Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Open Access Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Forest Ecology and Management (MS)

Administrative Home Department

College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science

Advisor 1

Rodney A. Chimner

Committee Member 1

Christopher R. Webster

Committee Member 2

Julia I. Burton

Abstract

Northern white-cedar (Thuja occidentalis) plays a vital ecological and cultural role in North America's eastern hemi-boreal forests, yet its regeneration is often sparse and difficult to manage, especially in lowland conditions. To assess factors influencing cedar seedling densities, we surveyed 430 plots across 135 harvested cedar-dominated lowland stands (1–72 years post-harvest) over a broad geographic region. Most plots (73%) harvested in the last century and 90% of those harvested in the last decade had absent or understocked cedar seedling densities (0–5000/ha). Seedling density increased with time-since-harvesting, density of retained overstory cedar trees, denser canopy closure, and decreased with distance from the harvest edge into openings. Seedling presence also positively correlated with greater coarse woody debris, higher moss cover, cooler maximum summer temperatures, and higher soil pH. These findings highlight key site conditions and management practices that promote long-term cedar regeneration, providing guidance for sustainable forestry in these ecosystems.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License

Download

Share

COinS