Standing-dead tree component of the boreal forest in central Saskatchewan

Abstract

The standing-dead tree component was assessed in part of the upland forests in the mixedwood boreal forest in central Saskatchewan. Comparisons of the average number of dead trees per hectare were made between softwood stands, softwood-dominant mixedwood stands, hardwood-dominant mixedwood stands and hardwood stands. General trends in snag size and density were evaluated by comparing similar stand types of various height classes. The majority of the snags within the four forest associations were of small diameter (2–10 cm), comprising from 0.6 to 18.6% of the stems in these stands with the number of small-diameter dead trees per hectare decreasing in the older, taller stands. The density of small-diameter snags ranged from 440 ha −1 in 5 m softwood stands to 55 ha −1 in 25 m hardwood stands. The density of large diameter snags (>21 cm dbh) rarely comprised more than 5% of a stand.