Search

The present business environment is demanding and has forced companies to use information technology (IT) to remain competitive. E-business capabilities are currently one of the most salient factors that offer competitive advantage for most firms. This paper examines the evolution of the adoption of e-business practices between 2002 and 2009 from perception to actual adoption by small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) in the forestry sector in Quebec, Canada. A binary logistic regression analysis of survey data demonstrated the low rate of adoption of these technologies in this group. This research found that while firm size is the most influential factor for e-business solution adopters, location is also a vital factor. Firms in metropolitan areas adopt e-business solutions faster and in higher volume than firms do in rural areas. Thus, this paper highlights those factors that can influence the adoption of e-business practices in Quebec forestry-sector SMEs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-term success of forest management requires knowledge of standing tree characteristics and, an estimation of their evolution over time. In this study, hardwood stem quality was assessed using a specifically designed, non-destructive quality classification system that comprises four categorical output classes based on stem size and occurrence of external defects. We used data from national forest inventory sample plots distributed across Quebec (Canada) to predict hardwood stem quality and its evolution over time. We used ordinal logistic regression to model multiple stem quality classes. Hardwood stem quality was strongly related to stem harvest priority class and bioclimatic subdomain. Stem quality generally improved with d.b.h. and stand basal area. Changes in hardwood stem quality were strongly related to initial stem quality, with most trees retaining their initial quality over time. Stem quality evolution was also positively related to diameter growth. Overall, both initial and future stem quality were estimated with acceptable precision and minimal bias. Our results suggest that the equations could predict hardwood stem quality distribution and evolution among groups of forest stands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The James Bay Agreement reinforces the rights of the Crees to 500,000 km² of territory in the boreal forest and taiga of northern Quebec. In it, consultation and environmental assessment (EA) mechanisms were set up to ensure the Crees' direct involvement in environmental decisions. This paper addresses three matters: the influence of Native involvement in the EA process; updating the EA process under the Agreement to in-corporate the apparently new tools of strategic environmental assessments (SEAs); and adaptation of the concept of SEA to the Native context. Our analysis focuses on the experience gained from large hydroelectric development projects, recent and planned mining developments, and forestry operations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen (N) is a major growth-limiting factor in boreal forest ecosystems. Increases of temperature and atmospheric N deposition are expected to affect forest growth directly and indirectly by increasing N availability due to higher rates of N mineralization. In order to understand the potential impacts of these changes, a mature balsam fir stand in Québec, Canada, was subjected during three consecutive growing seasons (2009-2011) to (i) experimentally increased soil temperature (4 °C) and earlier snowmelt (2-3 weeks) as well as (ii) increased inorganic N concentration in artificial precipitation (3xcurrent N concentrations using 15NH4- 15NO3). Soil inorganic N was measured using buried ionexchange membranes (PRS™ probes) and standard soil extractions. Dendrometers were used to monitor the variations in diameter growth and needles were analyzed annually for N to assess the nutritional response of trees. Results from the second (2010) and third (2011) year of treatment are reported. After three years of treatment, there was no significant increase in soil nitrate (NO3) or ammonium (NH4) availability either in the organic or in the mineral soil as measured with standard soil extractions. Similar results were obtained with ion-exchange membranes, except for NH4 in the forest floor, which increased by an average of 54% over the two years. No effect of treatments were observed on needle N or diameter growth, but an 8-day earlier peak in diameter growth was measured in heated plots in 2010. We attributed the limited effects of our treatments to the acute soil competition for available N at the site. As a result, the projected modifications of the forest N cycle and concomitant increased forest growth due to an earlier snowmelt, increased soil temperature and N deposition should be considered with caution in similar cold N-poor ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high demand of wood as a raw material can be expected to soon lead to a severe shortage, resulting in drastic competition between various mills. This competition will be worsened by a restriction of forest cuttings in Quebec. One of the solutions to this problem would be to develop a mixed panel in which the strands of core layer are substituted by outer bark particles, and in this particular case, by particles of white birch. This type of panel could be used as siding panels and for the fabrication of boxes, bins, and commercial shelving. The objective of the present research work concerns the design, the manufacture, and the evaluation of mechanical and physical properties of this type of panel. Two manufacturing factors were taken into account: the strands orientation in the face layers and the alkali treatment made on the bark particles used in the core layer. All produced mixed panels met and exceeded almost all CAN3-0437 R-1 and O-1 property requirements. The alkali treatment of bark particles did not improve the mechanical properties of manufactured panels. The statistical analysis method that was used made it possible to choose the panel with non-oriented wood strands in the surface layers and alkali treated bark particles in the core layer as the best by taking into account only the bending strengths in both major and side axes of a panel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies conducted at the tree line in northwestern Québec suggested that the forest tundra was created over the last 3000 years by deforestation as a result of the combined action of forest fires and climatic cooling. Our objectives were to: (1) validate at a larger spatial scale the time frame of the last 3000 years; (2) verify if the opening process was more pronounced during particular time periods; and (3) confirm that fire was the triggering mechanism. Seventeen lakes from the forest tundra of northern Québec. Pollen records were analysed to determine the date of landscape opening, as interpreted by the time of decrease towards present-day values of the ratio of Picea pollen percentage to pollen percentage of the taxa typical of open forest tundra landscapes ( Betula, Ericaceae, Cyperaceae and Poaceae). Landscape opening in northern Québec started c. 3220 cal. bp(calibrated years before present) and was more pronounced between c. 2040 and 890 cal. bp. No spatial pattern was observed in the dates of landscape opening. The suggestion that landscape opening in the forest tundra occurred over the last 3000 years was validated at the scale of northern Québec. A period of more pronounced opening was identified between 2040 and 890 cal. bp and could be related to increased fire occurrence. Absence of a spatial pattern in the dates of landscape opening provides further confirmation that fire was the triggering mechanism. Des études antérieures menées à la limite des arbres dans le nord-ouest du Québec ont suggéré que la toundra forestière aurait été créée au cours des derniers 3000 ans par la déforestation résultant de l’action combinée des feux de forêt et d’un refroidissement climatique. Nos objectifs étaient de (1) valider à une échelle spatiale plus importante la période des derniers 3000 ans; (2) vérifier si le processus d’ouverture du paysage a été plus prononcéà certaines périodes; et (3) confirmer que le feu a été le mécanisme déclencheur. Dix-sept lacs de la toundra forestière du nord du Québec. Les enregistrements polliniques ont été analysés pour déterminer la date d’ouverture du paysage, telle qu’interprétée par le moment où survient une baisse marquée vers les valeurs actuelles du ratio du pourcentage de pollen de Picea sur le pourcentage de pollen de taxons typiques des milieux ouverts de la toundra forestière ( Betula, Ericaceae, Cyperaceae et Poaceae). L’ouverture du paysage dans le nord du Québec a débuté vers 3220 cal. BP et s’est exprimée de façon plus marquée entre 2040 et 890 BP cal. Aucun patron spatial n’a été observé dans les dates d’ouverture du paysage. La suggestion selon laquelle l’ouverture du paysage dans la toundra forestière aurait eu lieu au cours des derniers 3000 ans a été validée à l’échelle du Québec nordique. Une période plus marquée d’ouverture du paysage a été identifiée entre 2040 et 890 cal. BP et pourrait être reliée à des fréquences de feux plus élevées. L’absence de patron spatial dans les dates d’ouverture du paysage est une confirmation supplémentaire que le feu a été le mécanisme déclencheur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Describes the wind behavior in a complex topography in order to locate places where forest strips would be at higher risk, using data from a field monitoring study conducted in 1988-1989 in Quebec City, Quebec. Identification of four groups corresponding to distinct topographic units; Reduction in wind speed for wind blowing across valleys.

