Louis Bélanger - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Louis Bélanger

The central objective of this project is to develop an integrated set of tools designed to guide ... more The central objective of this project is to develop an integrated set of tools designed to guide forest manager's decisions in a manner that will improve forest sustainability. This goal will be attained by implementing informational and decisional methods that will help managers consider and evaluate the different uses of the forest (wood harvesting, biodiversity, the local economy of forest communities, etc.) at the early stages of forest management scenario design. Informational aspects comprise 1) information gathering (GIS layers, remote sensing images, field data, ecological mapping), 2) information processing yielding useful management data (spatial analysis, SYLVA II forecasting, etc.), 3) multicriteria decision making procedure design (choice of criteria, implementation of Promethée method), and 4) encapsulation of processed data and methods in a software package that can be directly used by forest managers. Most of the milestone objectives have been met: the integratio...

... des stratégies de rétention variable afin de maintenir de la haute forêt résiduelle par exemp... more ... des stratégies de rétention variable afin de maintenir de la haute forêt résiduelle par exemple. Puisque l'effet des feux est souvent variable au plan des sols et peut fortement influencer la distribution et la composition de la régéné- ration (Johnson, 1992; Ryan, 2002), des ...

Forest Science, Feb 1, 1997

ABSTRACT. Clearcutting transforms forest landscapes by creating important visual contrasts betwee... more ABSTRACT. Clearcutting transforms forest landscapes by creating important visual contrasts between cut areas and adjacent stands. The object of this study was to determine if it is possible to harvest a certain proportion of the visible landscape while maintaining a visually ...

Conservation Biology, Jun 1, 2000

To describe the forest mosaic suitable for marten (Martes americana) in a clearcut boreal landsca... more To describe the forest mosaic suitable for marten (Martes americana) in a clearcut boreal landscape, we studied habitat selection in an area (123 km 2) located in western Québec, in which black spruce (Picea mariana) was the predominant forest type. This block had been recently clearcut with the protection of regeneration cutting technique, a logging method that employs equally spaced harvesting trails. The resulting landscape had a center dominated by a cutover matrix (60% of the block) and surrounded by contiguous uncut forest. Over 2 years, 20 marten equipped with radio collars provided enough locations to delineate their winter home range. Habitat composition and spatial configuration were measured at both stand and landscape scales by means of a geographic information system database that included telemetry locations and home ranges, forest maps, and limits of clearcut areas. Inside their winter home ranges, animals avoided open regenerating stands composed mostly of recent clearcuts with sparse regeneration. They did not select coniferous stands, even those that were mature or overmature, but preferred deciduous and mixed stands, a large proportion of which had a dense coniferous shrub layer as a result of a spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana) epidemic 15-20 years ago. At the landscape scale, winter home ranges differed from random mosaics because they had a larger proportion of uncut forest (Ͼ 30 years), a smaller proportion of open regenerating stands, larger core area in forest habitat, and less edge between open regenerating stands and forest. Winter home ranges usually contained Ͻ 30-35% open or closed regenerating stands and Ͼ 40-50% uncut forest. We conclude that marten and clearcutting may be compatible, provided that forest logging is adapted to that species at the landscape level. Where the objective is to maintain marten at a local scale in black spruce forest, we suggest that Ն 50% uncut forest be preserved inside 10-km 2 units and that Ͻ 30% of the area be clearcut over a 30-year period.

Forest Ecology and Management, Nov 1, 2022

Forestry Chronicle, Jun 1, 1999

An outbreak of spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.), occurred between 1974 and 1987, ... more An outbreak of spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.), occurred between 1974 and 1987, in Quebec, in the eastern balsam fir, Abies balsamea (L.) Mill, - yellow birch, Betula alleghaniensis Britton, ecoclimatic sub-domain. The effect of this disruption has been assessed in mesic balsam fir stands killed during the outbreak, in mesic balsam fir stands partially damaged and in the following stands, also partially damaged: mesic yellow birch – balsam fir stands, mesic white birch, Betulapapyrifera Marsh., - balsam fir stands, mesic balsam fir – yellow birch stands, mesic balsam fir – white birch stands and xeric balsam fir stands. To that effect, surveys were led before, immediately after, and about five years after the outbreak in two blocks that have not been protected with insecticides. These blocks, located in Charlevoix and in Shipshaw management units, are second growth stands originating from clearcuts which occured about 50 years ago. Approximately five years after the outbreak, abundant coniferous regeneration was found everywhere except in the mesic yellow birch –balsam fir stand and in the dead mesic balsam fir stand, where softwood represented less than 50% of the regeneration. On the other hand, young softwood stems were located under the regeneration of white birch and of mountain maple, Acer spicatum Lam, in dead balsam fir stands, in balsam fir – white birch stands, as well as in living balsam fir stands and under mountain maple in yellow birch – balsam fir stands and in balsam fir – yellow birch stands. Our age structures indicate that softwood advance growth was relatively rare in these stands. Thus, during the opening of the canopy by the spruce budworm, intolerant hard-woods and shrubs invaded the still available microsites. In the dead balsam fir stands, stocking of the dominant hardwood regeneration stems is equivalent to that of softwood. Thus, dead balsam fir stands are turning to mixed stands. Xeric stands will remain softwood stands since they show luxuriant softwood regeneration dominating in height. In the other stands, we will have to wait the harvest period before we can adequately assess succession.

