A silviculturist needs to know how productivity of all tree species under management varies with the ecological determinants of site quality, i.e., the environmental factors that directly affect the growth of plants - light, heat, soil moisture, soil nutrients, and soil aeration. A good understanding of this variation is necessary for making biologically viable, speciesand site specific silvicultural decisions. Productivity of a given species is usually measured by site index (top tree height at 50 years at breast height age). Quantified relationships between site index of a given species and ecological measures of site quality provide predictive models for estimating site index for all sites on which the species may grow. Western larch (Larix occidentalis Nutt.) is an important tree species in southern central and eastern British Columbia. It grows mainly in the IDF, ICH, and MS zones on moderately dry through very moist sites and on poor through very rich sites. In view of this relatively wide ecological amplitude, a large variation in productivity could be expected. In the study summarized here, relationships between larch site index and selected ecological measures of site quality were examined, and a site index model using these measures as predictors was developed.

The objectives of this study were to investigate stability related basic wood properties and to determine stability performance of New Zealand grown Douglas-fir and those of radiata pine wood. In this study, nine 60-year old Douglas-fir trees and thirteen 26-year old radiata pine trees were selected from forests in Canterbury region. From these trees, 36 discs of 200 mm thick (13 for Douglas-fir and 23 for radiata pine) and 388 boards with dimensions of 100mm x 50mm x 4.8m (210 fro Douglas-fir and 178 fr radiata pine) were prepared. From the prepared discs, 515 specimens (204 for Douglas-fi and 211 for radiata pine) were prepared for green moisture content (MC) and basic density measurements, The same total number of 515 specimens (205 for Douglas-fir and 210 for radiata pine) were also prepared for shrinkage measurements. From the green MC specimens, green weight, volume and oven-dry weight were measured while for the shrinkage specimens, dimensions and weights were measured at equilibrium for nine humidity conditions. These data were used to analyse basic wood properties and moisture uptake characteristics for both Douglas-fir and radiata pine. Variation of shrinkage within a tree and between trees was also studied for both species. After this, selected specimens (36 for Doulas-fir and 36 for radiata pine) were further tested in water immersion for water repellence examination. The 388 full size boards (100mmx50mmx4.8m) were used for studies on distortion and acoustic properties at a sawmill (Southland Timber Ltd.). Dimensions, weights and acoustic velocity were measured from each board before and after drying. These data were used to analyse distortion and strength characteristics for both Douglas-fir and radiata pine. Comparison of the relative stability of full sized Douglas-fir and radiata pine structural timber was investigated in this study. The results from small sample study confirmed that Douglas-fir is much stronger, has lower longitudinal shrinkage and lower gradient in corewood which can be used to explain the better dimensional stability of Douglas-fir than radiate pine although there is significant variability in the shrinkage for both Douglas-fir and radiate pine. In water immersion tests, Douglas-fir has better water repellency property than radiata pine over 2000 hours period during water immersion. Under the same commercial practice in sawing and kiln drying, it is clearly shown that Douglas-fir timbers were straighter with lower levels of distortion than radiata pine at similar final moisture content. It is also interesting to note that the final moisture content in a range of 13-18% for Douglas-fir did not have significant impact on timber distortion but a negative trend was observed for radiata pine with MC in a range of 9 -14%. Tree heights showed clear influence on twist for radiata pine timbers, but it was not clearly observed from Douglas-fir timbers. Corewood proportion is found to have negative impact on the timber distortion for both Douglas-fir and radiata pine. Douglas-fir timbers showed much higher average acoustic MOE value than radiata pine timbers at similar final moisture content. Because of the various proportion of corewood, the shrinkage varied greatly along the stem height and along the disc radius direction for the two species. This variation caused the difference of distortion between corewood, outerwood and transition wood, but the difference between butt log, middle log and top log is inconsistent. Therefore, it is recommended that the corewood proportion to be a criterion for the timber pre-sorting. Variation of stability performance between trees was also found to be significant for the two species, and methods need to be developed for log sorting as well to reduce the timber distortion degradation. Non-destructive testing method such as acoustic tool may be offered to be a new approach for sorting logs, but it is also necessary to be aware of the significant difference between species. The outcome from this project includes better understanding of Douglas-fir for structural applications. The conclusion can be drawn that Douglas-fir has superior quality for its strength, durability and moisture resistance. Douglas-fir is also claimed to have uniform properties and thus to be more stable compared to radiata pine. Douglas-fir timbers showed much higher acoustic MOE value than radiate pine timbers as similar final moisture content.

