Does the post‐fire organic layer compress beneath the snowpack?
T. B. Splawinski A D , D. F. Greene A , S. Gauthier B and Y. Bergeron CA Department of Geography, Planning and Environment, Concordia University, 1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd West, Montréal, QC, H3G 1M8, Canada.
B Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Laurentian Forestry Centre, 1055 Rue du PEPS, PO Box 10380, Stn Sainte Foy, Québec, QC, G1V 4C7, Canada.
C Centre d’Étude sur la Forêt and Chaire Industrielle en Aménagement Forestier Durable, Université du Québec à Montréal, CP 8888 Succursale A, Montréal, QC, H3C 3P8, Canada.
D Corresponding author. Email: tadeusz007@hotmail.com
International Journal of Wildland Fire 19(5) 673-676 https://doi.org/10.1071/WF09056
Submitted: 2 June 2009 Accepted: 27 November 2009 Published: 9 August 2010
Abstract
It is well known that post‐fire duff layers that are thin or of lower porosity greatly enhance juvenile survivorship of sexually recruiting boreal plant species. Nonetheless, there has been no study on duff compaction by snow following charring. We examined post‐fire duff depth for the first 3 years (two winters) after a 2006 wildfire in the boreal forest of north‐western Quebec. We found that (1) significant compression was common, with (2) a positive relationship between the initial thickness of the burned organic layer depth and the subsequent amount of compression. The proportional compression rate was, however, roughly constant: ∼14% after 2 years regardless of initial post‐fire duff depth. We conclude that this amount of compression is too little to significantly impact post‐fire seedling recruitment.
Additional keywords: fire, germination, seedbeds, sexual recruitment.
Acknowledgements
We thank the Chantiers Chibougamau company for setting aside the Mistissinni plots and the Ministère des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune (MRN) and Société de protection contre les incendies de forêts (SOPFEU) for providing information concerning the fire. Funding was provided by an Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Collaborative Research and Development (CRD) Grant with Tembec and Domtar. A. Savoie, A. Sullivan, and T. Gielau assisted in the field.
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