Duck Mountain Research Articles

2022 Loon Initiatives Report: Madge Lake, Duck Mountain Provincial Park

2022 Loon Initiatives Report: Madge Lake, Duck Mountain Provincial Park

2021 Loon Initiatives Report: Madge Lake, Duck Mountain Provincial Park

2021 Loon Initiatives Report: Madge Lake, Duck Mountain Provincial Park

2020 Loon Initiatives Report: Madge Lake, Duck Mountain Provincial Park

2020 Loon Initiatives Report: Madge Lake, Duck Mountain Provincial Park

Climate and atmospheric circulation related to frost-ring formation in Picea mariana trees from the Boreal Plains, interior North America

Earlier spring and earlier onset of growth, as a consequence of climate change, may expose trees and crops to increased risk of exposure to frost damage. In this study, we compare the frequency of frost rings in three regions [Porcupine Provincial Forest (PPF; north-latitude); Duck Mountain Provincial Forest (DMPF; mid-latitude) and Riding Mountain National Park (RMNP, south-latitude)] located in the Boreal Plains of interior North America. In each of PPF and DMPF, twenty upland black spruce [Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP] trees were sampled using stem analysis and others were sampled at breast height or below. In RMNP, multiple coniferous tree species were sampled at breast height or below to allow comparison among species. Results from stem analysis indicated that frost rings were more frequent in DMPF than PPF (north of DMPF). Frost rings identified up to a height of 16 m and were formed predominantly in the early cambial age zone. As a general pattern, frost rings recorded in PPF occurred more abundantly in years with warm April temperatures and this association was less prevalent in DMPF. Frost rings were formed following extreme frost events in late May - early June and frost-ring years corresponded to years with cooler June temperatures. A significant positive association was found between frost-ring frequency and the El Niño Southern Oscillation. In the absence of an early spring, black spruce trees were less affected by frost damages. Stem analysis provided a better record of spring frosts than solely sampling at breast height or below. The multi-species approach used in RMNP revealed many years with synchronous frost rings among species. The development of a large network of frost-ring chronologies from tree species of various age classes and/or from stem analysis will help with assessing the impact of late spring frosts on forest dynamics and to document large-scale climate anomalies in areas with low climate data coverage and/or prior to instrumental records.

Quantifying Cumulative Effects of Harvesting on Aspen Regeneration through Fuzzy Logic Suitability Mapping

Core Ideas Multivariate statistics and fuzzy logic analysis were used to assess aspen regeneration. Vegetation indices were the dominant factors in determining regeneration suitability. Vegetation indices were significantly higher in high suitability areas. Skidder traffic was significantly lower on high regeneration suitability land. The percentage of slash coverage was significantly lower on high suitability land. Vigorous aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) regeneration immediately following a harvesting event is important to ensuring the continued health and productivity of the future forest. This study aimed to examine the potential of using unoccupied aerial vehicle, multispectral remote sensing, and GIS mapping techniques to develop a comprehensive approach for predicting aspen regeneration success at the harvest block scale. Three winter harvested blocks were studied at Duck Mountain Provincial Park in east‐central Saskatchewan, Canada. Ten regeneration predictor variables (number of skidder passes, percentage slash coverage, topographic wetness index, slope, aspect, slope position, and four vegetation indices: green normalized vegetation index [GNDVI], normalized red‐edge index [NDRE], simple RED to NIR ratio [SR], and chlorophyll index green [CIG]) were determined for 168 measurement plots 1 yr after harvest. Principal component analysis, principal component regression, fuzzy logic analysis, and GIS mapping techniques, were combined for the first time in this study to determine cumulative effects on aspen regeneration. On average, low suitability areas had significantly more skidder traffic (34 passes) compared to below average (17), above average (10), and high (7) suitability areas. Low suitability areas also had significantly more slash coverage (13.1%) compared to below average (8.49%) or high suitability land (7.18%). High suitability areas had significantly higher GNDVI, NDRE, SR, and CIG indices, compared to low and below average suitability land. Not only does this method of analysis help to assess how a combination of factors may influence aspen regeneration, it can also act as a decision support system tool for industry, or government, to improve aspen regeneration assessments.

