The effects of early and late spring cuts on the sprouting success of red maple (Acerrubrum) in northwestern Quebec

Abstract

Seven red maple (Acerrubrum L.) populations were selected in the Abitibi–Témiscamingue region of Quebec for a study of the influence of the cutting season, the stump age and size, on the species sprouting success at the northern limit of its range. In the spring of 1988, five red maple trees were cut at each site in May, before bud burst, and five other trees were cut in June, after full leaf expansion. The number and the biomass of sprouts produced, sprout growth, and sprout mortality were followed over a 2-year period. At the end of the first growing season (August 1988), stumps cut in May produced significantly more sprouts (53) and a higher biomass (38.9 g) than stumps cut in June (40 sprouts; 20.6 g). A second cohort of sprouts emerged from the stumps during the second growing season (1989), and the June treatment stumps (65.8 g) were then more productive than the May treatment stumps (39.0 g). Consequently, after two growing seasons, the total number and biomass of sprouts measured on the two treatments were no longer significantly different. Sprout mortality was high during the first winter (ca 60%), but much lower during the second winter (ca 30%). Stump productivity over the first 2 years was positively correlated with stump size for both treatments, and with stump age for the May treatment stumps only. Our results suggest that red maple sprouting success at the northern limit of its range is not influenced by the cutting season over a 2-year period, and that each stump has a certain sprouting potential related principally to its size.