Needle longevity of balsam fir is increased by defoliation by spruce budworm

Abstract

Retention of 10–16-year-old balsam fir needles increased significantly with cumulative spruce budworm defoliation. Mean needle longevity on defoliated 50-year-old fir was almost double that for undefoliated 25-year-old fir. Conifers experiencing environmental change affecting photosynthetic capacity have been observed to compensate by adjusting foliage longevity and increasing retention of old foliage. Defoliation by spruce budworm [Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem.)] is one such change, therefore, it was hypothesized that conifers, such as balsam fir [Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.] may increase foliage life spans to compensate for losses of photosynthetic capacity to defoliation. Understanding foliage longevity is a key component of predicting foliage complement, which is the main driver of effects of defoliation on forest growth and productivity. Defoliation and needle loss were assessed on 16 age classes of foliage on mid-crown branches sampled from 134 mature balsam fir trees near Amqui and Causapscal, Quebec, and related to needle age and cumulative defoliation (summed annual defoliation from 2012 to 2016). A general linear mixed model fitted to the needle survivorship data accounted for 68% of the total deviance. The model interaction term of cumulative defoliation with foliage age indicated that for foliage ages less than about 9 years, increased cumulative defoliation resulted in lower needle survival, possibly because of backfeeding of spruce budworm on 5+-year-old foliage, while in the older age classes, needle survival increased with increasing cumulative defoliation. For the oldest, 11–16-year-old foliage age classes, 10–16% more foliage per age class was retained under severe defoliation than under light defoliation. As a result, median needle age increased from 9.5 to 10.4 years as cumulative defoliation increased from 0 to 500%. Mean needle longevity of 9.5 years for 50-year-old balsam fir with low defoliation observed in this study was considerably higher than the mean of 5.5 years previously observed for 22- to 27-year-old fir in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Such differences in needle longevity and retention would cause considerable differences in predictions of tree growth using foliage-based stand growth models.