Comparative responses of small mammals, vegetation, and food sources to natural regeneration and conifer release treatments in boreal balsam fir stands of Quebec

Abstract

Abundance and species diversity of small mammals were compared among three regeneration methods used in boreal balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) forests. Those methods were natural regeneration after "careful logging" to retain advance regeneration and planting (black spruce, Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) followed by herbicide (Vision®) release or brushsaw cutting release. Deciduous vegetation was reduced for two growing seasons in both plantation types after treatment, and foliar arthropods decreased for one growing season. In herbicide-treated plantations, red raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) shrub cover, near-ground vegetation, and production of berries were reduced for two growing seasons. After herbicide release, the abundance of the red-backed vole (Clethrionomys gapperi (Vigors)) was significantly lowered for two growing seasons. This negative effect was associated with reduced cover during the first two post-treatment growing seasons. In the short term, herbicide-treated plantations constitute poorer red-backed vole habitats than brushsaw plantations. In early successional boreal balsam fir stands, planting did not markedly affect small mammals probably because natural regeneration was common in these plantations.