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The red spruce-balsam fir forest of Maine: Evolution of silvicultural practice in response to stand development patterns and disturbances

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Book cover The Ecology and Silviculture of Mixed-Species Forests

Part of the book series: Forestry Sciences ((FOSC,volume 40))

Abstract

Red spruce (Picea rubens) and balsam fir (Abies balsamea) are so similar that “spruce-fir” is often used as if it were a single species. The early monographs of Zon (1914) and Murphy (1917) accurately characterize both species as occupying a similar ecological niche: late-successional, very tolerant of shade, shallow rooted, and widely adapted to a variety of site and stand conditions. These species differ in important ways that influence silvicultural treatment (Fowells 1965). Fir produces abundant seeds, but is so susceptible to various heart-rot fungi that its potential life span is limited by the high risk of wind breakage or uprooting. Balsam fir is often cited as the classic example of a species ruled by a pathological rotation, effectively limited to ages 40–70, depending on site quality. Fir is also the preferred host and suffers extensive mortality from defoliation by the spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana). The introduced balsam wooly adelgid (Adelges piceae) also is a serious pest of fir in coastal regions but does not cause serious damage inland.

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Authors
  1. Robert S. Seymour
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, University of Massachusetts, 01003, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

    Matthew J. Kelty

  2. School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, 06511, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

    Bruce C. Larson

  3. College of Forest Resources, University of Washington, 98195, Seattle, Washington, USA

    Chadwick D. Oliver

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Seymour, R.S. (1992). The red spruce-balsam fir forest of Maine: Evolution of silvicultural practice in response to stand development patterns and disturbances. In: Kelty, M.J., Larson, B.C., Oliver, C.D. (eds) The Ecology and Silviculture of Mixed-Species Forests. Forestry Sciences, vol 40. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-8052-6_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-8052-6_12

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  • Print ISBN: 978-90-481-4135-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-015-8052-6

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