Postfire lichen–spruce woodland recovery at the limit of the boreal forest in northern Quebec
A 250-year postfire plant chronosequence in well-drained sites at the northern limit of the Boreal Forest in the Grande rivière de la Baleine area, northern Quebec, was reconstructed from nine sites associated with the development of the lichen–spruce woodland. Most species recorded along the chrono...
Published in: | Canadian Journal of Botany |
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Language: | English |
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Canadian Science Publishing
1989
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/b89-357 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/b89-357 |
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/b89-357 2024-09-15T18:08:11+00:00 Postfire lichen–spruce woodland recovery at the limit of the boreal forest in northern Quebec Morneau, Claude Payette, Serge 1989 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/b89-357 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/b89-357 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Botany volume 67, issue 9, page 2770-2782 ISSN 0008-4026 journal-article 1989 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/b89-357 2024-08-01T04:10:02Z A 250-year postfire plant chronosequence in well-drained sites at the northern limit of the Boreal Forest in the Grande rivière de la Baleine area, northern Quebec, was reconstructed from nine sites associated with the development of the lichen–spruce woodland. Most species recorded along the chronosequence reinvaded burned sites within 15 years after fire, whereas important vegetational changes occurred during the first 100 years of postfire recovery, corresponding to full development of the Cladina stellaris – spruce woodland. No vascular plant species replacement was observed during succession, whereas by contrast a well-defined lichen–bryophyte sequence occurred along five successional stages. Species diversity (Shannon index) was low 4 years after fire, but it has reached a maximum about 25 years after fire and then dropped and stabilized at a low value in old-growth woodlands dominated by black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) and C. stellaris. The active period of black spruce sexual regeneration spans about 20–25 years, with maximum regeneration occurring between 5 and 14 years after fire. After this period, seed regeneration is mostly sporadic and sustained layering becomes fairly common at all sites. From 100 to 250 years after fire, no significant changes were observed in vegetation structure, floristic composition, species diversity, and spruce regeneration, suggesting that lichen woodlands are selfperpetuating in absence of fire. In limiting spruce regeneration at the ground surface, the lichen cover seems to be the most important factor controlling the open structure of the lichen–spruce woodland. Article in Journal/Newspaper Grande Rivière de la Baleine Canadian Science Publishing Canadian Journal of Botany 67 9 2770 2782 |
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Open Polar |
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Canadian Science Publishing |
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crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
description |
A 250-year postfire plant chronosequence in well-drained sites at the northern limit of the Boreal Forest in the Grande rivière de la Baleine area, northern Quebec, was reconstructed from nine sites associated with the development of the lichen–spruce woodland. Most species recorded along the chronosequence reinvaded burned sites within 15 years after fire, whereas important vegetational changes occurred during the first 100 years of postfire recovery, corresponding to full development of the Cladina stellaris – spruce woodland. No vascular plant species replacement was observed during succession, whereas by contrast a well-defined lichen–bryophyte sequence occurred along five successional stages. Species diversity (Shannon index) was low 4 years after fire, but it has reached a maximum about 25 years after fire and then dropped and stabilized at a low value in old-growth woodlands dominated by black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) and C. stellaris. The active period of black spruce sexual regeneration spans about 20–25 years, with maximum regeneration occurring between 5 and 14 years after fire. After this period, seed regeneration is mostly sporadic and sustained layering becomes fairly common at all sites. From 100 to 250 years after fire, no significant changes were observed in vegetation structure, floristic composition, species diversity, and spruce regeneration, suggesting that lichen woodlands are selfperpetuating in absence of fire. In limiting spruce regeneration at the ground surface, the lichen cover seems to be the most important factor controlling the open structure of the lichen–spruce woodland. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Morneau, Claude Payette, Serge |
spellingShingle |
Morneau, Claude Payette, Serge Postfire lichen–spruce woodland recovery at the limit of the boreal forest in northern Quebec |
author_facet |
Morneau, Claude Payette, Serge |
author_sort |
Morneau, Claude |
title |
Postfire lichen–spruce woodland recovery at the limit of the boreal forest in northern Quebec |
title_short |
Postfire lichen–spruce woodland recovery at the limit of the boreal forest in northern Quebec |
title_full |
Postfire lichen–spruce woodland recovery at the limit of the boreal forest in northern Quebec |
title_fullStr |
Postfire lichen–spruce woodland recovery at the limit of the boreal forest in northern Quebec |
title_full_unstemmed |
Postfire lichen–spruce woodland recovery at the limit of the boreal forest in northern Quebec |
title_sort |
postfire lichen–spruce woodland recovery at the limit of the boreal forest in northern quebec |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
1989 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/b89-357 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/b89-357 |
genre |
Grande Rivière de la Baleine |
genre_facet |
Grande Rivière de la Baleine |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Botany volume 67, issue 9, page 2770-2782 ISSN 0008-4026 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/b89-357 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Botany |
container_volume |
67 |
container_issue |
9 |
container_start_page |
2770 |
op_container_end_page |
2782 |
_version_ |
1810445515417976832 |