Driving factors of conifer regeneration dynamics in eastern Canadian boreal old-growth forests
Bibliographic record
Abstract
Old-growth forests play a major role in conserving biodiversity, protecting water resources, and sequestrating carbon, as well as serving as indispensable resources for indigenous societies. Novel silvicultural practices must be developed to emulate the natural dynamics and structural attributes of old-growth forests and preserve the ecosystem services provided by these boreal ecosystems. The success of these forest management strategies depends on developing an accurate understanding of natural regeneration dynamics. Our goal was therefore to identify the main patterns and drivers involved in the regeneration dynamics of old-growth forests with a focus on boreal stands dominated by black spruce (Picea mariana (L.) Mill.) and balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) in eastern Canada. We sampled 71 stands in a 2 200 km2 study area located within Quebec's boreal region. For each stand, we noted tree regeneration (seedlings and saplings), structural attributes (diameter distribution, deadwood volume, etc.), and abiotic (slope and soil) factors. The presence of seed-trees located nearby and slopes having moderate to high angles most influenced balsam fir regeneration. In contrast, the indirect indices of recent secondary disturbances (e.g., insect outbreaks or windthrows) and topographic constraints (slope and drainage) most influenced black spruce regeneration. We propose that black spruce regeneration dynamics can be separated into distinct phases: (i) layering within the understory, (ii) seedling growth when gaps open in the canopy, (iii) gradual canopy closure, and (iv) production of new layers once the canopy is closed. These dynamics are not observed in paludified stands or stands where balsam fir is more competitive than black spruce. Overall, this research helps explain the complexity of old-growth forest dynamics, where many ecological factors interact at multiple temporal and spatial scales. This study also improves our understanding of ecological processes within primary old-growth forests and identifies the key factors to consider when ensuring the sustainable management of old-growth boreal stands.
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How this classification was reachedexpand
Full frame machine prediction
Teacher imitationNot calibrated prevalence, not ground truth. Human validation pending. The Gemma side is a direct model label for every work in the frame, read from the title-only record. The Codex side is a classifier learned from the 10,348 direct Codex labels and calibrated to design-weighted sample rates; fields without enough sample support carry no Codex call. Candidate is the union of the two sides; consensus is their intersection. These outputs are machine_predicted_unvalidated and are not human labels.
Distilled classifier scores by category (both heads)
| Category | Codex | Gemma |
|---|---|---|
| Metaresearch | 0.000 | 0.001 |
| Meta-epidemiology (narrow) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Meta-epidemiology (broad) | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Bibliometrics | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Science and technology studies | 0.001 | 0.001 |
| Scholarly communication | 0.001 | 0.000 |
| Open science | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Research integrity | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Insufficient payload (model declined to judge) | 0.001 | 0.000 |
Machine scores (provisional)
The two teacher heads of the student model, read on this work. A score orders the frame for review; it never asserts a category, and the validation status ships verbatim with every row.
Baseline scores from an immature model (maturity gate not passed, 7 training rounds). Scores rank; they never assert a category.
score_only:v0-immature-baseline · verbatim from the scoring run: score_only means the number may rank works, and no category label ships from itClassification
machine, unvalidatedMachine predicted; a candidate call from one source (direct Gemma or distilled Codex), not a consensus.
How this classification was reached, model by model and score by score, is at the end of the page under "How this classification was reached".