Status Report to the Forestry Research Partnership

Regeneration of Paludified Forests after Different Forest Harvest and Site Preparation Techniques

FRP Project #140-702 (6472 00)

Project Leader: Yves Bergeron, UQAT Project Facilitator: Nancy Young, Forestry Research Partnership

Project Start Date: April 2007 Project Reporting Period: March 31st 2007- March 31st 2008 Report Date: March 31st 2008

1. Project Description and Activities: List project activities and their results for the year or to date as applicable; include milestones met and dates delivered; identify and explain variances from budget, refinement of objectives or other changes to project.

The four objectives of the project are to: 1. Create a GIS-based tool for mapping both the degree of successional paludification and the recovery potential of sites; 2. Estimate productivity loss due to paludification on the landscape; 3. Evaluate potential silvicultural methods such as prescribed burning and site preparation on the overall paludification process (moss cover type, tree growth and nutrition) by using retrospective analysis; 4. Establish a network of experimental sites to test the effects of prescribed burns and site preparation to measure the short-term and ultimately long-term effects of these treatments on site conditions.

Significant progress has been made towards achieving all four of these objectives. Overall the timing of the project has been delayed due to the timing of the funding approval (late spring 2007) and subsequent difficulties in recruiting students. These recruiting problems should be resolved by the end of the first year. The specific progress made for each objective is discussed below.

Objective 1: Creation of a GIS–based tool for mapping of paludification level and recovery potential of sites.

Two milestones are associated with this objective, both of which have been partially completed: (1) Quantification of the spatial extent of paludification. A paludification index based on field measurements has been created (see Simard et al. 2007 in refereed articles). This index indicates that all sites were paludified after 800 years without fire, but that sites on slopes as low as 2% lose significant productivity in the first 200 years. The data used to create this index was then used to train a K nearest neighbours program (KNN) to map the paludification index of stands using the reflectance data from LANDSAT. (2) Creation of a tool to spatially identify successionally paludified stands. Slope was indicated to be an important factor in determining the dynamics of paludification and the controlling factor in recovery potential. We therefore tested several databases of numerical topographical information to determine if their vertical resolution gave us the possibility to discriminate among very low slope values typical of those found to be significant for recovery potential. Those databases included those of the Québec Ministry of Natural Resources data and Natural Resources Canada data, as well as that produced by a space shuttle LIDAR mission at two spatial resolutions (25 and 90m). All of these were compared with slope values obtained from a plane-borne high resolution LIDAR dataset collected along a strip that covered part of the study area in 2003 and that provides very precise elevation data (± 15 cm with a pixel width of 1m). Overall the topographic data was similar to the LIDAR data with an absolute error of –0.38 m and –0.47 m for the NASA 90m and QRNM data respectively (the two best databases). However, the correlation was low, due to the low variation overall in slope on the landscape. The use of classes was investigated to classifying slopes, however only two classes were successfully discriminated; stands with a very low productivity potential and those with a very high productivity potential. New approaches to spatially identify slopes from existing databases are being explored.

Objective 2: Estimate productivity loss due to paludification on the landscape.

This objective is not currently pursued due to lack of funding.

Objective 3: Retrospectively evaluate potential silvicultural methods on the overall paludification process

Substantial progress has been made in the achievement of this objective. Two projects have been established; a comparison of clear-cuts (summer vs. winter) and CPRS (harvest with protection of soil and regeneration) in Québec, and a comparison of narrow tired harvesters, CLAAG (careful logging around advanced regeneration) and prescribed burns in Ontario. These projects are being completed by a PhD student (David Paré and Yves Bergeron) and a master’s student (Sylvie Gauthier and Yves Bergeron) respectively, with the support of a post-doc fellow. Two field seasons (2006, 2007) have been undertaken in both projects (with parallel funding in 2006) and field sampling is almost complete (milestone-test of silvicultural

practices to counteract paludification). Data analysis is underway and results should be available for the Québec project this winter, and for the Ontario project next fall. These analyses will permit the completion of the subsequent milestone, region and treatment specific growth curves for black spruce.

