Effect of companion species on the growth of jack pine (Pinusbanksiana)

Abstract

The growth and yield of jack pine (Pinusbanksiana Lamb.) was studied in even-aged stands of three types: pure jack pine, jack pine mixed with paper birch (Betulapapyrifera Marsh.), and jack pine mixed with trembling aspen (Populustremuloides Michx.) growing on moderately well-drained glaciolacustrine clay soils in the southern tip of the Clay Belt of northwestern Quebec. Site index, average DBH, and average height of jack pine, and the availability of nutrients in the forest floor were compared among stand types. No differences were found in the height growth of jack pine among stand types. However, diameters of jack pine in mixtures with paper birch were significantly greater than in either pure stands or in mixtures with aspen despite the fact that both mixed stand types showed higher forest floor pH and greater concentrations of exchangeable calcium and magnesium than the pure stands. These results, together with the pattern of height growth of the three species, suggest that the beneficial effect of paper birch on the diameter growth of jack pine is caused mainly by a reduction in the competition for light among individual jack pine trees. The silvicultural implications of the results are discussed.