The effects of partial cutting in black spruce-feather moss bioclimatic domain on hydromorphic soils2

Abstract

The goal of this project was to study the hydrologic, ecological and dendrometric processes that occur after a partial cut on hydromorphic soils in north-western Québec. Partial cuts are good to mimic the natural disturbances of the boreal forest such as insect outbreaks, windthrow and fire. To this day, there is no better option to recreate the irregular structure that characterizes the naturally disturbed forest stands. We also think this type of forest management his still under use in Canada, especially in Québec we want to give strong arguments in its favour. This idea is part of the concept of ecosystem-based management who is part of the main guidelines of the forest management in Québec. In western Québec, the management must compose with water saturated and cold soils. In this context, we wanted to link water table variations to the radial growth of the black spruce (Picea mariana Mill). A better knowledge of this dynamic will provide useful information to evaluate all the outcomes and the feasibility of the partial cut. When we use the conventional harvesting method in this environment, we face problems such as maintaining stand productivity. In our case, we also want to see if we can mitigate the rise of the water table after a cut on hydromorphic soils. We expect that a rapid rise of the water table will be the driving factor of the low productivity and the regeneration problems.

key word: boreal forest, ecosystem-based management and hydrology.