specifically focusing on the protection of immature white spruce while simultaneously enhancing deciduous regeneration. The studies were conducted in central and northern Alberta with the aim to develop cost-effective and operational methods for balancing the needs of conifer and deciduous users to maintain biodiversity and ecosystem sustainability. Key findings include the demonstration that specific equipment and techniques can significantly reduce damage to spruce during harvest, with particular emphasis on feller-buncher operations, carefully planned machine corridors, and wind buffers to mitigate blowdown.

This technical report explores silvicultural systems for managing deciduous and mixedwood stands that contain a white spruce understory in southwestern Alberta. The primary purpose of the document is to explain different management options and harvesting techniques that protect this understory, particularly focusing on a two-stage harvesting model for sustainable production of both conifer and hardwood. It emphasizes evaluating stand suitability, site conditions, and wind damage risk to ensure successful regeneration and growth of spruce and aspen and addresses the complexities of balancing timber yield with ecosystem health and biodiversity.

This report examines how to define and identify old-growth forests in the Boreal Foothills of British Columbia, emphasizing that age alone is an insufficient measure. It introduces an index of old-growthness, a quantitative scoring system based on multiple structural attributes like tree and snag diameters, coarse woody debris volume, and the presence of specific wildlife habitat features. The study aims to move beyond simple age-based classifications, providing forest managers with a more biologically meaningful tool to assess and conserve these vital ecosystems, acknowledging that structural characteristics, rather than just age, are the true indicators of an old-growth forest's ecological value.

This extension note investigates recent changes in aboveground live-tree carbon within spruce and fir-dominated sub-boreal forests in the interior of British Columbia. The study specifically re-evaluated carbon stocks between 20032004 and 2018 at the Aleza Lake Research Forest to understand how carbon storage is impacted by tree species and size. The authors found that while younger forest stands generally accumulated carbon, older stands with larger trees showed a decline in aboveground live-tree carbon, largely due to increased mortality of these large trees. This highlights a critical concern regarding the role of mature forests in carbon sequestration amidst accelerating climate change and increasing tree mortality rates.

This document outlines a framework for restoring ponderosa pine and dry mixed-conifer forests on Colorado's Front Range, addressing the increased size and severity of recent wildfires. It emphasizes understanding the historical ecological dynamics of these forests, particularly changes in density and fire regimes, to inform modern management. The document details principles and guidelines for restoration and emphasizes the importance of spatial and temporal scale, enhancing desired and rare structural elements like openings and tree groups, and working with natural environmental gradients and disturbance patterns. This document provides a process for planning, implementing, and monitoring restoration projects, highlighting the crucial role of adaptive management and interdisciplinary collaboration to ensure forest resilience and sustained delivery of ecosystem services.

This webinar presents results from a simulation study of north-central New Mexico that investigated the relative effectiveness of a variety of fuel treatment strategies and the tradeoffs of implementing fuels programs with competing management goals.

This paper addresses the severe decline of High Elevation Five-Needle White Pine forests in western North America, primarily due to mountain pine beetle outbreaks, white pine blister rust, and altered fire regimes exacerbated by changing climates. The authors advocate for multi-scaled management interventions to promote resilience to disturbances and genetic resistance to white pine blister rust. The paper details the critical need for long-term programs like inventory, mapping, and research, alongside active restoration treatments such as mechanical cuttings and prescribed fires, and proactive tree-level measures like planting rust-resistant seedlings and protecting high-value trees, all while integrating climate change considerations throughout the planning and implementation process.

This research compiles and analyzes a national database of dead and down woody debris to improve fire behavior and effects modeling in Canadian forests. The study emphasizes that DWD is a major component of surface fuels, significantly impacting fire intensity, consumption, and the transition to crown fires. By examining various forest types and ecozones, the authors identified key predictive variables such as bioclimatic regime, age, and structural components. This work provides crucial tools for a more accurate understanding of DWD distribution across Canada, enhancing the country's ability to forecast and manage wildfires.

This document details the Strathcona Elk Winter Range Enhancement Project, a multi-year initiative in British Columbia focused on improving habitat for Roosevelt elk. The project's main goals were to increase forage production, create better cover, and ultimately support a healthier elk population through various habitat enhancement trials, including seeding, pruning, and clearing. The report summarizes the methodology, results, and recommendations from the 2004 efforts, highlighting observations on forage growth, browse availability, and elk usage patterns, alongside financial expenditures and the project's long-term objectives for elk conservation within the Strathcona Provincial Park and surrounding valleys.

This document summarizes the Strathcona Elk Winter Range Restoration Project in British Columbia, outlining habitat restoration efforts from 2002 to 2003. The project focused on increasing forage production and improving cover attributes for elk through activities like planting, pruning, and scarification at six sites. Beyond restoration, a significant component involved monitoring techniques to assess project success and document its impact on Roosevelt elk populations, alongside efforts to increase public awareness about elk habitat needs.

This report introduces a quantitative old-growth index specifically designed for Douglas-fir forests in central British Columbia's Interior Douglas-fir zone, particularly in the IDF_dk_3 and IDF_dk_4 biogeoclimatic variants. Recognizing that traditional age-based definitions of old growth are insufficient for forests frequently impacted by disturbances, the authors developed an index based on measurable structural attributes like tree size, canopy complexity, and the presence of dead trees. This index aims to provide forest managers with a consistent tool to identify and classify old-growth stands into four seral stages, helping guide management practices for biodiversity conservation and the enhancement of old-growth characteristics. The study emphasizes that this index relies on expert professional judgment to quantify what constitutes old-growth attributes in these specific forest types.