Management Goals & Treatments
A team of natural resource specialists from the Canadian Forest Service, regional managers, and scientists participated in a three-day workshop in July 2019 to develop the ASCC treatments for the site. Within the region, white pine forests are typically managed under the uniform shelterwood system that includes 1-3 partial harvests (preparatory, seed cut, first removal) designed to support regeneration establishment by providing a seed source and regulating light conditions. Once the white pine regeneration has surpassed a height of 6 meters (20 ft), the threat of weevil damage is minimized and the remaining overstory is harvested leaving a single-age stand to grow to maturity. The number of harvests will depend on the health, composition and basal area of the pre-harvest stand. For example, stands with lower pine components often have only the seed cut and a final removal.
The team developed a set of management objectives, desired future conditions, and silvicultural tactics for each of the ASCC Network adaptation options (Resistance, Resilience, and Transition). The ASCC project at the PRF will have 5 treatments: Control (business as usual), Resistance, Resilience, Transition, and un-treated reference conditions (no action). In each scenario, the existing forest is harvested and renewal activities initiated.
maintain relatively unchanged conditions over time
*Achieve the Desired Future Condition (DFC) with mild deviation from standard strategies & approaches at the Petawawa Research Forest
Management Goals:
Regenerate a well-stocked, productive, pine-dominated stand (white pine and other drought-tolerant species common to the site)
Maintain or increase production of high quality sawlogs and other forest products
Manage for wildlife habitat and mitigation of pests through partial harvesting and planned retention of the original overstory species
Establish white pine adapted to future climate conditions
Strategies & Approaches:
Two-cut shelterwood
Seed cut, 12-14 m2/ha residual (129-151 ft2/acre) basal area
Final cut when height of white pine regeneration is 6 meters, 600 stems/ha (243 stems/ acre) of desirable species; approx. 20 years
Mechanical site preparation (MSIP) following harvest for slash management and seedbed creation
Chemical site preparation (CHSIP) 1 year after MSIP for understory vegetation management
In autumn following CHSIP, plant 1250 seedlings/ha (500 seedlings/acre)
250 local white pine
300 white pine optimized for 2011-2040 climate
350 white pine optimized for 2041-2070 climate
350 white pine optimized for 2071-2100 climate
Allow for natural regeneration of white pine, red pine, red oak and spruce.
Tending as needed to ensure survival and growth of target species
Thinning (pre- and/or commercial) to accelerate sawlog production
Final rotation in 80-100 years
allow some change in current conditions, but encourage eventual return to original conditions
*Achieve a similar Desired Future Condition (DFC) with moderate deviation from standard strategies & approaches at the Petawawa Research Forest
Management Goals:
Create a well-stocked, multi-aged structure (promote species composition of white pine > red oak > aspen > red pine > other species)
Maintain/increase productivity and quality of wood products, and diversify wood products, including pine sawlogs
Promote low susceptibility to disturbances, including drought, wildfire, wind, ice storms, insects and diseases
Enhance species diversity particularly among dominant species (including functional diversity, structural diversity, and genetic diversity)
Establish trees adapted to future climate conditions
Increase resilience to low intensity wildfires and reduce susceptibility to stand-replacing wildfires
Manage for wildlife habitat and mitigation of pests by utilizing expanding gaps to create a multi-aged stand with a gradient of light conditions.
Strategies & Approaches:
Irregular shelterwood with expanding gaps
Clearcut gaps 30 m diameter (707 m2; 0.2 acre)
Additional 10 m feathered edge thinned like shelterwood seed cut (1257 m2; 0.3 acre)
Gaps + Edges (0.2 ha; 0.5 acre) allocated to cover 20-25% of the stand area
Gap expansion every 15-20 years
Subsequent plantings allow adjustment of species and seed zones to reflect changing climatic conditions
CHSIP 1 year after harvest for understory vegetation management
In autumn following CHSIP, plant 1400 seedlings/ha (570 seedlings/acre)
420 white pine optimized for 2011-2040 climate
420 white pine optimized for 2041-2070 climate
210 red oak optimized for 2011-2040 climate
210 red oak optimized for 2041-2070 climate
140 white oak optimized for 2011-2040 climate
Allow for natural regeneration of pines and oaks
Tending as needed to ensure survival and growth of target species
Each expansion allows adjustments of species and seed zones to reflect changing climatic conditions and knowledge
Actively facilitate change to encourage adaptive responses
Management Goals:
Provide quality wood products
Promote a diverse species mix that is adapted to drought, wildfire, wind, ice storms, insects, and diseases, and adapted to future climate conditions
Maintain wildlife habitat through structural retention and an increase in mast species
Strategies & Approaches:
Clearcut with seed trees; retain 16-35 stems/ha of dispersed large white and/or red pine to
retain structure and provide a limited seed source for natural regenerationMSIP following harvest for slash management and seedbed creation
CHSIP 1 year after MSIP for understory vegetation management
In autumn following CHSIP, plant 1760 seedlings/ha (710 seedlings/acre)
165 local red pine
165 red pine optimized for 2041-2070 climate
600 pitch pine optimized for 2011-2040 climate
500 red oak optimized for 2041-2070 climate
330 white oak optimized for 2011-2040 climate
Tending as needed to ensure survival and growth of desired species
Species mix will be conducive to commercial thinning and irregular shelterwood management after 60-80 years
allow forests to respond to climate change without direct management intervention
Since climate change impacts all forests globally, we cannot maintain a true “control.” With this in mind, we consider an approach in which forests are allowed to respond to climate change in the absence of direct silvicultural intervention as an appropriate baseline for many questions.
“BUSINESS AS USUAL” CONTROL
*Standard strategies and approaches to achieve the Desired Future Condition (DFC) at the Petawawa Research Forest
Management Goals:
Under a no-change scenario, the DFC at maturity (100 years) for white pine forests in the region is:
Regenerate a well-stocked, productive, pine-dominated stand (white pine and other drought-tolerant species common to the site)
Maintain or increase production of high quality sawlogs and other forest products
Manage for wildlife habitat and mitigation of pests through partial harvesting and planned retention of the original overstory species
Strategies & Approaches (mature stands, 30-40 m2/ha (320-430 ft2 /acre), 60-80% white and red pine):
Two-cut shelterwood
Seed cut 12-14 m2/ha (52-60 ft2/acre) basal area
Final cut when height of white pine regeneration is 6 meters (20 ft) and contains 600 stems/ha (243 stems/acre) of desirable species
Mechanical and chemical site preparation (MSIP) following harvest for slash management and seedbed creation
Chemical site preparation (CHSIP) 1 year after MSIP for understory vegetation management
In autumn following CHSIP, plant 1125 seedlings/ha (455 seedlings/acre) of white pine from local seed zones, and 125 seedlings/ha (50 seedlings/acre) of red pine from local sources
Allow for natural regeneration of white pine, red pine, red oak, and spruce
Tending as needed until final cut to ensure species composition targets is achieved
Final rotation in 80-100 years