Authors: Addison J.; Blackwell B.A.; He F.; Preston C.A.; Marshall V.G.; Trofymow J.A.

Source: Environmental Reviews, Volume 11, Supplement 1, September 2003 , pp. S187-S204(18)

Publisher: NRC Research Press

Abstract:

The Douglas-fir forests of coastal British Columbia are within the most heavily modified forest ecosystem types in coastal BC and local land managers are developing new forestry practices to retain elements of old growth within the managed forest area. To determine how successful these practices are requires the selection and monitoring of appropriate attributes and knowledge on how they change with stand development. In this paper we summarize previously published results from an extensive data set on four Douglas-fir dominated sites located on eastern Vancouver Island. Data were collected as part of the Coastal Forest Chronosequences project which was addressing questions on (1) how does conversion to managed forests impact species and forest structural diversity and (2) how does this diversity recover in older second-growth stands. Each site contained four stands, a postharvest chronosequence: regeneration (R, 5–10 years), immature (I, 25–45 years), and maturing (M, 75–95 years) stands, and an old growth (O, >240 years) control stand. Over 20 attributes are summarized including structural attributes, and at three sites, detailed biodiversity and process attributes. All old-growth plots exceeded the minimum age criteria and some but not all of the minimum structural attribute criteria for old-growth Douglas-fir forests in the US Pacific Northwest, reflecting regional or site type differences. Most structural attributes showed their greatest change within the first 100 years, although older stands (M and O) still differed based on tree and snag sizes and tree mass or basal area. Most species abundance and richness attributes and process attributes clearly differentiated R from the forested stages but were of less value for differentiating among older (M and O) stands. Arboreal lichen abundance and species richness; the abundance of cryptogams, achlorophyllus plants, litter collembola, and specific species of fungi and carabids; litter fall and gap fraction were the exception, these attributes clearly differentiating M from O stands. In postharvest stands, the overall pattern of change with succession for most attributes, as inferred from the chronosequence, was confirmed to be very different from a previously published conceptual model for post-fire succession. Compared to the post-fire model, the greatest changes in the postharvest stands occurred early in stand development, associated with canopy closure. Although stand structural attributes can clearly be used to distinguish old-growth features in managed forest stands, none-the-less it is important to monitor and demonstrate, at least for a selection of nonstructural attributes, that forestry practices are effective in maintaining biodiversity and associated processes of old-growth forests in the managed forest area. Key words: old-growth forest, succession, Douglas-fir forest, criteria and indicators, biodiversity, managed forest.

Keywords: old-growth forest, succession, Douglas-fir forest, criteria and indicators, biodiversity, managed forest, forêt ancienne, succession, forêts de douglas, critères et indicateurs, biodiversité, forêt aménagée

Document Type: Research article

Publication date: 2003-09-01

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• Published since 1993, this annual electronic-only journal presents authoritative reviews on a wide range of environmental science and associated environmental studies topics, with emphasis on the effects on and response of both natural and manmade ecosystems to anthropogenic stress. The authorship and scope are international, with critical reviews submitted and invited on such topics as climate change, harvesting impacts, acid rain, pesticide use, lake acidification, air and marine pollution, ecology of oil spills, biological control, food chain biomagnification, rehabilitation of polluted aquatic systems, erosion, agroforestry, and bio-indicators of environmental stress.
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