Téoros, Revue de Recherche en Tourisme, 2006

Le Naturaliste Canadien, 2023

New Forests, 2013

Conserving forest biodiversity has become a significant global concern. A change in forest compos... more Conserving forest biodiversity has become a significant global concern. A change in forest composition, compared to pre-industrial values, is an important biodiversity issue. In this regard, there is a significant decrease in Picea glauca densities at the landscape level in boreal mixedwoods of northeastern Canada, compared to pre-industrial abundance. Enrichment planting is considered a promising silvicultural approach for improving P. glauca stocking and re-establishing its natural co-dominance with Abies balsamea. However, optimal enrichment scenarios must be identified, notably regarding site preparation treatments that can enhance planted seedling survival and growth while protecting Abies advance regeneration. We established a field trial in Quebec (Canada), laid out as a complete block split-plot design. Picea glauca and P. mariana seedlings (main plot) were planted according to 3 ''microsite'' treatments (subplot): (1) planting in the humus layer; (2) planting in the mineral soil, with minimal humus disturbance; and (3) planting in a microsite mechanically-prepared using modified brushsaws. After 3 growing seasons, P. mariana seedlings were taller than P. glauca seedlings, but had smaller groundlevel diameters. Seedlings planted in the mineral soil had overcome the initial height difference they had with seedlings planted in the humus and mechanically-prepared microsites, with no interaction with species. Ground-level diameter was similar for seedlings planted in the humus and mechanically-prepared microsites, but smaller for seedlings planted in the mineral soil. Water potentials, available light, and foliar nutrient concentrations were not influenced by treatments or species; survival was [90 %. Our results indicate that P. glauca can be established through enrichment planting in boreal mixedwoods. Localized site preparation is not required to limit initial plantation stress in this ecosystem.

The Journal of Wildlife Management, 2013

Effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on the behavior of individual organisms may have direct... more Effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on the behavior of individual organisms may have direct consequences on population viability in altered forest ecosystems. The American marten (Martes americana) is a forest specialist considered as one of the most sensitive species to human-induced disturbances. As some studies have shown that martens cannot tolerate >30-40% clear-cuts within their home range, we investigated marten space use (home range size and overlap) and habitat selection in landscapes fragmented by 2 different patterns of timber harvesting in the black spruce boreal forest: dispersed-cut landscapes (10-80 ha cut-blocks) and clustered-cut landscapes (50-200 ha cut-blocks). We installed radiocollars on female martens and determined 20 winter home ranges (100% minimum convex polygons and 60-90% kernels) in dispersed-cut (n ¼ 8) and clustered-cut (n ¼ 12) landscapes. Home range size was not related to the proportion of clear-cuts (i.e., habitat loss), but rather to the proportion of mixedwood stands 70-120 years old. However, female body condition was correlated to habitat condition inside their home ranges (i.e., amount of residual forest and recent clear-cuts). At the home range scale, we determined that mixedwood forests were also among the most used forest stands and the least used were recent clear-cuts and forested bogs, using resource selection functions. At the landscape scale, home ranges included more mixedwood forests than random polygons and marten high activity zones were composed of more residual forest and less human-induced disturbances (clear-cuts, edges, and roads). These results suggest that mixedwood forests, which occupy approximately 10% of the study area, play a critical role for martens in this conifer-dominated boreal landscape. We recommend permanent retention or special management considerations for these isolated stands, as harvesting mixedwood often leads to forest composition conversion that would reduce the availability of this highly used habitat.

The Forestry Chronicle, 2007

The use of clearcutting involves the creation of exposed edges that become vulnerable to windthro... more The use of clearcutting involves the creation of exposed edges that become vulnerable to windthrow. The spatial distribution of cutblocks can influence the level of damage. This study compares windthrow losses at edges of clearcuts for two spatial distributions of clearcuts in the balsam fir-white birch ecological domain. The level of windthrow was estimated from aerial photographs of five year-old clearcuts. The proportion of windthrow in the first 30 m of edges around clearcuts amounted to 20.4% for grouped clearcuts in comparison with 15.8% for dispersed clearcuts. Dispersed cutting did not modify the level of damage per unit length of edge. However, the greater perimeter for a similar cut area in the dispersed pattern led to a greater amount of damage per area harvested (15.99 vs. 6.34 m3·ha-1). Key words: windthrow, logging edges, landscape patterns, grouped clearcut, dispersed patch cutting, balsam fir

ALCES, 2005

... WASWANIPI EEYOU ASTCHEE, NORTHERN QUÉBEC Hugo Jacqmain1, Louis Bélanger1,2, Réhaume Courtois2... more ... WASWANIPI EEYOU ASTCHEE, NORTHERN QUÉBEC Hugo Jacqmain1, Louis Bélanger1,2, Réhaume Courtois2, Thomas Beckley3, Solange Nadeau4, Christian Dussault2, and Luc Bouthillier1 1Faculté de Foresterie et de ...