A Silvicultural Guide for the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Conifer Forest in Ontario

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A Silvicultural Guide for the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Conifer Forest in Ontario A Silvicultural Guide for the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Conifer Forest in Ontario Version 1.1 Cette publication technique nÕest disponible quÕen anglais. 1998, QueenÕs Printer for Ontario Printed in Ontario, Canada Single copies of this publication are available for $27.50 from the address noted below. Natural Resources Information Centre Room M1-73, Macdonald Block 900 Bay Street Toronto ON M7A 2C1 Current publications of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, and price lists, are also available from this office. Telephone inquiries about ministry programs and services should be directed to the Natural Resources Information Centre: Toronto General Inquiry (416) 314-2000 Renseignements en fran•ais (416) 314-1665 FAX (416) 314-1593 Other government publications are available from Publications Ontario, Main Floor, 880 Bay St., Toronto. For mail orders write Publications Ontario, 50 Grosvenor St., Toronto, Ontario M7A 1N8. Cheques or money orders should be made payable to the Minister of Finance and payment must accompany order. This publication should be cited as: OMNR. 1998. A silvicultural guide for the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence conifer forest in Ontario. Ont. Min. Nat. Resour. QueenÕs Printer for Ontario. Toronto. 424p. This paper contains recycled materials. A Silvicultural Guide for the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Conifer Forest in Ontario CONTENTS List of Figures List of Tables Preface and Acknowledgments EBR Statement 1.0 Introduction 2.0 Importance of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Conifer Forest to People 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Ecological Importance 2.3 Aesthetic and Recreational Importance 2.4 Spiritual Importance 2.5 Cultural Importance 2.6 Economic Importance 3.0 Characteristics of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Conifer Forest 3.1 Site 3.2 Climate 3.3 Ecosites 3.3.1 Central Ontario ecosites (ES) 3.3.1.1 White pine and red pine 3.3.1.2 White spruce 3.3.1.3 Eastern hemlock 3.3.1.4 Eastern white cedar 3.3.2 Northwestern Ontario ecosites (ES) 3.3.2.1 White pine and red pine 3.3.2.2 White spruce 3.3.3 Northeastern Ontario site types (ST) 3.3.3.1 White pine and red pine 3.3.3.2 White spruce 3.3.3.3 Eastern white cedar 3.4 Silvics of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Conifers 3.4.1 White Pine 3.4.1.1 Growing conditions for white pine 3.4.1.2 Ecosites 3.4.1.3 White pine seed production 3.4.1.4 White pine seed germination and establishment 3.4.1.5 White pine development from seedling to mature tree iii 3.4.2 Red Pine 3.4.2.1 Growing conditions for red pine 3.4.2.2 Ecosites 3.4.2.3 Red pine seed production 3.4.2.4 Red pine seed germination and establishment 3.4.2.5 Red pine development from seedling to mature tree 3.4.3 White Spruce 3.4.3.1 Growing conditions for white spruce 3.4.3.2 Ecosites 3.4.3.3 White spruce seed production 3.4.3.4 White spruce seed germination and establishment 3.4.3.5 White spruce development from seedling to mature tree 3.4.4 Red Spruce 3.4.4.1 Growing conditions for red spruce 3.4.4.2 Ecosites 3.4.4.3 Red spruce seed production 3.4.4.4 Red spruce seed germination and establishment 3.4.4.5 Red spruce development from seedling to mature tree 3.4.5 Eastern Hemlock 3.4.5.1 Growing conditions for eastern hemlock 3.4.5.2 Ecosites 3.4.5.3 Eastern hemlock seed production 3.4.5.4 Eastern hemlock seed germination and establishment 3.4.5.5 Eastern hemlock development from seedling to mature tree 3.4.6 Eastern White Cedar 3.4.6.1 Growing conditions for white cedar 3.4.6.2 Ecosites 3.4.6.3 Eastern white cedar seed production 3.4.6.4 Eastern white cedar seed germination and establishment 3.4.6.5 Eastern white cedar development from seedling to mature tree 3.4.7 Autecology of Associated Plants 3.4.7.1 Summary 3.4.8 Damaging Agents 3.4.8.1 White pine weevil 3.4.8.2 Red-headed pine sawfly and European pine sawfly 3.4.8.3 Hemlock looper 3.4.8.4 Cedar leaf miner 3.4.8.5 White pine blister rust 3.4.8.6 Scleroderris canker 3.4.8.7 Fomes root rot 3.4.8.8 Red ring rot 3.4.8.9 White-tailed deer 3.4.8.10 Mice and voles 3.4.8.11 Rabbits and hares 3.4.8.12 Porcupines iv 4.0 Quality Development in Trees 4.1 Assessing Individual Tree Vigour Potential 4.2 Assessing Individual Tree Risk Potential 4.3 Assessing Individual Tree Quality Potential 4.4 Growing Stock Classification Systems 5.0 Stand Growth and Yield 5.1 Site Quality Assessment 5.2 Individual Tree Estimation 5.3 Forest Level Estimation and Forecasting 6.0 Genetics 6.1 The Importance of Genetics to Sustainable Forest Management 6.2 How to Maintain and Conserve Genetic Diversity 6.2.1 White Pine 6.2.1.1 Progeny tests and population differences 6.2.1.2 Races, varieties and hybrids 6.2.2 Red Pine 