Genetic Worth Effect Models for Boreal Conifers and Their Utility When Integrated into Density Management Decision-Support Systems

Peter F. Newton^*

Canadian Wood Fibre Centre, Canadian Forest Service, Natural Resources Canada, Sault Ste. Marie, Canada.

DOI: 10.4236/ojf.2015.51011                

Abstract

Based on approaches deduced from previous research findings and empirical observations from density control experiments, genetic worth effect response models were developed for black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill) BSP.) and jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.) plantations. The models accounted for the increased rate of stand development arising from the planting of genetically-improved stock through temporal adjustments to the species-specific site-based mean dominant height-age functions. The models utilized a relative height growth modifier based on known estimates of genetic gain. The models also incorporated a phenotypic juvenile age-mature age correlation function in order to account for the intrinsic temporal decline in the magnitude of genetic worth effects throughout the rotation. Integrating the functions into algorithmic variants of structural stand density management models produced stand development patterns that were consistent with axioms of even-aged stand dynamics.

Keywords

Picea mariana, Pinus banksiana, Structural Stand Density Management Models, Phenotypic Juvenile Age-Mature Age Correlation, Canadian Boreal Forest Region

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	Ando, T. (1962). Growth Analysis on the Natural Stands of Japanese Red Pine (Pinus densiflora Sieb. et. Zucc.). II. Analysis of Stand Density and Growth (in Japanese; English Summary). Bulletin of the Government Forest Experiment Station, 147, 1-77.
[2]	Ando, T. (1968). Ecological Studies on the Stand Density Control in Even-Aged Pure Stand. Bulletin of the Government Forest Experiment Station, 210, 1-152.
[3]	Archibald, D. J., & Bowling, C. (1995). Jack Pine Density Management Diagram for Boreal Ontario. Northeast and Northwest Science & Technology: Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.
[4]	Carmean, W. H., Hazenberg, G., & Deschamps, K. C. (2006). Polymorphic Site Index Curves for Black Spruce and Trembling Aspen in Northwest Ontario. Forestry Chronicle, 82, 231-242. http://dx.doi.org/10.5558/tfc82231-2
[5]	Carmean, W. H., Niznowski, G. P., & Hazenberg, G. (2001). Polymorphic Site Index Curves for Jack Pine in Northern Ontario. Forestry Chronicle, 77, 141-150. http://dx.doi.org/10.5558/tfc77141-1
[6]	Drew, T. J., & Flewelling, J. W. (1977). Some Recent Japanese Theories of Yield-Density Relationships and Their Application to Monterey Pine Plantations. Forest Science, 23, 517-534.
[7]	Drew, T. J., & Flewelling, J. W. (1979). Stand Density Management: An Alternative Approach and Its Application to Douglas-Fir Plantations. Forest Science, 25, 518-532.
[8]	Emmett, B. (2006). Increasing the Value of Our Forest. Forestry Chronicle, 82, 3-4. http://dx.doi.org/10.5558/tfc82003-1
[9]	Forestry Agency of Japan (1981a). Manual of Stand Density Control Diagram for Sugi Plantations. Tokyo: Japan Forest Technology Association.
[10]	Forestry Agency of Japan (1981b). Manual of Stand Density Control Diagram for Hinoki Plantations. Tokyo: Japan Forest Technology Association.
[11]	Fujimori, T. (2001). Ecological and Silvicultural Strategies for Sustainable Forest Management. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science Publishers B. V.
[12]	Goudie, J. (2004). Integration of Genetics into Growth Models: State of the Art in BC. Proceedings of the Genetics and Growth Modeling Workshop, Corvallis, 4-6 November 2003, 95-110.
[13]	Jack, S. B., & Long, J. N. (1996). Linkages between Silviculture and Ecology: An Analysis of Density Management Diagrams. Forest Ecology and Management, 86, 205-220. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1127(96)03770-X
[14]	Lambeth, C. M. (1980). Juvenile-Mature Correlations in Pincaceae and Implications for Early Selection. Forest Science, 26, 571-580.
[15]	Leary, R. A. (1997). Testing Models of Unthinned Red Pine Plantation Dynamics Using a Modified Bakuzis Matrix of Stand Properties. Ecological Modelling, 98, 35-46. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0304-3800(96)01935-7