2018 Loon Initiatives Report

2018 Loon Initiatives Report: Madge Lake, Duck Mountain Provincial Park

Influence of skidder traffic on soil bulk density, aspen regeneration, and vegetation indices following winter harvesting in the Duck Mountain Provincial Park, SK

Following a disturbance, extensive aspen (Populus tremuloides) suckering is crucial for ensuring the continued productivity of the future forest. The aim of this study was to assess the suitability of using winter harvesting in a provincial park as a way to mitigate severe soil compaction and ensure sufficient aspen regeneration to rejuvenate the mature forest. Six harvested blocks were selected for this study based on a skidder traffic intensity map, which was generated using GPS data collected throughout the duration of the harvesting event. Soil bulk density, aspen regeneration, and vegetation indices were measured across the different levels of skidder traffic intensity. Soil bulk density increased significantly following as little as 1–5 skidder passes (1.39 g cm−3) compared to the unharvested control (1.29 g cm−3); however, bulk density remained relatively constant as the level of skidder traffic intensity continued to increase. No relationship was found between soil bulk density and the level of aspen regeneration; however, the level of skidder traffic intensity significantly influenced the level of aspen regeneration. Aspen root collar diameter, leaf area index, dry leaf biomass, total N, and total P all decreased as the level of skidder traffic intensity increased; but, these decreases were not significant. Conversely, both aspen sucker density and height decreased significantly as the level of skidder traffic intensity increased, decreasing nearly 50% and 28%, respectively, in areas with 51–100 skidder passes. Multispectral remote sensing using UAV to assess the level of aspen regeneration across an entire harvested block proved ineffective. Although several vegetation indices showed significant relationships with aspen properties, none of these relationships had a coefficient of determination greater than approximately 0.2. Overall, winter harvesting appeared to have mitigated soil compaction concerns as expressed by soil bulk density and. although areas with higher levels of skidder traffic intensity (51–100 passes) experienced a decrease in aspen regeneration vigor, these areas with decreased aspen regeneration only accounted for approximately 1–2% of harvested blocks.

Incorporating multi-cohort old aspen and mixedwood dynamics into a long-term forest management plan

The 2006–2026 Sustainable Forest Management Plan for Manitoba’s Duck Mountain Provincial Forest (DMPF) was required to model the Future Forest Condition 200 years from the present. This was a significant challenge for forest stands that were already old at the beginning of the planning and modelling horizon. In the DMPF, the majority of stands were currently old and near the end of the sampled yield curve. We incorporated aspen and aspen–mixedwood Permanent Sample Plot remeasurement data, aged up to 200 years old, into the yield curves. This extended the sampled volume–age data of the yield curves from 120 to 200 years old. The recent discovery of multi-cohort aspen and mixedwood stands was also incorporated into modelling the Future Forest Condition of the Sustainable Forest Management Plan. Multi-cohort stand dynamics replaced previous modelling assumptions of single-cohort, even-aged stands “breaking up” and suffering catastrophic loss (i.e., death age) where volume equals zero at stand ages 140 years or older. Modelling the multi-cohort stand dynamics resulted in a significantly different Future Forest Condition due to: maintenance of a continuous forest canopy over the entire landscape; higher modelled biodiversity in older stands due to multiple canopies, abundant snags, and coarse woody debris; and the avoidance of a large age class imbalance due to stands being available for harvest longer, but at a lower volume.

