Mountain Provincial 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.

A Study On the Bird Community in Chilgap Mountain Provincial Park

In this result, from May, 2007 to January, 2008, important points for bird habitation in Mt. Chilgap Provincial Park area (Cheonjang reservoir, climbing paths of Mt. Chilgap, Chilgap reservoir, and Janggok temple, etc.) were established and investigated once every season. It was found that observed birds were 65species-4,999 individuals and dominant species were Anas poecilorhyncha(926 individuals, 18.52%), Emberiza elegans (553 individuals, 11.06%), Anas platyrhynchos (504 individuals, 10.08%), Paradoxornis webbianus (420 individuals, 8.40%), Passer montanus (358 individuals, 7.16%) (Table 1). By migratory features of birds, it was found that they were 29 species of resident birds (44.62%), 22 species of winter migratory birds (33.85%), 12 species of summer migratory birds (18.46%), and 2 species of passage birds (s3.08%). By seasons, it was found that there were 48 species-680 individuals in spring, 32 species-530 individuals in summer, 35 species-1,616 individuals in autumn, and 38 species-2200 individuals in winter. By investigation areas, it was found that there were 45 species-1,444 individuals in A area, 49 species-2,691 individuals in B areas, and 41 species-64 individuals in C area. The overall species diversity was 3.02. It was found that the species diversity indexes by seasons were 3.31 in spring, 2.79 in summer, 2.72 in autumn, and 2.52 in winter, and they were 3.05 in A area, 2.50 in B area, and 2.98 in C area, by areas. As endangered species, 7 species including Aix galericulata, Anas formosa, Accipiter soloensis, Accipiter gentilis, Buteo buteo, Falco tinnunculus, and Charadrius placidus were observed.

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.

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.

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.

Heard but Not Necessarily Seen: Surveys of Birds at Greenwater and Moose Mountain Provincial Parks

Heard but Not Necessarily Seen: Surveys of Birds at Greenwater and Moose Mountain Provincial Parks

Differential Susceptibility of Three Species of Stocked Trout to Bird Predation

Piscivorous birds can remove substantial proportions of stocked salmonids from lakes. To determine whether susceptibility to bird predation differs among trout species, 321 brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis, 330 rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss, and 321 splake Salvelinus namaycush × S. fontinalis were stocked in a small lake in Duck Mountain Provincial Park, Manitoba, in spring 1982. Principal avian predators were common loons Gava immer and great blue herons Ardea herodias, which together averaged 1.5 visits per day to the lake from June through October. No poststocking mortality was observed; the primary cause of mortality appeared to be birds. Intensive gillnetting in fall 1982 and spring 1983 produced 41 rainbow trout, 138 brook trout, and 173 splake. The pelagic habits of rainbow trout make them most susceptible to bird predation; brook trout, which stay nearer the substrate, and splake, which prefer deep areas, would be more difficult for birds to see and capture.

Breeding Blackpoll Warblers, Dendroka striata, in Duck Mountain Provincial Park, Manitoba

Breeding Blackpoll Warblers, Dendroka striata, in Duck Mountain Provincial Park, Manitoba

Northern Wheaters Sighted in Duck Mountain Provincial Park, Manitoba

Northern Wheaters Sighted in Duck Mountain Provincial Park, Manitoba