In order to elucidate the molecular and biochemical events occurring in embryogenesis in Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii [Mirb.] Franco), an essential gene expressed highly during early embryogenesis was identified, cloned and further characterized in this study. Douglas-fir LYR/LVR eDNA was obtained using RT-PCR with specific primers. followed by cloning and sequencing. Northern blot analysis showed higher amounts of LYR/LVR transcripts in early-cotyledonary embryonic stages and megagametophytes when compared with mid- and late-cotyledonary embryos. LYR/LVR transcript levels declined in seeds (mature embryos) and seedlings. Differential regulation of LYR/LVR gene expression with response to brassinosteroid treatment of Douglas-fir seeds was studied. LYR/LVR mRNA showed higher accumulation in seeds treated with different concentrations of brassinosteroids. Bioinformatic analysis showed that Douglas-fir LYR/LVR protein may be an essential inner mitochondrial protein, NADH oxidoreductase necessary for energy production. The phylogenetic tree analysis was used to investigate the evolutionary relationship of the newly identified Douglas-fir LYR/LVR protein with closely related proteins (LYR family) in different organisms. InterPro, UniProt and Pfam results showed the sequence similarity of Douglas-fir LYR/LVR protein with other related members in Arabidopsis thaliana and Oryza sativa, indicating that the LYR complex contains short stretches of closely related proteins that are essential for energy production. Amino acids 19-90 in the LYR/LVR protein were highly conserved and is likely the functional LYR motif necessary for oxidoreductase activity.

Conifer seed-infesting chalcids of the genus Megastigmus (Hymenoptera: Torymidae) are important forest pests. At least one species, M. spermotrophus Wachtl, has been shown to be able to manipulate the seed development of its host, Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) in remarkable ways, such as redirecting unfertilized ovules that would normally abort. The mechanism of host manipulation is currently unknown. Microbial associates and venoms are two potential mechanisms of host manipulation. Microbial associates are emerging as an important player in insect-plant interactions. There is also evidence that venoms may be important in gall-induction by phytophagous wasps. PCR and 16S rRNA pyrosequencing was used to characterize the microbial associates of Megastigmus and transcriptomic sequencing was used to identify putative venoms that were highly expressed in female M. spermotrophus. The common inherited bacterial symbionts Wolbachia and Rickettsia were found to be prevalent among several populations of Megastigmus spp. screened using a targeted PCR approach. A member of the Betaproteobacteria, Ralstonia, was identified as the dominant microbial associate of M. spermotrophus using 16S rRNA pyrosequencing. The transcriptome of M. spermotrophus was assembled de novo and three putative venoms were identified as highly expressed in females. One of these putative venoms, Aspartylglucosaminidase, (AGA) appears to have originated through gene duplication within the Hymenoptera and has been identified as a major venom component of two divergent parasitoid wasps. AGA was identified as a promising candidate for further investigation as a potential mechanism of early host manipulation by M. spermotrophus. / Graduate / 0353 / 0410 / 0715 / apaulson@shaw.ca

Thesis (M.A.)--Humboldt State University, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 37-42). Also available via Humboldt Digital Scholar.