Testing for a CO2fertilization effect on growth of Canadian boreal forests

[1] The CO2 fertilization hypothesis stipulates that rising atmospheric CO2 has a direct positive effect on net primary productivity (NPP), with experimental evidence suggesting a 23% growth enhancement with a doubling of CO2. Here, we test this hypothesis by comparing a bioclimatic model simulation of NPP over the twentieth century against tree growth increment (TGI) data of 192 Pinus banksiana trees from the Duck Mountain Provincial Forest in Manitoba, Canada. We postulate that, if a CO2 fertilization effect has occurred, climatically driven simulations of NPP and TGI will diverge with increasing CO2. We use a two-level scaling approach to simulate NPP. A leaf-level model is first used to simulate high-frequency responses to climate variability. A canopy-level model of NPP is then adjusted to the aggregated leaf-level results and used to simulate yearly plot-level NPP. Neither model accounts for CO2 fertilization. The climatically driven simulations of NPP for 1912–2000 are effective for tracking the measured year-to-year variations in TGI, with 47.2% of the variance in TGI reproduced by the simulation. In addition, the simulation reproduces without divergence the positive linear trend detected in TGI over the same period. Our results therefore do not support the attribution of a portion of the historical linear trend in TGI to CO2 fertilization at the level suggested by current experimental evidence. A sensitivity analysis done by adding an expected CO2 fertilization effect to simulations suggests that the detection limit of the study is for a 14% growth increment with a doubling of atmospheric CO2 concentration.

Diseases and Parasites in Wolves of the Riding Mountain National Park Region, Manitoba, Canada

We examined wolf (Canis lupus) blood and fecal samples from the Riding Mountain National Park (RMNP) region of Manitoba, Canada. In 601 fecal samples collected during two study periods in RMNP and the Duck Mountain Provincial Park and Forest (DMPPF) we found gastrointestinal helminth eggs from Alaria sp. (15.5%), Capillaria sp. (1.0%), taeniid tapeworms (30.8%), Toxascaris sp. (1.7%), Toxocara sp. (0.2%), Trichuris sp. (2.2%), and Moniezia sp. (0.5%). In addition, we found Demodex sp. (0.2%) and the protozoal cysts/oocysts of Sarcocystis sp. (37.3%), Cryptosporidium sp. (1.2%), coccidia (Isospora sp. or Eimeria sp.) (1.7%), and Giardia sp. (29.5%). No fecal shedding of canine parvovirus (CPV, n=387) was detected. All 18 blood samples collected in RMNP showed CPV exposure and eight of 18 blood samples indicated canine distemper virus (CDV) exposure. One wolf died from CDV. Our results are consistent with previous findings on pathogens affecting wolves and with high Giardia sp. prevalence in wolves inhabiting agricultural regions.

Wolf body mass, skull morphology, and mitochondrial DNA haplotypes in the Riding Mountain National Park region of Manitoba, Canada

Two types of wolves, gray ( Canis lupus L., 1758) and eastern ( Canis lupus lycaon Schreber, 1775 or Canis lycaon ) or Great Lakes wolves, representing Old World (OW) and New World (NW) mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotypes, have been reported in eastern Canada and the Great Lakes region. Both haplotypes were found in Duck Mountain Provincial Park and Forest, Manitoba. Only OW haplotypes have been reported from the isolated Riding Mountain National Park (RMNP), 30 km to the south. Wolves with NW haplotypes hybridize with C. lupus and coyotes ( Canis latrans Say, 1823) and could mediate gene flow between canids. We examined available data on wolf body mass, skull morphology, and mtDNA from the RMNP region, as well as mtDNA from Manitoba and Saskatchewan, to assess the occurrence of NW haplotypes in wolves and possible canid hybridization. Mean body mass of female (n = 54) and male (n = 42) RMNP wolves during 1985–1987 was higher than that of females (n = 12) and males (n = 8) during 1999–2004. Thirteen skull measures from 29 wolf skulls did not suggest significant differences between RMNP and Duck Mountain wolves. Nineteen of 20 RMNP samples had OW haplotypes, whereas one clustered together with NW haplotypes.

