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Effects of intensive fertilization on timber and non-timber resources |
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| Contributing Authors: VanAkker, Lara; Brockley, Robert P.; Alfaro, René I. |
| Imprint: Victoria, B.C. : British Columbia Ministry of Forests and Range, 2006 |
| Subject: Forest Investment Account (FIA), Forest management, British Columbia, Environmental Aspects, Research, Forest Soils, Fertilization |
| Series: Forest Investment Account (FIA) - Forest Science Program |
| Description: |
Without strategic intervention, age class imbalances in the timber inventory and catastrophic mortality losses from the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopk.) will likely result in significant mid-term timber supply shortfalls in several interior forest management units. Increasing the productivity and accelerating the development of young, managed forests is a primary objective of several timber supply mitigation strategies being developed for interior Timber Supply Areas and Tree Farm Licences. Fertilization is the most proven silvicultural treatment for increasing harvest volume and accelerating the operability of established stands. A single fertilizer application typically produces only a temporary increase in tree and stand growth. However, fertilization research in other forest regions has indicated that sustained growth responses, and large reductions in rotation length, are achievable by repeatedly fertilizing young conifer stands. To what extent can intensive fertilization potentially mitigate mid-term timber supply shortfalls in the B.C. interior? What are the potential long-term ecological consequences of adding large quantities of nutrients to interior forests? This research project was initiated to provide forest planners and practitioners with reliable answers to these important questions.
Shannon M. Berch ... et. al. |
| Related projects:
FSP_Y051101,
FSP_Y073101
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