I compared forest structural parameters of treated and untreated plots on a forest restoration site on Galiano Island, British Columbia. The site was replanted with Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (mirb.) Franco) after being intensively logged in the 1970s and then thinned in the early 2000s. I used existing baseline data from 8 permanent plots (5 treated, 3 control) and compared it with forest assessment data collected in the field in the summer of 2017. Additionally, I used 16 temporary plots (8 treated, 8 control). I assessed vegetation percentage cover by plot, coarse woody debris by plot, tree diameter, species and status (n = 846), height (n = 48) and diameter growth (n = 271). I found that treated plots showed improved measures of structural diversity like diameter growth, crown ratios and plant diversity, but I was unable to relate the increased diameter growth to the restoration treatments. My findings suggest that to create a lasting impact, restoration thinning will have to be more frequent or create larger gaps. I then reviewed the current studies with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in ecological restoration. I evaluated potential use of hobbyist UAVs for small organizations and not-for-profits and found that if applied correctly, UAVs can increase the amount of available data before, during and after restoration. Reproducible and reliable results require trained personnel and calibrated sensors. UAVs can increase access to remote areas and decrease disturbance of sensitive ecosystems. Regulations, limited flight time and processing time remain important restrictions on UAV use and hobbyist UAVs have a limit availability of sensors and flight performance. Finally, I used images taken from a hobbyist UAV to assess forest structure of the restoration site on Galiano Island and compared my results with the ground measurements. I found a canopy height model (CHM) from UAV images underestimated mean tree height values for the study site on average by 10.2 metres, while also severely underestimating mean stem densities. Using a 2 metre threshold, I delineated canopy gaps which accounted for 6 % of the canopy. UAV images and the resulting CHM represent a new visualization of the study site’s structure and can be a helpful tool in the communication of restoration outcomes to a wider audience. They are not, however, sufficient for monitoring or scientific applications. / Graduate

Le déroulage permet de transformer un billon en un ruban continu de bois vert (de 0.6 à plus de 3 mm d'épaisseur) appelé “placage”. La production de placages joue un rôle important dans l'industrie du bois car les placages servent de base d'un grand nombre de produits industriels (ex : Parallel Strand Lumbers (PSL), Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL), contreplaqués, emballages légers, etc.) parmi les plus utilisés dans l'industrie du bois. Pour certaines essences, ce procédé exige un prétraitement, appelé « l'étuvage » qui consiste à chauffer au préalable le bois vert (saturé en eau) par immersion dans l'eau ou dans la vapeur d'eau chaude afin de lui conférer une déformabilité remarquable tout en diminuant les efforts de coupe. Cette pratique présente cependant de nombreux inconvénients industriels et environnementaux (fentes à cœur, faible rendement, dépense énergétique importante, pollution des eaux, fentes à cœur, traitement immobilisant des stocks de bois importants pour des longues périodes,…).L'objectif de cette étude est de développer une innovation majeure pour les industries du déroulage et du tranchage, visant à remplacer les pratiques d'étuvage par une technologie de chauffe embarquée sur les machines de production. La technologie de chauffe par rayonnement infrarouge a été retenue pour sa facilité de mise en place sur la machine (panneaux rayonnants peu encombrants) et sa rapidité à atteindre des températures source élevées pouvant ainsi suivre les cadences de déroulage rapides exigées par les industriels (de 1 à 5 m.s-1). Cette nouvelle technologie utilisant les infrarouges pour chauffer le bois vert avant le déroulage serait une innovation majeure pour les industries impliquées dans la fabrication du contreplaqué, LVL, etc.Pour ce faire, l'étude a été conduite en quatre temps:-Elaboration d'un modèle numérique permettant la simulation de la chauffe de bois ronds déroulé avec différents paramètres du bois (humidité, propriétés thermiques),-Caractérisations thermique et optique du bois vert (en termes de profondeur de pénétration et de capacité d'absorption des rayonnements infrarouge) pour alimenter le modèle,-Validation du modèle par des essais de déroulage avec chauffe embarquée.L'apport majeur de cette étude