Response of tree growth to a changing climate in boreal central Canada: A comparison of empirical, process-based, and hybrid modelling approaches

The impact of 2 × CO 2 driven climate change on radial growth of boreal tree species Pinus banksiana Lamb., Populus tremuloides Michx. and Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP growing in the Duck Mountain Provincial Forest of Manitoba (DMPF), Canada, is simulated using empirical and process-based model approaches. First, empirical relationships between growth and climate are developed. Stepwise multiple-regression models are conducted between tree-ring growth increments (TRGI) and monthly drought, precipitation and temperature series. Predictive skills are tested using a calibration–verification scheme. The established relationships are then transferred to climates driven by 1× and 2 × CO 2 scenarios using outputs from the Canadian second-generation coupled global climate model. Second, empirical results are contrasted with process-based projections of net primary productivity allocated to stem development (NPP s). At the finest scale, a leaf-level model of photosynthesis is used to simulate canopy properties per species and their interaction with the variability in radiation, temperature and vapour pressure deficit. Then, a top-down plot-level model of forest productivity is used to simulate landscape-level productivity by capturing the between-stand variability in forest cover. Results show that the predicted TRGI from the empirical models account for up to 56.3% of the variance in the observed TRGI over the period 1912–1999. Under a 2 × CO 2 scenario, the predicted impact of climate change is a radial growth decline for all three species under study . However, projections obtained from the process-based model suggest that an increasing growing season length in a changing climate could counteract and potentially overwhelm the negative influence of increased drought stress. The divergence between TRGI and NPP s simulations likely resulted, among others, from assumptions about soil water holding capacity and from calibration of variables affecting gross primary productivity. An attempt was therefore made to bridge the gap between the two modelling approaches by using physiological variables as TRGI predictors. Results obtained in this manner are similar to those obtained using climate variables, and suggest that the positive effect of increasing growing season length would be counteracted by increasing summer temperatures. Notwithstanding uncertainties in these simulations (CO 2 fertilization effect, feedback from disturbance regimes, phenology of species, and uncertainties in future CO 2 emissions), a decrease in forest productivity with climate change should be considered as a plausible scenario in sustainable forest management planning of the DMPF.

Sedimentation in Ice-Damned Glacial Lake Assiniboine, Saskatchewan, and Catastrophic Drainage Down the Assiniboine Valley

Ice-dammed glacial Lake Assiniboine covered approximately 1500 km2 in eastern Saskatchewan at about 11,000 BP. Lithofacies in two cores from the lake basin were identified, correlated, and linked to paleolake strandlines and inflow and outflow channels discerned from aerial photos and surface mapping. Deeper lake stages are reflected by silt and clay varve deposition in the deepest part of the basin, whereas shallower stages are represented by fluctuating grain size and current-generated sedimentary structures in sediments nearer to where influxes of melt-water occurred. The stratigraphie record revealed six lake phases, beginning with a shallow period when water collected in the interlobate area between ice on the Duck Mountain Upland to the east and the Assiniboine Ice Lobe to the west. A rise in lake level to about 495 m occurred as the southern outlet was dammed by ice. After about 85 varve years, waters from the Porcupine Hills Upland to the north flooded into glacial Lake Assiniboine, perhaps as a result of the drainage of an ice marginal lake, causing erosion at the lake's southern outlet and a drop in lake level. A second major influx of water from the Porcupine Hills area, at least 20 varve years later, led to downcutting of the outlet and draining of Lake Assiniboine. Shallow and deep channels, streamlined hills, and scattered boulders adjacent to the now-entrenched Assiniboine valley at the former outlet of glacial Lake Assiniboine suggest that the lake drained catastrophically. Similar geomorphic features at sites downstream along the Assiniboine valley are also indicative of catastrophic flow, although only those areas north of the Qu'Appelle River spillway junction are predominantly attributed to outbursts from glacial Lake Assiniboine.

