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Growth of planted seedlings inside protective sleeves under strip openings of different widths in a post-agricultural forest

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Abstract

Many second growth forests have poor regeneration and in some spatial and economic context, such as post-agricultural forests, it may be beneficial to increase tree diversity. We planted seedlings of yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis) and bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa) in strip openings of 3, 6 and 9 m width to control light. Individual mesh sleeves were used to reduce browsing pressure but they also reduced available light for seedlings: a large mesh and a small mesh sleeves were tested in each opening. Available light for seedlings ranged from 5 to 46% of full sunlight. First year growth was almost non-responsive to all treatments for both species, but birch showed strong responses during second year. Birches in the large mesh sleeve and the 9 m opening had the largest height and diameter increments, while those in the small mesh sleeve and the 3 m opening had the smallest increments. Small mesh sleeves increased the height over stem diameter ratio for both species. Treatments affected several other morphometric variables of birch but none of the oak. More time is needed to assert if bur oak can be a candidate species for enrichment planting. We recommend strip openings of 9 m width and large mesh sleeves, for protection against deer browsing, while controlling neighbouring competition, to promote artificial regeneration of hardwood species.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs (MFFP) of Québec and the Institut de Recherche en Biologie Végétale for financial support. We also thank Hafid Amrane and Paul Mazime Otye Moto from the local bureau of the MFFP for help on choosing the land for the experiment. Thanks also go to the many people that helped for the field work.

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  1. Institut de Recherche en Biologie Végétale, Université de Montréal, 4101 Rue Sherbrooke E, Montreal, QC, H1X 2B2, Canada

    Antoine Magnoux & Alain Cogliastro

  2. Université du Québec à Montréal, 141 Avenue du Président-Kennedy, Montreal, QC, H2X 1Y4, Canada

    Alain Paquette

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  1. Antoine Magnoux
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Correspondence to Alain Cogliastro.

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Magnoux, A., Cogliastro, A. & Paquette, A. Growth of planted seedlings inside protective sleeves under strip openings of different widths in a post-agricultural forest. New Forests 49, 279–296 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11056-017-9619-z

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