[16]	McInnis, B., & Tosh, K. (2004). Genetic Gains from 20 Years of Cooperative Tree Improvement in New Brunswick. Forestry Chronicle, 80, 127-133. http://dx.doi.org/10.5558/tfc80127-1
[17]	McKinnon, L. M., Kayahara, G. J., & White, R. G. (2006). Biological Framework for Commercial Thinning Even-Aged Single-Species Stands of Jack Pine, White Spruce, and Black Spruce in Ontario. Northeast Science and Information Section: Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Report TR-046.
[18]	Newton, P. F. (1997). Stand Density Management Diagrams: Review of Their Development and Utility in Stand-Level Management Planning. Forest Ecology and Management, 98, 251-265. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1127(97)00086-8
[19]	Newton, P. F. (2003). Systematic Review of Yield Responses of Four North American Conifers to Forest Tree Improvement Practices. Forest Ecology and Management, 172, 29-51. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1127(02)00327-4
[20]	Newton, P. F. (2009). Development of an Integrated Decision-Support Model for Density Management within Jack Pine Stand-Types. Ecological Modelling, 220, 3301-3324. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2009.07.025
[21]	Newton, P. F. (2012a). A Decision-Support System for Density Management within Upland Black Spruce Stand-Types. Environmental Modelling and Software, 35, 171-187. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2012.02.019
[22]	Newton, P. F. (2012b). Yield Responses of Black Spruce to Forest Vegetation Management Treatments: Initial Responses and Rotational Projections. International Journal of Forestry Research, 2, 1-15. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/150157
[23]	Newton, P. F., & Amponsah, I. G. (2007). Systematic Review of Short-Term Growth Responses of Semi-Mature Black Spruce and Jack Pine Stands to Nitrogen-Based Fertilization Treatments. Forest Ecology and Management, 237, 1-14. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2006.10.009
[24]	Newton, P. F., & Weetman, G. F. (1993). Stand Density Management Diagrams and Their Utility in Black Spruce Management. Forestry Chronicle, 69, 421-430. http://dx.doi.org/10.5558/tfc69421-4
[25]	Newton, P. F., & Weetman, G. F. (1994). Stand Density Management Diagram for Managed Black Spruce Stands. Forestry Chronicle, 70, 65-74. http://dx.doi.org/10.5558/tfc70065-1
[26]	Newton, P. F., Lei, Y., & Zhang, S. Y. (2004). A Parameter Recovery Model for Estimating Black Spruce Diameter Distributions within the Context of a Stand Density Management Diagram. Forestry Chronicle, 80, 349-358. http://dx.doi.org/10.5558/tfc80349-3
[27]	Newton, P. F., Lei, Y., & Zhang, S. Y. (2005). Stand-Level Diameter Distribution Yield Model for Black Spruce Plantations. Forest Ecology and Management, 209, 181-192. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2005.01.020
[28]	Penner, M. (2004). Development of Empirical Yield Curves for the PJ1, SP1, SB1, PO1, and SF1 Standard Forest Units. http://www. forestresearch.ca/Projects/fibre/YC-PJ1-SP1-SB1-PO1-SF1.pdf
[29]	Rowe, J. S. (1972). Forest Regions of Canada. Ottawa: Government of Canada, Department of Environment, Canadian Forestry Service.
[30]	Snowdon, P., & Waring, H. D. (1984). Long-Term Nature of Growth Responses Obtained to Fertilizer and Weed Control Applied at Planting and Their Consequences for Forest Management. Proceedings of the IUFRO Symposium on Site and Productivity of Fast Growing Plantations, Pretoria and Pietermaritzberg, 30 April-11 May 1984, 701-711.
[31]	Stankova, T. V., & Shibuya, M. (2006). Stand Density Control Diagrams for Scots Pine and Austrian Black Pine Plantations in Bulgaria. New Forests, 34, 123-141. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11056-007-9043-x
[32]	Watkins, L. (2011). The Forest Resources of Ontario 2011. http://www.web2.mnr.gov.on.ca/mnr/forests/public/publications/FRO_2011/forestresources_2011.pdf
[33]	Weiskittel, A. R., Hann, D. W., Kershaw Jr., J. A., & Vanclay, J. K. (2011). Forest Growth and Yield Modeling. Oxford: John Wiley & Sons. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9781119998518
[34]	Xie, C. Y., & Yanchuk, A. D. (2003). Breeding Values of Parental Trees, Genetic Worth of Seed Orchard Seedlots, and Yields of Improved Stocks in British Columbia. Western Journal of Applied Forestry, 18, 88-100.