Management Options for Lodgepole Pine

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Management Options for Lodgepole Pine in
Southern Interior British Columbia
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• How do we manage lodgepole pine in BC?
• It depends on where you are!!!!!

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Biogeoclimatic Zones of British Columbia
Major Forested Interior Zones SBPS light
blue IDF Orange SBS light purple ICH
yellow MS brown ESSF Dark purple
Montana
Idaho
Wash
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Characteristics of Biogeoclimatic Zones
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Management Challenges

• IDF and SBPS have growing season moisture
  deficits and frosts but have less vegetation
  competition
• SBS and ICH are warmer and wetter with higher
  growing sites but vegetation competition is a
  concern
• ESSF is cold, usually wet, and can have serious
  vegetation problems combined with snow press
• Beetle is everywhere!

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Regeneration Methods

• Drier zones (IDF and SBPS) natural regeneration
  is often used although some sites are planted
• Wetter areas (SBS, ICH, and ESSF) usually
  promptly planted to mitigate vegetation
  competition
• Most sites are clearcut but some research using
  group selection has been quite successful.

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Silviculture Treatments

• Site preparation
• Brushing
• Density Management
• Fertilization
• Alternatives to Clearcutting

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Site Preparation

• Commonly microsite planting has been used
  operationally
• Site preparation is used on some sites to both
  ensure survival and enhance early growth.
  Successful treatments by ecological grouping are
• Dry (IDF SPBS) linear trenching (Ripper Tooth,
  Disc trenching, etc)
• Moist sites (SBS ICH) site preparation treatments
  have had minimal effect with some improvement
  from vegetation removal (Leno, V-Plow, Disc
  trenching, etc)
• Cold and wet (ESSF) vegetation control and
  mounding (excavator, Disc trenching)

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IDF Site Preparation
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Pl Height 16 years





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SBS Site Preparation
Leno
V-Plow
Ripper Tooth
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ESSF Site Preparation
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Pl Height (ESSF)







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Spruce Height (ESSF)



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ESSF
12 year old pine
12 year old spruce
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Brushing

• Try to avoid by using site preparation and/or
  quick planting of fast growing species i.e. pine
• Limited use of herbicides due to poor public
  acceptance and problems in avoiding streams
• Manual methods more common (occasional use of
  sheep which is tricky with pine)
• Removal of broadleaves from lodgepole pine stands
  is an ongoing discussion.

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To Brush or not to Brush?
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12 year old stand In the SBS
15 year old stand In the IDF
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SBS
IDF
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SBS
IDF
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Changes in Light Intensity by Ecological Zone
Comeau et al 2005
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IDF 10 yrs planted
SBPS 12 yrs
SBS 18 yrs
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Density Management

• Very little done in the last five years due to
  Mountain Pine Beetle activity
• Operational targets were usually 648 to 1012
  stems per acre.
• Recently the maximum density allowed has
  increased to 10,121 stems per acre

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Fertilization

• Most pine are N and S deficient and many are also
  deficient in B
• A common operational blend is urea and ammonium
  sulphate (35-0-0-10S), which delivered 200 kg
  N/ha and 58 kg S/ha and if B is needed 1.5-3 kg
  B/ha is added.
• No fertilization has occurred over the last five
  years due to the beetle

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Optimal fertilization trial
6-10 years
6-10 years
1-5 years
1-5 years
600 sph 243 st/ac 1100 sph 445 st/ac 1600
sph 648 st/ac
From Brockley R.P 2005
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Fertilized vs Unfertilized Stand
Increased diameter growth but not height growth
From Brockley R.P 2005
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Height Repression
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Height growth response on 36 year old unspaced
pine
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3 years after fertilization
Pre-fertilization
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Fertilizing 70 year old pine
Pre-fertilization
3 years after fertilization
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Alternatives to Clearcutting

• Group Selection methods have been attempted in
  various ecosystems
• Some examples are Quesnel Highland (ESSF), Date
  Creek (ICH), Satah Mountain (SBPS)

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8 Year old pine
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High elevation ESSF
At this elevation pine is alive in only the
largest openings.
13 year old pine
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Beetle Attack!!!!!
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Summary

• Site preparation dry reduce moisture stress,
  moist reduce vegetation competition, high -
  warmth
• Brushing consider vigour of the competing
  vegetation
• Density management higher densities for more
  stand volume??
• Fertilization increases in diameter versus
  increases in height
• Alternatives to Clearcutting optimal gap size
  will vary depending on where you are!