Monitoring Forest Recovery Following Wildfire and Harvest in Boreal Forests Using Satellite Imagery
In the managed boreal forest, harvesting has become a disturbance as important as fire. To assess whether forest recovery following both types of disturbance is similar, we compared post-disturbance revegetation rates of forests in 22 fire events and 14 harvested agglomerations (harvested areas over...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2015-11-01
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| Series: | Forests |
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| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/6/11/4105 |
| _version_ | 1811219994456883200 |
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| author | Amar Madoui Sylvie Gauthier Alain Leduc Yves Bergeron Osvaldo Valeria |
| author_facet | Amar Madoui Sylvie Gauthier Alain Leduc Yves Bergeron Osvaldo Valeria |
| author_sort | Amar Madoui |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In the managed boreal forest, harvesting has become a disturbance as important as fire. To assess whether forest recovery following both types of disturbance is similar, we compared post-disturbance revegetation rates of forests in 22 fire events and 14 harvested agglomerations (harvested areas over 5–10 years in the same vicinity) in the western boreal forest of Quebec. Pre-disturbance conditions were first compared in terms of vegetation cover types and surficial deposit types using an ordination technique. Post-disturbance changes over 30 years in land cover types were characterized by vectors of succession in an ordination. Four post-disturbance stages were identified from the 48 land thematic classes in the Landsat images: “S0” stand initiation phase; “S1” early regeneration phase; “S2” stem exclusion phase; and “S3” the coniferous forest. Analyses suggest that fire occurs in both productive and unproductive forests, which is not the case for harvesting. Revegetation rates (i.e., rapidity with which forest cover is re-established) appeared to be more advanced in harvested agglomerations when compared with entire fire events. However, when considering only the productive forest fraction of each fire, the revegetation rates are comparable between the fire events and the harvested agglomerations. The S0 is practically absent from harvested agglomerations, which is not the case in the fire events. The difference in revegetation rates between the two disturbance types could therefore be attributed mostly to the fact that fire also occurs in unproductive forest, a factor that has to be taken into account in such comparisons. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T07:35:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d110792999a74b97aef5d1656ca85c60 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1999-4907 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T07:35:00Z |
| publishDate | 2015-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Forests |
| spelling | doaj.art-d110792999a74b97aef5d1656ca85c602022-12-22T03:41:59ZengMDPI AGForests1999-49072015-11-016114105413410.3390/f6114105f6114105Monitoring Forest Recovery Following Wildfire and Harvest in Boreal Forests Using Satellite ImageryAmar Madoui0Sylvie Gauthier1Alain Leduc2Yves Bergeron3Osvaldo Valeria4Centre d’étude de la forêt, Université du Québec à Montréal, C.P. 8888, Succursale, Centre-ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3P8, CanadaRessources naturelles Canada, Service canadien des forêts, Centre de foresterie des Laurentides, 1055 du PEPS, C.P. 10380, Station Sainte-Foy, Québec, QC G1V 4C7, CanadaCentre d’étude de la forêt, Université du Québec à Montréal, C.P. 8888, Succursale, Centre-ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3P8, CanadaForest Research Institute, Industrial Chair NSERC-UQAT-UQAM in Sustainable Forest Management, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue, 445 boulevard de l’Université, Rouyn-Noranda, QC J9X 5E4, CanadaForest Research Institute, Industrial Chair NSERC-UQAT-UQAM in Sustainable Forest Management, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue, 445 boulevard de l’Université, Rouyn-Noranda, QC J9X 5E4, CanadaIn the managed boreal forest, harvesting has become a disturbance as important as fire. To assess whether forest recovery following both types of disturbance is similar, we compared post-disturbance revegetation rates of forests in 22 fire events and 14 harvested agglomerations (harvested areas over 5–10 years in the same vicinity) in the western boreal forest of Quebec. Pre-disturbance conditions were first compared in terms of vegetation cover types and surficial deposit types using an ordination technique. Post-disturbance changes over 30 years in land cover types were characterized by vectors of succession in an ordination. Four post-disturbance stages were identified from the 48 land thematic classes in the Landsat images: “S0” stand initiation phase; “S1” early regeneration phase; “S2” stem exclusion phase; and “S3” the coniferous forest. Analyses suggest that fire occurs in both productive and unproductive forests, which is not the case for harvesting. Revegetation rates (i.e., rapidity with which forest cover is re-established) appeared to be more advanced in harvested agglomerations when compared with entire fire events. However, when considering only the productive forest fraction of each fire, the revegetation rates are comparable between the fire events and the harvested agglomerations. The S0 is practically absent from harvested agglomerations, which is not the case in the fire events. The difference in revegetation rates between the two disturbance types could therefore be attributed mostly to the fact that fire also occurs in unproductive forest, a factor that has to be taken into account in such comparisons.http://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/6/11/4105Black spruce-feathermossdisturbancepost-disturbance recoveryrevegetation ratesuccessiontime since disturbance. |
| spellingShingle | Amar Madoui Sylvie Gauthier Alain Leduc Yves Bergeron Osvaldo Valeria Monitoring Forest Recovery Following Wildfire and Harvest in Boreal Forests Using Satellite Imagery Forests Black spruce-feathermoss disturbance post-disturbance recovery revegetation rate succession time since disturbance. |
| title | Monitoring Forest Recovery Following Wildfire and Harvest in Boreal Forests Using Satellite Imagery |
| title_full | Monitoring Forest Recovery Following Wildfire and Harvest in Boreal Forests Using Satellite Imagery |
| title_fullStr | Monitoring Forest Recovery Following Wildfire and Harvest in Boreal Forests Using Satellite Imagery |
| title_full_unstemmed | Monitoring Forest Recovery Following Wildfire and Harvest in Boreal Forests Using Satellite Imagery |
| title_short | Monitoring Forest Recovery Following Wildfire and Harvest in Boreal Forests Using Satellite Imagery |
| title_sort | monitoring forest recovery following wildfire and harvest in boreal forests using satellite imagery |
| topic | Black spruce-feathermoss disturbance post-disturbance recovery revegetation rate succession time since disturbance. |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/6/11/4105 |
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