Sapling based recruitment model for sugar maple-dominated stands of Quebec.

Abstract

Over the last few decades, compositional changes have been observed in the sugar maple-dominated (Acer saccharum) stands of southern Quebec. American beech (Fagus grandifolia) increases its presence and abundance to the detriment of the sugar maple. Recent works have shown that the ability of the growth models currently used for forest management to predict these transitions are limited. To improve the performance of the models, a new recruitment module was developed based on the sapling cohort characteristics. The module considers the number and size of saplings from the main tree species to predict the recruitment of new merchantable size trees. The new recruitment module improves the prevision accuracy of merchantable stem recruitment, and consequently, improves the prediction of future composition for sugar ample stands.