Dendrochronological reconstruction of forest tent caterpillar outbreaks in time and space, western Manitoba, Canada

A tree-ring reconstruction of forest tent caterpillar ( Malacosoma disstria Hubner) outbreaks was conducted in the Duck Mountain Provincial Forest. Trembling aspen ( Populus tremuloides Michx.), balsam poplar ( Populus balsamifera L.), and paper birch ( Betula papyrifera Marsh.) tree-ring chronologies were used to identify periods of outbreaks from approximately 1800 to 2002. The impacts of the major forest tent caterpillar outbreaks of the 20th century were compared among four stand types and two age classes. The presence of white rings and growth suppression were used to identify three important outbreak periods, 1939–1948, 1961–1965, and 1982–1985, with another large-scale outbreak suspected during the 1870s. A roughly 20-year interval was observed between major outbreaks. Few differences were found between stand types, except during the 1960s, when mixed stands with jack pine ( Pinus banksiana Lamb.) registered more growth suppression and white rings. In general, the outbreak signal in the younger sites was variable. The importance of utilizing white rings and growth suppression data together is discussed. The major outbreaks of the 20th century generally started in the north of the Duck Mountain Provincial Forest. The technique was successful at identifying forest tent caterpillar outbreaks during the 20th and late 19th centuries, when no historical surveys were available.

Plant diversity, composition, and rarity in the southern boreal peatlands of Manitoba, Canada

Plant diversity and rarity have been relatively well studied for bryophytes in Canadian western boreal peatlands, but little information exists for vascular plants. Diversity, community composition, and rarity of bryophytes and vascular plants were determined and relationships examined among these and environmental variables in five peatland types at Duck Mountain, Manitoba: wooded bogs, black spruce swamps, wooded moderate-rich fens, open moderate-rich fens, and open extreme-rich fens. Total diversity was 298 species comprising 86 bryophytes and 212 vascular plants. Mean diversity followed a unimodal distribution over a bog – rich fen gradient. Wooded moderate-rich fens (59.0) and black spruce swamps (53.4) had the highest mean diversity, whereas wooded bogs (32.3) and open extreme-rich fens (34.7) had the lowest mean diversity. Occurrences of locally rare species followed the same general pattern, and provincially rare vascular plants were found primarily in wooded moderate-rich fens and black spruce swamps and were mostly orchids. Reasons for these patterns are complex, but high diversity appears to be related to high habitat heterogeneity and moderate environmental variables, e.g., pH and alkalinity, and low diversity appears to be related to environmental extremes, e.g., pH and alkalinity. Boreal wooded moderate-rich fens and black spruce swamps have comparatively high plant diversity and rarity and require consideration if the focus is biodiversity conservation. This will become increasingly important in landscapes where development pressures are high.

The vegetational ecology of black spruce swamps, fens, and bogs in southern boreal Manitoba, Canada

Abstract We undertook a survey of the vegetational ecology of 94 peatlands at Duck Mountain, Manitoba to discriminate differences among peatland types at the southeastern edge of the boreal plain, especially black spruce swamps, and to clarify boreal swamp terminology. The majority of peatlands surveyed were wooded, relatively small (mean = 1.8 ha), and in depressions on the landscape. A classification and indicator species analysis identified the dominant peatland types as moderate-rich fens, with bogs and extreme-rich fens as rare. Black spruce swamps were relatively common and often found on gentle slopes. They were distinguished from wooded fens by larger trees (mean height = 9.7 m; diameter = 12.6 cm), denser overstory (68%), shallower peat depth (90 cm), and small size (1.6 ha). Although most similar to wooded moderate-rich fens by vegetation, black spruce swamps have a denser bryophyte layer and more mesic plant species. Significant indicator species on hummocks and drier areas include Pleurozium s...

