Influences of Kalmia angustifolia on black spruce in eastern Canada's boreal forest

• Main Author: Yamasaki, Stephen H.
• Other Authors: Fyles, James W. (advisor)
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: McGill University 1999
• Subjects: Black spruce > Ecology > Québec (Province); Black spruce > Ecology > Newfoundland and Labrador; Sheep laurel; Taiga ecology; Kendrick; Newfoundland; taiga
• Online Access: http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=36071

The cover of the ericaceous shrub Kalmia angustifolia L. (sheep's laurel or lamb's kill) expands rapidly on many clear-cut sites through central Newfoundland and northern Quebec. Previous laboratory and greenhouse studies on the effect of Kalmia on black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) germinants and seedlings have demonstrated that extracts of Kalmia leaves and soil can reduce the germination rate and early root and shoot growth of black spruce. Observations in the field have suggested that Kalmia leaves and soil can reduce the germination rate and early rot and shoot growth of black spruce. Observations in the field have suggested that Kalmia reduces the growth of planted spruce seedlings. The experiments presented in this thesis were designed to determine the importance of Kalmia in controlling spruce growth and nutrition, and to document how the importance of Kalmia varies from site to site. Spruce seedlings growing in close proximity to Kalmia were found to be shorter and had lower foliar concentrations of N and P, and the roots of these seedlings had lower rates of mycorrhization and a more frequent occurrence of the pseudo-mycorrhizal/pathogenic fungus Phialocephala dimorphospora Kendrick. Results suggest that Kalmia impedes the N nutrition of spruce seedlings through the reduction of N mineralization rates and N availability. The results of path analysis further suggest that Kalmia had a direct effect on both spruce foliar N concentration and spruce growth. These findings do not demonstrate, though they are consistent with the suggestion, that Kalmia can affect spruce through allelopathic processes. Although we could not demonstrate that the reduction of rates of mycorrhization were due to indirect effects of Kalmia on spruce nutrition, we demonstrated that improving spruce nutrition in close proximity to Kalmia increased, though not significantly, the occurrence of mycorrhizae on spruce roots. Mycorrhizal symbiosis was shown to play a key role in t