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Vascular Plant Response to Slashburning and Clearcutting in Central British Columbia: a 20 Year Study of Plant Functional Type Resilience

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Vascular Plant Response to Slashburning and Clearcutting in Central British Columbia: a 20 Year Study of Plant Functional Type Resilience VASCULAR PLANT RESPONSE TO SLASHBURNING AND CLEARCUTTING IN CENTRAL BRITISH COLUMBIA: A 20 YEAR STUDY OF PLANT FUNCTIONAL TYPE RESILIENCE by JULIA RAE CHANDLER B.A., Simon Fraser University, 2004 M.Sc., Simon Fraser University, 2007 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Forestry) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) July 2014 © Julia Rae Chandler, 2014 Abstract How resilience is understood and measured has become increasingly challenging for ecologists, particularly as terrestrial ecosystems are undergoing radical change as climate changes. This body of work proposes a specific approach to studying resilience and applied it to Interior Cedar-Hemlock (ICH), Sub-Boreal Spruce (SBS) and Engelmann Spruce-Subalpine Fir (ESSF) forests extending across central British Columbia, Canada. Repeated measurements (% cover and height) of vascular plants were collected between 1981 and 2008 (1, 2, 3, 5, 10 and 20 years after clearcutting and slashburning) in permanent research installations. Individual species sensitive to the forestry treatment (recorded exclusively pre-burn) included Rhododendron albiflorum, Menziesia ferruginea and Prosartes hookeri in the ICH; Rubus pedatus in the SBS; and Orthilia secunda, Listera cordata and Moneses uniflora in the ESSF. Post-burn shifts in species dominance consisted of substantial loss of Abies lasiocarpa, Oplopanax horridus and Listera cordata, and increases in Alnus spp., Salix spp., Epilobium spp. and Calamagrostis spp., indicating possible transition from conifer forest to mixed forest or open meadow ecosystems at several study sites. To overcome the difficulty of evaluating ecosystem resilience from measurements of 183 individual species recorded in experimental plots, I created plant functional types (PFTs) based on 15 common plant traits. PFTs were determined by grouping together plants that behave in similar ways or produce similar outcomes despite having different physical characteristics or evolutionary paths. PFT models of abundance and richness along gradients of soil nitrogen and fire severity over time indicated linear and non-linear response trends, and lasting and temporary effects. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to measure the relative importance of factors driving the responses observed. The SEM indicated that mean annual precipitation (MAP) negatively influenced fire severity; mean annual temperature (MAT) positively influenced fire severity and soil nutrients; and MAP and MAT directly and/or indirectly influenced most PFTs. My research suggests that clearcutting and slashburning do not alone alter the diversity or function of mesic ESSF, SBS and ICH forests; however, past and future anthropogenic disturbances combined with non-historical climate and interrelated edaphic factors may place long-term stability of these ecosystems at risk. ii Preface In 2007 and 2008, I, accompanied by Evelyn Hamilton, Suzanne Simard, and Sybille Haeussler as well as several field assistants, revisited seven permanent research installations to locate existing plots, collect 20-year post-burn vegetation data measurements, and collect soil samples. The primary tasks of this dissertation, works to call my own, has been creating a plant trait dataset and developing plant functional types of central B. C. (Chapter 2); measuring resistance and resilience of ICH, ESSF and SBS forest 20 years after clearcutting and prescribed burning in central B. C. (Chapter 3); investigating response of plant functional types of central B. C. to gradients of fire severity and soil nitrogen over time (Chapter 4); and developing a structural equation model to quantify the relative importance of factors associated with resilience of conifer forest in central B. C. (Chapter 5). iii Table of Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................................. ii Preface................................................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ....................................................................................................................................iv List of Tables .......................................................................................................................................... vii List of Figures ........................................................................................................................................ viii List of Abbreviations................................................................................................................................ ix Glossary .................................................................................................................................................. x Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................. xi Dedication.............................................................................................................................................. xii Chapter 1. General introduction .............................................................................................................. 1 Approaches for measuring the state of managed forests in central British Columbia ..................... 3 Reducing forest ecosystem complexity using plant functional types (Chapter 2) ........................ 3 Measuring stability with vascular plant species and plant functional types (Chapter 3) .............. 4 Measuring resilience of vascular plants along ecological gradients (Chapter 4) .......................... 6 Measuring resilience with structural equation modeling (Chapter 5) ......................................... 7 Thesis objectives ........................................................................................................................... 8 Study area ..................................................................................................................................... 9 Chapter 2. Complex dataset reduction: 183 vascular plants characterized by 9 functional types ............ 15 Methods ..................................................................................................................................... 16 Field procedures ..................................................................................................................... 16 Data ........................................................................................................................................ 17 Statistical analysis ................................................................................................................... 17 Results ........................................................................................................................................ 18 9 plant functional types ........................................................................................................... 18 Discussion ................................................................................................................................... 19 Plant functional types and their ecology .................................................................................. 19 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 21 iv Chapter 3. Measuring resistance and resilience in ESSF, ICH and SBS forests of central British Columbia 23 Methods ..................................................................................................................................... 25 Measuring resistance .............................................................................................................. 25 Measuring resilience ............................................................................................................... 25 Results ........................................................................................................................................ 26 Resistance ............................................................................................................................... 26 Resilience ................................................................................................................................ 28 Discussion ................................................................................................................................... 30 Resistance ............................................................................................................................... 30 Resilience ................................................................................................................................ 31 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 32 Chapter 4. Plant functional type response over time to gradients of fire severity and soil nitrogen ....... 43 Methods ..................................................................................................................................... 45 Field procedures - measuring fire severity ............................................................................... 45 Field procedures - measuring
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