6.2.2.1 Progeny tests and population differences 6.2.2.2 Races, varieties and hybrids 6.2.3 Red Spruce 6.2.3.1 Progeny tests and population differences 6.2.3.2 Races, varieties and hybrids 6.2.4 Eastern White Cedar 6.2.4.1 Progeny tests and population differences 6.2.4.2 Races, varieties and hybrids 6.2.5 White Spruce 6.2.5.1 Progeny tests and population differences 6.2.5.2 Races, varieties and hybrids 7.0 Ecological Foundations for Silviculture 7.1 Prescription Development 7.1.1 Silvicultural Ground Rules 7.1.2 Forest Operations Prescriptions 7.1.2.1 Evaluation of existing data and plans 7.1.2.2 Field inspection 7.1.2.3 Development of site-specific targets 7.1.2.4 Prescription formulation and implementation 7.1.2.5 Monitoring and evaluation 7.2 Silvicultural Systems 7.2.1 Clearcut System 7.2.1.1 Conventional clearcut 7.2.1.2 Clearcut with standards 7.2.1.3 Seed tree (clearcut with seed trees) 7.2.1.4 Patch clearcut 7.2.1.5 Progressive strip clearcut v 7.2.2 Shelterwood System 7.2.2.1 Uniform shelterwood 7.2.2.2 Strip shelterwood 7.2.2.3 Group shelterwood 7.2.3 Selection System 7.2.3.1 Uniform, or single-tree, selection 7.2.3.2 Group selection 7.2.4 Modifications to the Conventional Application of Silvicultural Systems 7.2.4.1 Site and stand protection 7.2.4.2 Maintenance of wildlife habitat 7.2.4.3 Maintenance of structural legacy of the initial forest 7.2.4.4 Maintenance of genetic diversity 7.2.5 Recommendations for the selection and implementation of silvicultural systems based on ecosites and target species 7.2.5.1 Desired tree species - white pine 7.2.5.2 Desired tree species - red pine 7.2.5.3 Desired tree species - hemlock 7.2.5.4 Desired tree species - white spruce 7.2.5.5 Desired tree species - red spruce 7.2.5.6 Desired tree species - white cedar 7.3 Site Preparation 7.3.1 Mechanical Site Preparation 7.3.1.1 Effects of mechanical site preparation on forest productivity... 7.3.1.2 Setting the objectives 7.3.1.3 Selecting the site 7.3.1.4 Selecting the equipment 7.3.1.5 Assessing the effects of treatment 7.3.1.6 Ecosite specific considerations 7.3.2 Chemical Site Preparation 7.3.2.1 Herbicides available for chemical site preparation 7.3.2.2 Methods for herbicide application 7.3.2.3 Effects of herbicides on forest productivity, health and condition 7.3.2.4 Planning a chemical site preparation operation 7.3.2.5 Objectives of chemical site preparation 7.3.2.6 Selecting the site 7.3.2.7 Selecting the herbicide, application method and timing 7.3.2.8 Assessing the effects of treatment 7.3.2.9 Ecosite specific considerations 7.3.3 Prescribed Fire 7.3.3.1 Effects of prescribed burning on forest productivity, health... 7.3.3.2 Objectives of prescribed burning 7.3.3.3 Planning a prescribed burn 7.3.3.4 The Canadian Fire Weather Index System 7.3.3.5 Pre-harvest understorey burning 7.3.3.6 Post-harvest burns 7.3.3.7 Ecosite specific considerations vi 7.4 Renewal 7.4.1 Natural Regeneration 7.4.1.1 Factors to consider for successful natural regeneration 7.4.2 Planting 7.4.2.1 Stock selection and timing of planting operations 7.4.2.2 Stand and site conditions 7.4.2.3 Seedling quality 7.4.3 Determining seeding rates 7.4.3.1 Predicting seed germination 7.4.3.2 Seed germinability and stratification 7.4.3.3 General germination model 7.4.3.4 Effect of shade on seed germination 7.4.3.5 Correction of seeding prescription for shading effect 7.4.3.6 Correction for seeding methods 7.4.3.7 Correction for seedling attrition 7.4.3.8 Correction for size of area to be treated 7.5 Stand Maintenance 7.5.1 Tending 7.5.1.1 Cleaning 7.5.1.2 Pruning 7.5.1.3 Thinning 7.5.1.4 Stand improvement 8.0 Integrating Timber and Wildlife Habitat Management 8.1 The Coarse Filter 8.1.1 Landscape scale 8.1.2 Stand scale 8.1.3 Site scale 8.2 The Fine Filter 8.2.1 White-tailed deer 8.2.2 Moose 8.2.3 Pileated woodpecker 8.2.4 American marten 8.2.5 Eagles, ospreys, herons and forest-nesting raptors 9.0 Harvesting Considerations 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Management Implications 9.2.1 Bole wounds caused by bark scraping or peeling 9.2.2 Root breakage 9.2.3 Crown damage resulting from branch breakage 9.2.4 Stem breakage/bending or tilting of trees 9.2.5 Soil/site damage vii 9.2.5.1 Compaction 9.2.5.2 Rutting 9.2.5.3 Erosion 9.2.5.4 Nutrient loss 9.3 Careful Logging Practices 10.0 Management Standards 10.1 Standards Required for the Application of Silviculture Systems 10.2 Determining Free-to-Grow Standards 10.3 Maintenance of Biodiversity 10.4 Maintenance of Productivity APPENDIX A - FEC Field Guide Listing APPENDIX B - Conifer Growth & Yield Fact Sheets APPENDIX C - Ecosite Local Volume Tables APPENDIX D - Ecosite Yield Tables APPENDIX E - Silvicultural Option Tables APPENDIX F - Sample Pre-harvest Prescription Forms APPENDIX G - How to Use a Density Management Diagram GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS GLOSSARY OF SCIENTIFIC NAMES GLOSSARY OF SPECIES ABBREVIATIONS viii List of Figures Figure Title Section Page 3.0.1 HillÕs Site Regions of Ontario
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