Does a Spruce Budworm Outbreak Affect the Growth Response of Black Spruce to a Subsequent Thinning?

ABSTRACT: In Canada, new forestry practices involving the natural dynamics of tree growth and regeneration are proposed for integrating forest management with biodiversity. In particular, the current spruce budworm [Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens)] outbreak in northeastern North America is forcing natural resource managers to clarify the potential interactions between natural disturbances and commercial thinning. The aim of this study was to investigate if the spruce budworm outbreak of the 1970s affected the responses of black spruce [Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.] to a subsequent thinning. Stem growth was reconstructed by measuring and cross-dating chronologies of tree-ring width of 1290 adult trees from 34 control and thinned stands within an area of 11,000 km² in the b

SUBMITTER: Rossi S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6066515 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature