District Operating Procedures for
Spruce Understorey Retention on
Pulpwood Agreement 14
BC Ministry of Forests
Forest Practices Branch
February 2002
v
Contents
Introduction 1
General trading principles 1
Areas eligible for trades; what is included and what is not? 2
When and how are stands assigned a trade value? 2
The TASS chart 3
The ledger 5
Incidental volume 5
Superior aspen clones 5
Legal requirements 6
Species selection 6
OPR section 41 6
Silviculture treatment regime SPR section 11 6
Roadside processing area 6
Trailed area 7
Prescription requirements 7
Net area to be reforested 7
OPR section 39 7
Standards unit #1: the roadside processing area 7
Standards unit #2: trailed area 8
Target and minimum stocking standards 8
Other stocking requirements of the Silviculture Prescription 9
Surveys 10
Strip shelterwood harvesting and stratification requirements 10
Minimum stratum size 10
Pre-harvest survey requirements 10
Post-harvest surveys 11
Appendix 1. Memorandum of Understanding Between Slocan Forest Products Ltd. and Ministry
of Forests Mixedwood Management on Pulpwood Agreement No. 14 13
Appendix 2 Understorey protection harvesting using the “corridor” or one-pass uniform
shelterwood silviculture system 16
Appendix 3. TASS Chart 19
Appendix 4. Guidelines for Aspen Plus Tree Selection 21
Appendix 5. Pre-harvest acceptability guidelines for Sw advanced regeneration for Fort Nelson understorey protection Nov 20, 2000 23
Appendix 6. Mixedwood Surveys 24
Attachment 1. Decision rules for determining the number of plots required for a pre-harvest
understorey retention survey 27
Attachment 2. Decision rules for determining the number of plots required for a post harvest
understorey retention survey 30
Attachment 3. Example of a pre-harvest understorey retention survey 32
Attachment 4. Example of a stocking understory retention survey 33
Attachment 5. Example of a free growing understory retention survey 34
v
District Operating Procedures for Spruce Understorey Retention on Pulpwood
Agreement 14
Introduction
District operating procedures are currently being developed for mixedwood management strategies for Pulpwood Area 14 (PA 14). The procedures outlined in this document form a component of this overall strategy, addressing spruce under-storey retention on PA 14. These procedures will be subject to an on-going review by Ministry of Forests; Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management and licensee staff. Revisions to the guidelines will be necessary to reflect any changes associated with the results-based code and government restructuring. The next update is planned for November 2002, after additional survey information becomes available.
General trading principles
The current species mix at the strategic timber supply level will be maintained by monitoring four general land classes over time i.e. Conifer (C), Conifer leading (CL), Deciduous (D) and Deciduous leading (DL). [1]
Trades based on retaining the immature white spruce in deciduous dominated stands assume that a sufficient level of healthy immature white spruce will be left after harvest to establish a mixedwood (CL, DL) stand. To maintain the prevailing mix of species across the TSA will require that elsewhere, a deciduous or coniferous leading mixedwood stand will be managed to produce a deciduous stand for the next rotation.
The forest development plan (FDP) will have a schedule to identify the blocks that are candidates for understorey protection. Trading will occur between stands of similar site index and will occur in as close proximity as is operationally feasible.
Inventory labels will be used to project potential trades but the actual trade will be based on the cruise net merchantable volumes. A coniferous or mixedwood stand which will be converted to a deciduous stand will have a pre-harvest designation of DL, CL or C. The designation assigned to the stand will be determined by the cruise net merchantable volume. Similarly a deciduous stand, which will be converted to a mixedwood or coniferous stand, will be designated as DL, CL or C based on a TASS trading chart which “projects” understory spruce regeneration to a net merchantable volume 80 years after harvest. Once an area has been given a designation, a trade can be carried out one for one on an area basis. If a deciduous stand has a net area to be reforested (NAR) of 30 hectares which is projected to become DL based on understory potential, this area could trade for 30 hectares of a mature DL mixedwood stand that will regenerate naturally to deciduous after harvesting. These trades will be initially tracked on an area basis.
Trading will begin in the year 2002 and will generally occur between current blocks. Backlog block issues will be considered on a site-specific basis with the district.
It is estimated that 75% of the stands available to PA 14 are D and 25% are DL. Trades will remain within PA 14 unless it is necessary for balance to trade blocks from the forest licence. The “crossover” into the FL will generally take place to accommodate trades for conifer leading stands.
Areas eligible for trades; what is included and what is not?
Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Slocan Forest Products Ltd (Slocan) and the Ministry of Forests (Appendix 1) Slocan will target 300 ha of eligible understorey spruce stands annually.
Trades will be limited to those areas where understorey protection harvesting using a “corridor” or one-pass modified uniform shelterwood silvicultural system has been implemented. This system consists of repeating series of machine corridors, understorey retention areas and non-harvested wind buffers. Computer generated diagrams showing pre-harvest and post harvest stand structures are found in Appendix 2.In these diagrams, buffer strips of original intact forest separate three understorey retention strips and four machine corridors.
Trades will be based on the net area to be reforested (NAR) (i.e., the “area” to which a trade value is assigned includes the trailed area and the roadside process area, but excludes the aspen buffers).
Aspen wind buffers will be included when calculating the area contributing to the general objective of protecting 300 ha per year of eligible understorey. This assumes that the strips will not be harvested separately and will become part of the next “mixedwood” harvest. E.g. if a block has 40 ha of trailed area and 8 ha of wind buffers- the 40 ha of trailed area could be traded for the appropriate silviculture obligation, but 48 ha would be counted toward the objective of protection 300 ha of eligible understory.
When and how are stands assigned a trade value?
The TASS trading chart included below, was developed to achieve a simple system of trading which would not require an outside agency or consultant for day to day use. Under this system, a trade value of C, CL, DL or D is assigned to the NAR where “corridor” harvesting will be implemented. The TASS chart requires only top height and the number of total acceptable spruce. This information is collected in a pre-harvest survey (see section on surveys for detail). The pre-harvest condition will be used to set the trade value for the area. However, the trade value will be “checked” at regeneration delay and a final survey during the free growing assessment period will be required to ensure that “the plan” was actually delivered. If the “free growing assessment” indicates that the pre-harvest projections are not likely to be met, a re-adjustment will be required.
The TASS chart
The TASS chart will be used to determine trade values for areas with spruce understorey. It will also be helpful in determining if formal protection of understorey is a viable option. Because the TASS chart is used to make long-term projections based on pre-harvest conditions, assumptions have been made for trailed area, roadside processing area and blow down. The assumptions used in the TASS chart are outlined in Appendix 2. TASS charts have also been developed to complement the regeneration and free growing surveys (see, post harvest surveys). In general, if an area does not have a pre-harvest density of 600 total stems per hectare it will not be considered for understorey protection. In this case, the TASS trading chart will not be required.
In cases where the understorey density is greater than 600 stems per hectare the area may or may not be viable for understorey retention. Where there are greater than 600stems per hectare in the block, the criteria for “acceptable” advance regeneration will be used to determine the number of “acceptable” understorey spruce (see appendix 4 for acceptability of advance spruce regeneration). When the total number of “acceptable spruce” combined with the stand top height give a projected volume of less than 125 m3 at harvest the area will generally not be viable for understorey retention (black area in Figure 1). If the projected volume is greater than or equal to 125 m3/ha it will be assigned a value of DL (pale grey) or CL (dark grey).
Notes: If an area has greater than 600 total stems per hectare but less than 600acceptable stems, it may still be a candidate for understorey retention
(i.e., it will depend on the topheight).
If the location of the roadside processing area is known at the time of the pre-harvest survey, plots should be located outside of the roadside processing area.
TASS Chart for Pre-harvest survey with unidentified roadside areas[2]
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
400 DL 82 DL 84 DL 90 DL 96 DL 100 DL 107 DL 112 DL 120 DL 122 DL 127
500 DL 91 DL 95 DL 97 DL 113 DL 111 DL 121 DL 125 DL 131 DL 141 DL 139
600 DL 104 DL 109 DL 109 DL 124 DL 125 DL 126 DL 140 DL 146 DL 148 DL 165
700 DL 112 DL 115 DL 124 DL 130 DL 134 DL 141 DL 149 DL 161 CL 171 DL 167
800 DL 123 DL 122 DL 135 DL 140 DL 141 DL 150 DL 158 CL 170 CL 181 CL 185
900 DL 128 DL 133 DL 142 DL 148 DL 159 DL 165 CL 170 CL 176 CL 195 CL 199
1000 DL 132 DL 140 DL 150 DL 152 DL 168 DL 169 CL 182 CL 191 CL 197 CL 215
1100 DL 133 DL 147 DL 152 DL 162 DL 172 CL 180 CL 187 CL 192 CL 206 CL 217
1200 DL 141 DL 149 DL 157 DL 165 CL 175 CL 181 CL 196 CL 193 CL 209 CL 220
1300 DL 145 DL 157 DL 158 DL 169 CL 177 CL 186 CL 199 CL 195 CL 212 CL 221
1400 DL 148 DL 160 DL 168 CL 174 CL 182 CL 191 CL 200 CL 210 CL 218 CL 239
1500 DL 152 DL 163 DL 168 CL 176 CL 185 CL 196 CL 200 CL 218 CL 220 CL 239
1600 DL 159 DL 163 CL 175 CL 183 CL 189 CL 202 CL 201 CL 218 CL 234 CL 244
1700 DL 160 DL 163 CL 177 CL 184 CL 192 CL 204 CL 212 CL 220 CL 237 CL 245
1800 DL 161 DL 167 CL 178 CL 184 CL 194 CL 206 CL 216 CL 223 CL 246 CL 245
TASS Chart for Preharvest survey with identified roadside areas[3]
5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
400 DL 98 DL 104 DL 111 DL 122 DL 122 DL 134 DL 136 DL 145 DL 155 DL 153
500 DL 113 DL 121 DL 122 DL 130 DL 133 DL 149 DL 156 DL 154 DL 166 DL 168
600 DL 127 DL 132 DL 139 DL 149 DL 156 DL 157 CL 171 CL 182 CL 183 CL 195
700 DL 140 DL 145 DL 154 DL 158 DL 169 CL 177 CL 188 CL 195 CL 203 CL 208
800 DL 148 DL 153 DL 166 CL 173 CL 177 CL 189 CL 201 CL 210 CL 219 CL 226
900 DL 152 DL 165 CL 177 CL 184 CL 193 CL 199 CL 212 CL 225 CL 237 CL 245
1000 DL 162 CL 170 CL 185 CL 186 CL 199 CL 207 CL 226 CL 240 CL 242 CL 257
1100 DL 165 CL 184 CL 185 CL 198 CL 203 CL 222 CL 231 CL 236 CL 255 CL 259
1200 CL 176 CL 185 CL 198 CL 199 CL 207 CL 223 CL 234 CL 242 CL 254 CL 271
1300 CL 185 CL 189 CL 194 CL 205 CL 218 CL 229 CL 244 CL 246 CL 264 CL 271
1400 CL 185 CL 199 CL 208 CL 217 CL 223 CL 235 CL 251 CL 255 CL 271 C 289
1500 CL 191 CL 200 CL 212 CL 214 CL 221 CL 241 CL 244 CL 266 C 273 C 285
1600 CL 201 CL 203 CL 217 CL 224 CL 239 CL 248 CL 249 CL 269 C 282 C 299
1700 CL 199 CL 200 CL 219 CL 229 CL 234 CL 246 CL 264 C 275 C 284 C 302
1800 CL 201 CL 208 CL 218 CL 233 CL 239 CL 254 CL 266 C 279 C 295 C 296
Figure 1. TASS charts showing total “acceptable” spruce relative to stand top height. Numbers in top row of the chart (from 5 to 14) represent stand top height in meters. Numbers in the first column from 400 to 1800 represent “acceptable” total stems per hectare.
The ledger
The ledger will be a component of the FDP highlighting the blocks that will be traded and the types of treatments that will be carried out. This information on the trading will also be tracked and recorded through MLSIS reporting to the MOF for updating on the ISIS system. The details of the trade are also recorded in the submission information to the MOF through the silviculture prescription (SP) submissions.
In the longer term, Slocan will work with Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management to develop a ledger system for tracking the four broad species groups (C,CL,D, DL) to ensure that the current species mix is maintained at the strategic level within its operations.
Incidental volume
As the ledger system is refined, questions such as “incidental volume” need to be resolved. On pure D areas there can be up to 20% C volume. Similarly, on pure C areas there can be up to 20% D volume. When these areas are managed as pure C or D for the next rotation, over time, the incidental volume may shift the ledger in favour of one species.