Functional diversity of microbial communities in the mixed boreal plain forest of central Canada

This study was designed to examine whether or not specific tree species ( Picea glauca, Picea mariana, Pinus banksiana, Populus tremuloides), their post-fire stand age, or their position in a successional pathway had any significant effect on the functional diversity of associated soil microbial communities in a typical mixed boreal forest ecosystem (Duck Mountain Provincial Forest, Manitoba, Canada). Multivariate analyses designed to identify significant biotic and/or abiotic variables associated with patterns of organic substrate utilization (assessed using the BIOLOG™ System) revealed the overall similarity in substrate utilization by the soil microbial communities. The five clusters identified differed mainly by their substrate-utilization value rather than by specific substrate utilization. Variability in community functional diversity was not strongly associated to tree species or post-fire stand age; however, redundancy analysis indicated a stronger association between substrate utilization and successional pathway and soil pH. For example, microbial communities associated with the relatively high pH soils of the P. tremuloides– P. glauca successional pathway, exhibited a greater degree of substrate utilization than those associated with the P. banksiana– P. mariana successional pathway and more acidic soils. Differences in functional diversity specific to tree species were not observed and this may have reflected the mixed nature of the forest stands and of their heterogeneous forest floor. In a densely treed, mixed boreal forest ecosystem, great overlap in tree and understory species occur making it difficult to assign a definitive microbial community to any particular tree species. The presence of P. tremuloides in all stand types and post fire stand ages has probably contributed to the large amount of overlap in utilization profiles among soil samples.

Sensitivity of tree growth to the atmospheric vertical profile in the Boreal Plains of Manitoba, Canada

This paper investigates the influence of surface climate and atmospheric circulation on radial growth of eight boreal tree species growing in the Duck Mountain Provincial Forest, Manitoba, Canada. Tree-ring residual chronologies were built, transformed into principal components (PCs), and analysed through correlation and response functions to reveal their associations to climate (temperature, precipitation, and drought data for the period 1912–1999, as well as local geopotential height data for the period 1948–1999). Geopotential height correlation and composite charts for the Northern Hemisphere were also constructed. Correlation and response function coefficients indicated that radial growth of all species was negatively affected by temperature-induced drought stresses from the summers previous and current to ring formation. The summer drought stress alone explained nearly 28% of the variance in PC1. Warm spring temperature was also a positive factor for Pinus banksiana Lamb. and Picea glauca (Moench) Voss, but a negative one for all hardwoods. Analyses performed on geopotential height highlighted the importance of the Northern Hemispheric atmospheric circulation in the species' response to climate. The variability within the 500-hPa level over southern Manitoba explained 39% and 58% of the variability in PC1 and PC2, respectively. The relationships were highly significant with the middle and high troposphere during spring and late summer (determinant factor for growing season length) and with the troposphere and stratosphere during summer. The sensitivity of tree growth to atmospheric circulation exceeded the synoptic scale, with a response associated with yearly variations in the amplitude of the mid-tropospheric longwaves.

USING ISOTOPIC VARIANCE TO DETECT LONG-DISTANCE DISPERSAL AND PHILOPATRY IN BIRDS: AN EXAMPLE WITH OVENBIRDS AND AMERICAN REDSTARTS

Abstract Understanding movements of individual birds between breeding sites (breeding dispersal) or between natal sites and the site of first breeding (natal dispersal) is crucial to the modeling of population dynamics. Unfortunately, these aspects of demography are poorly understood for avian species in general, and for migratory songbirds in particular. This is because it is often impossible to sample broadly enough to relocate marked birds that have moved. We used stable-hydrogen (δD) and carbon (δ13C) isotope analyses of the feathers of 139 American Redstarts (Setophaga ruticilla) and 193 Ovenbirds (Seiurus aurocapillus) to evaluate evidence for individuals molting feathers at locations other than their breeding sites from the previous year. We sampled outer rectrices from breeding populations at three extensive boreal forest sites (Prince Albert National Park and Duck Mountain, Saskatchewan, and Lac La Biche, Alberta) and at three isolated forest tracts (Cypress Hills, and Moose Mountain, Saskatchewa...

"Birds of Yorkton - Duck Mountain" by C. S. Houston and W. Anaka. 2003. [book review

"Birds of Yorkton - Duck Mountain" by C. S. Houston and W. Anaka. 2003. [book review