| Abstract Detail
Bryological and Lichenological Section/ABLS Witkowski, Amy [1], Frego, Katherine [1]. Conservation of bryophytes in managed stands: an evaluation of pre-commercial thinning (PCT) in the Acadian forest. The Acadian Forest of New Brunswick, the interface between boreal and deciduous forests, supports a wide variety of bryophytes that are important in many aspects of the forest ecosystem. This primitive plant group is thought to be particularly sensitive to changes in their microhabitats and substrates, such as those caused by clear-cut forest harvest and subsequent tree-planting. Pre-commercial thinning (PCT) is a management approach whereby a clear-cut stand is allowed to regenerate naturally, and growth of target species is encouraged by removal of less desirable trees (“thinning”) approximately 15 yrs after harvest. While this treatment reduces the mechanical substrate disturbance associated with site preparation and planting, it is difficult to predict the impacts of re-opening the recovering tree canopy, increasing coarse wood and stumps, and reducing trunks. This project compares bryophyte community characteristics of managed stands that have experienced PCT vs. similarly-aged unthinned stands. Although important differences were noted, overall bryophyte composition was similar between treatments, which suggests that PCT has less impact than other forest management scenarios. The implications of the relative impacts of PCT will be discussed in terms of other management practices and of the suites of species that differed between treatments.
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1 - University of New Brunswick, Saint John campus, Biology Department, PO Box 5050, Saint John, NB, E2L 4L5, Canada
Keywords:
bryophytes
conservation
forest management
pre-commercial thinning
variable retention harvest
Acadian Forest
forest ecology
Biodiversity.
Presentation Type: Oral Paper:Papers for Sections
Session: 9
Location: 215/SUB
Date: Monday, July 28th, 2008
Time: 8:45 AM
Number: 9001
Abstract ID:810 |