est d'avoir démontré que la pénétration des rayonnements infrarouge dans le bois se limite à quelques dizaines de micromètres. La propagation de la chaleur jusqu'au plan de coupe situé à quelques millimètres sous la surface s'effectue donc par conduction, mode de transfert de chaleur lent dans le cas du bois aux propriétés isolantes remarquables. La chauffe embarquée semble donc inadaptée face aux cadences de déroulage imposées par les industriels. L'utilisation d'une telle technologie dans le cas du tranchage reste à étudier et en particulier l'impact de l'absence d'étuvage par immersion sur la qualité des placages (couleur, état de surface). / In the wood-products industry ‘peeling' is the process of converting a log into a continuous thin ribbon of green wood (from 0.6 to more than 3 mm thickness) termed veneer. Veneers are mainly used for manufacturing light weight packaging and Engineer Wood Products (EWP) such as plywood, Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) and Parallel Strand Lumbers (PSL). These three latter EWPs manufactured from veneers glued and pressed together, are amongst the most used wood products. That is the reason why the production of veneer plays an important role in the wood-products industry. For certain species, the peeling process requires the prior heating of round green-wood to temperatures ranging from 30 to 90 °C. This treatment is necessary to increase wood deformability, to reduce the severity of lathe checking in the veneers and to reduce cutting forces. It is usually done by immersion in hot water or by steam treatment. However it has many disadvantages amongst which are the duration of treatment (12 to 72 hours), the washing out of polyphenolic extractives - which causes water pollution and can affect wood's natural durability - low yield and energy losses.The goal of this PhD thesis was to develop a heating system embedded on the peeling lathe to circumvent many of these disadvantages. Infrared technology appears to be the most promising solution because of the ease of integration into the peeling process and of the power it offers, enabling the required heating temperatures to be achieved quickly and follow the highly demanding peeling speeds in use in the industry (from 1 to 5 m.s-1). This new technology, using radiant energy to heat green-wood prior to peeling, would be a major innovation for the industries involved in the production of plywood, Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL), etc.The plan to achieve this goal consisted of:- Creating a model of infrared heat transfer in green wood while peeling it, with the characteristics of wood (moisture content, thermal properties) being amongst the input variables,-Investigating the thermal and optical characteristics of green wood (in terms of penetration depth and infrared absorption by green wood) to feed the model,-Validating the model with experimental peeling tests assisted by an infrared heating system.One of the main outputs of this study was to demonstrate that the penetration depth of infrared radiation into green wood is limited to several tenths of micrometers. Heat transfer into green wood up to the cutting plane (located several millimeters underneath the surface) is by conduction, which is slow due to the insulating properties of wood. Heating green wood with infrared radiation is therefore unable to match the highly demanding peeling rates in use in the industry today. However, the use of an embedded heating system in the case of slicing and the potential impact on improving veneer quality (colour, surface quality) remain open for further research.

Le Douglas sera la première essence résineuse en France dans les 10 ans à venir, avec des volumes commercialisables de l’ordre de 3 millions de m3/an. Sa valorisation par déroulage se heurte à deux caractéristiques défavorables de son duramen (une humidité à l’état vert proche du point de saturation des fibres (entre 30 et 40%) et une très mauvaise imprégnabilité à l’eau. Ceci rend ce bois très difficile et très long à chauffer par bouillottage avant déroulage. La matière ligneuse étant un bon isolant thermique, l’eau libre constitue généralement le milieu chauffant privilégié dans l’opération d’étuvage préalable au déroulage. Le temps de chauffe dans le cas du Douglas est doublé voire triplé par rapport à d’autres essences plus humides. Cela se traduit par un gaspillage énergétique et une immobilisation de stocks accrue. En vue d’améliorer la cinétique d’imprégnabilité de bois rond de Douglas, nous avons testés un certain nombre de modalités d’imprégnation à deux échelles différentes. À l’échelle de paillasse, des barreaux de 20 mm (R) x 20 mm (T) x 120 mm (L) prélevés dans le duramen, ont