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M A R C H , 2 0 0 0

Newsletter from the Stand Tending Unit, BC Ministry of Forests, Forest Practices Branch

PR E D I C T I N G OU T C O M E S

Editor’s NoteThis is the fourth in a series of newslettersabout the activities of the Stand Tending Unit,Forest Practices Branch, BC Ministry of Forests.Although the Stand Tending Unit is involved inmany activities, this series of newsletters hasfocused on a single theme—predictingoutcomes of stand-tending treatments.

I hope you have enjoyed the brief, informalarticles in this newsletter series. This fourthnewsletter is the final quarterly issue.Subsequent issues will be produced periodicallyif time and resources permit.

If you have any comments on anything youread in this newsletter, please contact me.

Patrick Martin, EditorPhone: (250) 356-0305Fax: (250) 387-2136E-mail: Pat.Martin@gems8.gov.bc.ca

Ministry of Forests

Stand Tending Unit StaffRalph WinterStand Management OfficerPhone: 250-387-8906Fax: 250-387-2136email: Ralph.Winter@gems9.gov.bc.ca

Frank BarberStand Management SpecialistPhone: 250-387-8910Fax: 250-387-2136email: Frank.Barber@gems6.gov.bc.ca

Patrick MartinStand Development SpecialistPhone: 250-356-0305Fax: 250-387-2136email: Pat.Martin@gems8.gov.bc.ca

Brian RaymerSilviculture Operations SpecialistPhone: 250-387-8909Fax: 250-387-2136email: Brian.Raymer@gems7.gov.bc.ca

Barry SnowdonComplex Stand SpecialistPhone: 250-386-0183Fax: 250-387-2136email: Barry.Snowdon@gems7.gov.bc.ca

Cooperative ProjectsStand Tending and Non-timberResource ValuesStand tending activities such as pruning, spacing, and

fertilisation influence the development of both crop

trees and non-timber resources. The Stand Tending

Unit is a co-operator on a number of projects that are

investigating the impact of stand tending on non-

timber resource values. Dr. Tom Sullivan of the Applied

Mammal Research Institute is the project leader on

one of these projects. Riverside Forest Products Ltd.,

Gorman Brothers Lumber Ltd., and the Alex Fraser

Research forest are the co-operators. The following

article briefly summarizes some of Dr. Sullivan’s results

to date. To learn more about this study, or to arrange a

guided tour of the field site, contact Dr. Tom Sullivan

(250-494-7160) or Ralph Winter (250-387-8906).

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Background

This study has research installations located in young(16-18 years old) lodgepole pine stands at threesites: Summerland, Kelowna, and Williams Lake. Ateach site, lodgepole pine has been spaced to 250,500, 1000, and 2000 trees per hectare in largeoperational blocks. One-half of each spaced area hasbeen repeatedly fertilised to create an optimumnutrition treatment.

Results to date

In the low-density stands, biomass of understoreyvegetation, habitat structure of the understorey, herbvolume, and overall structural diversity is building.Shrub volume may also be responding, but thisprocess takes time; its effects should becomesubstantial in the next few years. To date, neitherstand thinning nor fertilisation has affected the

Aerial view of the Kelowna site. 500 indicates 500/ha; 500F indicates 500/ha fertilised, etc. The location of fieldtour stops is also shown.

richness of plant species. Nor have measurements ofplant species diversity shown any consistent trendsthat are statistically significant. However, someherbaceous species may be dominating the herblayer, particularly in the fertilised low-density stands.

Up to 1997, stand density and fertilisation hadnot affected the abundance of small mammals. In1998 mean total abundance of small mammalsappeared higher in the fertilised stands than in theunfertilised stands.

In general, the evidence generated to date in thisstudy indicates that silvicultural treatments such aspre-commercial thinning and fertilisation do notappear to have a negative impact on habitat(vegetation biomass and structural diversity) or onsmall mammal communities. As these stands developthrough time, these treatments will very likely resultin enhanced habitat quality.

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PrognosisBCThe BC Ministry of Forests is adaptingPrognosis, a stand growth model widelyused in the western United States, foruse in the southern interior of BC. Oneadvantage of adopting a model that iswidely used by other forest resourcemanagement agencies is that we canacquire and apply a variety of model“add-ons” that other Prognosis usershave developed. The US Forest Servicesoftware product, “Stand VisualizationSystem,” is one of these useful modeladd-ons. The Stand Visualization Systemconverts output from Prognosis into avisual representation of the stand.

The Stand Visualization System convertsPrognosisBC yield predictions into images of futurestand structure. These images are a useful supplementto the typical growth model outputs (tables of standstatistics and simple graphs). The image to the rightshows the stand structure that PrognosisBC predicted

Enhanced Forestry Program Evaluation

50 years after a partial harvest of a particular stand inthe West Arm Demonstration Forest near Nelson, BC.

To discuss PrognosisBC, call Barry Snowdon(250-386-0183).

Periodic program reviews are an essential componentof quality assurance. Staff in the Stand Tending Unitare committed to helping everyone achieve qualitystand-tending prescriptions. This fall, Forest PracticesBranch staff carried out an Enhanced Forestry Program(EFP) evaluation that focussed on silvicultureactivities in free-growing stands managed under theauthority of a Stand Management Prescription (SMP).The EFP evaluation fulfils a Ministry of Forestscommitment to Forest Renewal BC to evaluate theperformance of the Enhanced Forestry Program.

The purpose of the evaluation was to review theperformance of Ministry of Forests enhanced forestry

programs and the programs of licensees who havecarried out enhanced forestry projects with ForestRenewal BC funding. The evaluation used astandardised evaluation protocol to review and reporton projects. Forest health, Forest Practices Codecompliance, treatment priority (on a TSA or TFLlevel), achievement of SMP objectives, and contentof the SMP were the focus of this evaluation.

To discuss the EFP evaluation, call Brian Raymer,(250-387-8909).

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Yield Principles AndSilvicultureStocking

Many factors influence timber yield atharvest, including harvest age, site quality,tree species composition, forest healthagents, utilisation standards, and more. Onecritical factor is stocking. When regeneratingharvested areas, it is useful to consider twocomponents to stocking: the number of treesper hectare and their spatial distribution overthe hectare. The figure to the right illustratesthe general relationship between stocking andyield. In general, the silviculturist canimprove timber yield at the next harvest byachieving full uniform stocking after thecurrent harvest.

To discuss yield principles and theirapplication to silviculture decisions, callPat Martin (250-356-0305).

Past issues of Predicting OutcomesPast issues of this newsletter are posted on our web site, http://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfp/PubsStandTend.htm

November 1998Changes to the SMP template and guidebookPrognosisBC – an overviewList of growth and yield internet sitesEffect of silviculture on growth intercept estimates of site indexTips for ring counting on increment cores

March 1999The flexibility of PrognosisBCThe new maximum density regulation9th FS415 now availableStrategic silviculture – treatments that achieve forest-level objectives

August 1999Compendiums of pruning and spacing literatureThe new OAF1 surveyTimber growing potential of 1.6 million hectares of regenerated forest landCourses availablePublications on our web site

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