Performance of seedlings of four coniferous species planted in two boreal lichen woodlands with contrasting soil fertility

e-journal

14213

200211157

Lichen woodlands (LWs) are persistent unproductive areas of the Canadian boreal forests whose afforestation may potentially remove significant amounts of anthropogenic C from the atmosphere. The choice of species to be planted is nevertheless uncertain given the particular pedoclimatic conditions prevailing in this habitat as well as the rapidly changing climate at northern latitudes. In this study, we assessed the survival and the growth rates of four boreal coniferous species in two LWs with contrasting soil fertility. Five years after afforestation, survival rate was high for all species at both sites, ranging from 60 to 100 %.Keywords: Boreal forest; Afforestation; Open woodlands; Black spruce; White spruce; Jack pine; Tamarack; Survival rate; Photosynthetic/woody biomass ratio