A third project addresses early vegetation development after harvest and site preparation. Sampling of this previously established site (4 treatments: light organic matter removal, mounding, trenching, control) will occur during of the summer of 2008, which will have permitted the trees planted in 2004 to have adequately developed for any differences among treatments to be apparent. Sampling of the moss community and the organic matter will also be completed at that time.

Objective 4: Establishment of experimental sites to test the effects of prescribed burns and site preparation

The achievement of this objective requires substantial co-operation between the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Spruce Falls (Tembec- Kapuskasing) and the Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue. Thanks to the enthusiastic participation of these partners we were able to push the achievement of this objective as far as the restriction on research prescribed burns in Ontario this summer permitted us. Briefly, a 2005 Spruce Falls (Tembec) cut block north of Kapuskasing, Ontario was identified as the site in which the prescribed burns and site preparation treatment blocks would be established. A prescribed burn application and a burn plan were completed to the satisfaction of the OMNR. Nine 1-ha blocks were established in the cut block and pre- treatment measures were taken in 40, 4m2 plots per hectare (for a total of 360 plots), including organic matter data (thickness of horizons, von Post decomposition level), and surface vegetation characterization. In the three blocks that will be burnt, measures for fuel estimates (dead and living) were also completed. Agreements were made with Spruce Falls for the subsequent treatment of the site preparation blocks (stripping) and planting of all blocks with black spruce after the treatments are complete. Until the ban was put in place in early July, we had fully expected to complete our three prescribed burns during the summer of 2007, the stripping to be completed in the winter of 2007-2008 and planting to take place in the spring of 2008. We have been assured, barring a meteorological disaster in the summer 2008, that we will be able to complete our burns. The timing of the stripping and planting are being re-evaluated so that they are optimized with the fire treatment, and the need for any additional treatments to the burn blocks to ensure their success is being evaluated.

2. Project Results vs. Objectives: Assess the extent to which the results so far have met the objectives of the proposal; note whether the project is on, ahead or behind schedule and reasons if applicable, and whether there are implications relating to success. See above

3. Financial Report: Show the planned vs. actual expenditures to date and note variances greater than 10%. Reasons are given in Section 1 above. Do this by completing the Total Planned and Actual Project Costs and Partner Contributions Table showing planned and actual expenditures for the year. This table is attached as an Excel spreadsheet and should be submitted with the Report Financial Report: 2007/2008 Planned and Actual Partner Expenditures (#140-702) see spreadsheet attached

Expenditur Tembec MNR CFS Total FRP Only es Planned Actual Planned Actual Planned Actual Planned Actual C I C I C I C I C I C I C I C I a n a n a n a n a n a n a n a n s - s - s - s - s - s - s - s - h k h k h k h k h k h k h k h k i i i i i i i i n n n n n n n n d d d d d d d d Salaries Travel Equipment Supplies Support Services Other Total

Expenditur Legacy FRP Partners Other Partners Total All es Trust P A Planned Actual Planned Actual Planned Actual Combined l c a t n u n a e l d C C C I C I C I C I C I C I P A a a n a n a n a n a n a n l s s - s - s - s - s - s - a h h k h k h k h k h k h k n i i i i i i n n n n n n n e d d d d d d d Salaries 7 6 2 4 7 $ Travel 2 0 1 1 2 $ Equipment Supplies Support Services Other Sub Total Holdback Total 9 3 6 5 3 0 5 0 9 0 $ $

4. Next Year’s Work Plan: Describe the next year’s activities; anticipated results; milestones and deliverables and provide the budget estimate. The budget estimate should be the budget detail table, with footnotes, that was part of the approved project’s financial plan. Therefore, please complete the Table below.

Expenditur 2008-09 LLT Tembec MNR CFS Other es Request C I C I C I C I a n a n a n a n s - s - s - s - h k h k h k h k i i i i n n n n d d d d Salaries Travel Equipment Supplies Support Services Other Sub total Holdback

5. Information and Publications: List produced project database(s), information and publications to date as applicable; where and when the information can be accessed; describe how this information was transferred to practitioners.

6. Project Synopsis: Provide an abstract or synopsis of the project’s results to date for posting on the LLT website.