| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 86588 | Forest Ecology and Management | 2014 | 12 Pages |
•Ground vegetation responses to herbicide and thinning were compared at midrotation.•Aerial application of herbicide had no direct effect 23–33 years after treatment.•Precommercial thinning had positive and long-lasting effect on cover and diversity.•The resulting overstory structure had a larger effect than overstory composition.•Thinning is an effective tool for the maintenance of ground vegetation diversity.
Silvicultural practices can directly or indirectly influence the abundance and diversity of ground vegetation, and thereby influence a vital component of forest ecosystems. As silvicultural intensity increases, understanding the effects on ground vegetation become more critical. Long-term data on the response of ground vegetation to various intensities of forest management are limited. Therefore, we used a long-term experiment to quantify how individual and combined applications of herbicide and precommercial thinning (PCT) early in stand development influenced the cover, richness, and diversity of ground vegetation at midrotation (30–40 years) in spruce–fir stands of the Acadian Region. Aerial application of different herbicides (including glyphosate, triclopyr, and phenoxys) had no long-term effect (23–33 years after treatment) on cover, richness, and diversity of ground vegetation. In contrast, PCT had a positive and long-lasting effect (up to 24 years post-treatment) on ground vegetation cover, richness, and diversity. Our results indicated that overstory structure had a larger influence on ground vegetation than overstory species composition. Thus, manipulation of stand structure and the maintenance of a variety of stand structures across the landscape are important strategies for managing the diversity of ground vegetation. We conclude that PCT, especially following herbicide application, is an effective silvicultural tool for the maintenance of ground vegetation diversity, as well as timber production.