subis différents essais de trempage en faisant varier la température de l’eau, la durée du trempage, le type de refroidissement. Certaines modalités ont été répétés en plaçant le bain sous ultrason (fréquence 20 kHz, puissance 400 W) et pour d’autres en ajoutant un tensio-actif dans l’eau ou procéder à un séchage (thermique, naturel, vide) préalable des éprouvettes. Après chaque essai, la reprise d’eau a été quantifiée par double pesée. Nous avons montré un effet de bord répétable sur toutes les modalités mais aucune de celles-ci ne permet une amélioration significative de la reprise en eau du duramen sauf pour le cas du séchage préalable qui a profondément amélioré l’imprégnabilité. La transposition des traitements à l’échelle industrielle sur des billons de 50 cm de longueur et 20 cm de diamètre a montré l’efficacité du séchage préalable sur la capacité du bois d’être pénétré par l’eau, mais insuffisante pour améliorer significativement les conditions de déroulage. Le suivi de l’imprégnabilité par scanner à rayons X a confirmé la persistance de l’hétérogénéité de la répartition d’humidité sur toutes les modalités d’expériences réalisées. Les observations par microscopie confocale à balayage laser (CLSM) ont montré que le processus de séchage à 103°C, a généré des micro-fissures dans les parois cellulaires des ponctuations. Les essais de déroulage réalisés sur les billons issus des différentes modalités étudiées n’ont montré aucune différence de comportement aussi bien en termes d’efforts de coupe qu’en qualité des placages obtenus / In the ten next years, Douglas-fir will be the main softwood resource harvested in France. It its valorization by peeling comes up against two of its particularities that complicate boiling efficiency: (i) the heartwood has a MC near FSP (30 to 40%) i.e. there is near no free water into tracheid (ii) it is impossible to impregnate this heartwood at atmospheric pressure with water. As a result, wood material being a very efficient insulator material, boiling of Douglas-fir prior to peeling for veneer production will take a very long time, free water being the main medium allowing heat transfer into green wood. Wood is a good thermal insulator, free water is generally preferred in the heating operation steaming prior peeling. Heating time in the case of Douglas is doubled or tripled compared to others species. This results in wasted energy and increased immobilization stocks. In order to improve the kinetics of impregnability of Douglas heart wood, we tested a number of methods of impregnating at two different scales. At the bench scale, samples with 20 mm (R) x 20 mm (t) x 120 mm (L) taken from the heartwood, have suffered from various tests by varying the soaking water temperature, duration soaking, the type of cooling. Some terms were repeated by placing the bath in ultrasound (frequency 20 kHz, power 400 W) and others by adding a surfactant in water or to drying samples, (thermal, natural, vacuum) prior impregnation . After each test, the water uptake was quantified by double weighing. We showed a repeatable board effect across all categories but none of them allows a significant improvement in the water uptake heartwood except drying that profoundly improved the moisture content of samples. The transposition to the industrial scale processing on ridges (50 cm long and 20 cm in diameter) showed the effectiveness of prior drying on the ability of wood to be penetrated by the water, but insufficient to significantly improve the peeling conditions. X-ray scanner observations confirm the persistence of the heterogeneity of the moisture distribution across all categories of experiments. The confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) showed that the drying process at 103 ° C, generated microcracks in the cell walls of the pits. The tests performed on the peeling logs from different modalities studied showed no difference in behavior both in terms of cutting forces and quality veneers obtained

Ce travail s’inscrit dans la continuité des études menées au Laboratoire de Chimie des Substances Naturelles sur la bioremédiation des éléments-traces, et vise à utiliser les écorces de sapin de Douglas pour éliminer l’arsenic et le césium des eaux. Des tests effectués en bain agité ont permis d’établir des isothermes d’adsorption. Leur traduction par le modèle mathématique de Langmuir a démontré que les écorces brutes possèdent de bonnes propriétés intrinsèques pour la biosorption des éléments étudiés. Afin d’augmenter ces propriétés pour le césium, l’écorce a été oxydée pour faire apparaître des fonctions acide carboxylique et/ou imprégnée par l’hexacyanoferrate de nickel. Pour améliorer la biosorption de l’As(V), des fonctions