Trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) were observed growing along roads far north from the area where it dominates, in sites dominated by black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) B.S.P.) forests. This study examined the distribution of aspen at an early development stage and the conditions in which they are growing in a black spruce/feathermoss forest type in northwestern Abitibi, Quebec six years following harvesting. In this region, aspen are appearing in logged and burned areas that had been previously dominated by black spruce. The relationship of aspen growth with Ca availability and mineral soil access is the main focus of the study. Soil and foliar samples from aspen seedlings were collected from roadside, slash and cutover locations during the summer of 2003. Trees were also measured for height and basal diameter. Microsites where aspen was growing and where it was absent were compared to determine whether aspen was associated with specific microsites soil properties. The results suggest that there are differences in the growing conditions for aspen between different locations but that the trees are growing successfully in all of the three location types. In the cutovers, aspen seedlings were consistently found in association with patches of Polytrichum moss. All the sets of data indicate that Ca availability and access to mineral soil are not the main factors influencing the distribution of aspen but that soil pH, or a factor relating to pH, may be important.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.84081 |
| Date | January 2005 |
| Creators | Toribio Fajardo, Monica |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (Department of Natural Resource Sciences.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 002270199, proquestno: AAIMR22773, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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