Silvicultural Systems for Adaptive Planted Spruce Forests (SSAPSF)

Evolving demands on forest resources amidst fluctuating market conditions, changes in land
ownership, and shifts in species composition, requires innovative silvicultural and management
approaches. The mixed forests of the northeast (NE) have traditionally been managed with
natural regeneration methods. However, uncertainty in future growth conditions, coupled with
mounting forest health risks, has initiated interest in alternative management regimes, including
expansion of planted conifer forests. This may be of particular interest in areas of severe
outbreak of Beech bark disease, and by a variety of landowners and objectives. White spruce
(WS) is a widely distributed species with a history of timber commodity supply, non-timber
income, and ecological services, with potential to address the expanding C market through
rapid sequestration and long-term storage. Given that variations in site productivity are

attributed to local environmental factors (soil moisture, temperature, radiation) and species-
specific patterns, precise metrics of growth limitations are imperative to effective and strategic

planning for planted forests.

This project aims to assess differences in commodity production, aboveground C sequestration
and storage, and soil nutrient status, under a variety of silvicultural treatments in planted WS
forests when compared with naturally regenerated forests. An experimental network of 12 new
research installations established across Maine is proposed to form baseline measurements of
pre-treatment conditions, artificial and natural regeneration dynamics, and site variables.
Collectively, this project provides the foundation for continued, long-term measurements and
monitoring of causal mechanisms of spruce productivity. Findings from this work can be used to
generate predictive, geo-referenced maps of potential vegetative productivity and limiting
growth factors. These tools can be used by foresters and landowners to assess the biological,
financial, and ecological viability of planted WS forests on a site-specific basis to meet a variety
of objectives and goals.