ammonium ont été intégrées à la structure de l’écorce grâce au greffage de la bétaïne et de polyéthylèneimine méthylée. En parallèle, des fonctions thiol ont été introduites via la fixation del’acide lipoïque et de la N-acétylhomocystéine thiolactone, pour accroître l’adsorption de l’As(III). Les modifications entreprises pour la biosorption du césium et de l’As(III) permettent de conserver l’affinité des écorces pour ces éléments tout en augmentant significativement leur capacité d’adsorption. Enfin, les propriétés de biosorption du césium par Biosorb, un biosorbant à base d’écorce développé et commercialisé par la société Pe@rl, ont été confirmées, y compris en colonne à lit fixe. Les données recueillies lors de ces expériences sont cohérentes avec celles issues du logiciel de simulation OPTIPUR, ce qui permet d’envisager l’industrialisation du procédé. / This work follows several studies conducted in the “Laboratoire de Chimie des Substances Naturelles” about bioremediation of trace elements, and aims to use Douglas fir bark to remove arsenic and cesium from water. Tests carried out in batch allowed the establishment of adsorption isotherms. Their interpretation following Langmuir adsorption model showed that crude Douglas fir bark has good intrinsic properties for biosorption of studied elements. In order to improve these properties for cesium sorption, bark was oxidised to form carboxylic acid functional groups and/or impregnated with nickel hexacyanoferrate. So as to increase As(V) biosorption, ammonium functional groups were incorporated in the bark structure by grafting of betaine and methylated polyethyleneimine. In parallel, thiol functional groups were introduced through the fixation of lipoic acid and N-acetylhomocysteine thiolactone, in order to enhance As(III) sorption. Chemical modifications carried out for cesium and As(III) biosorption led to keep the bark affinity for these elements while increasing significantly their adsorption capacity. Finally, the biosorption properties of cesium onto Biosorb, a bark-based biosorbant developed and marketed by Pe@rl society, were confirmed, including in fixed-bed column. Data collected during these experiments are consistent with those from OPTIPUR simulation software, making possible the process industrialisation.

I hypothesized that Douglas-fir trees (Pseudotsuga menziesii) standing apart from other trees ('open-grown') will intercept more rainfall than Douglas-fir trees standing near other trees ('closed-canopy'). Open-grown trees differ structurally and are more common in urban settings, yet have been infrequently studied. Existing literature, based primarily on closed-canopy trees, suggests Douglas-fir trees in Pacific Northwest forests intercept approximately 25% of rainfall annually. Because open-grown trees have more vertical leaf area than individual trees in closed-canopy forests, I expected to find higher interception by open-grown trees. I collected throughfall under four open-grown Douglas-firs using six static collectors ('buckets') per tree, and two closed-canopy Douglas-firs using six buckets per tree. I compared their throughfall to the incident rainfall in two adjacent open-field buckets. Gross interception was measured in 53 collections during rainy weather from 16Nov07 to 31Mar08. Over the same period, rainfall per hour, wind speed, gust speed, wind direction, temperature and relative humidity were collected at a weather station located within 1 km of the site. For comparison, average hourly rainfall at Portland International Airport from 1950 to 2005, for the same months of the collection period, showed a comparable number of medium- to high-intensity storms, but more low-intensity storms. I found that incident rainfall for the adjacent open-field buckets totaled 65.6cm and 71.6cm over the study period. Interception values for closed-canopy trees averaged 26%, corresponding to the literature, with results of 22 and 30%. Interception values for open-grown trees averaged 31%, with results ranging from 15 to 45%. Three of the 24 buckets returned overall negative interception rates over five months. Given the lower storm intensity of 2007-08, interception rates may be somewhat high, compared to the historical average. The negative interception rates at three buckets were likely due to their locations under high drip points, as has been observed in other studies. Considering the wide range of canopy architecture among open-grown trees, the high variability in interception was not surprising. My hypothesis was supported by the data, but requires more testing to better generalize these results. Future studies that link open grown tree canopy morphological characteristics to interception are warranted.