Reports on the holocene vegetation history at the boreal-forest-shrub tundra transition in Northern Quebec by pollen studies. Similarities in the pollen diagrams from three sites in the boreal forest and the forest-tundra; Indication of brief period following deglaciation with non-arboreal pollen values; Dominance of Alnus crispa; Indication of a progressive deforestation at the two sites in forest tundra.

Describes explant trials of undisturbed Fagus grandifolia-Acer saccharum forest in Montreal, Quebec. Measurement of genetic fitness and plant ecology using random sampling, nested sampling and grid sampling; Dry mass comparison; Environmental variance; Correlation between sites with increasing separation on all spatial scales.

The article presents a study on the botanical conditions of the Morgan Aboretum in southern Quebec Province. One quadrat for each of the three woodland areas were established, where different plant species were measured and listed. Observations showed that in the Fagetum consociation, an area hardly disturbed and locally developed on dry podsolic terrain, the Fagus grandifolia was dominant. The Aceretum sacchari quadrat was generally mixed but unstable and was dominated by sugar maples. The Pinetum strobi-Tsugosum quadrat, a mature woodland located on a raised sandy terrain, was dominated by the Pinus strobus and Tsuga canadensis.

Old-growth black spruce (Picea mariana) boreal forest in the Clay Belt region of Ontario and Quebec is an open forest with a low canopy, quite different from what many consider to be "old growth". Here, we provide an overview of the characteristics of old-growth black spruce forest for three different site types on organic, clay, and coarse deposits. Our objectives were (1) to identify the extent of older forests; (2) to describe the structure, composition, and diversity in different age classes; and (3) to identify key processes in old-growth black spruce forest. We sampled canopy composition, deadwood abundance, understorey composition, and nonvascular plant species in 91 forest stands along a chronosequence that extended from 20 to more than 250 years after fire. We used a peak in tree basal area, which occurred at 100 years on clay and coarse sites and at 200 years on organic sites, as a process-based means of defining the start of old-growth forest. Old-growth forests are extensive in the Clay Belt, covering 30–50% of the forested landscape. Black spruce was dominant on all organic sites, and in all older stands. Although there were fewer understorey species and none exclusive to old-growth, these forests were structurally diverse and had greater abundance of Sphagnum, epiphytic lichens, and ericaceous species. Paludification, a process characteristic of old-growth forest stands on clay deposits in this region, causes decreases in tree and deadwood abundance. Old-growth black spruce forests, therefore, lack the large trees and snags that are characteristic of other old-growth forests. Small-scale disturbances such as spruce budworm and windthrow are common, creating numerous gaps. Landscape and stand level management strategies could minimize structural changes caused by harvesting, but unmanaged forest in all stages of development must be preserved in order to conserve all the attributes of old-growth black spruce forest. Key words: boreal forest, old growth, paludification, Picea mariana, structural development, succession.Dans la région de la ceinture d'argile de l`Ontario et du Québec, la forêt boréale ancienne d'épinette noire (Picea mariana) est une forêt ouverte, où la canopée est basse, ce qui diffère considérablement de la perception que le public a d'une « forêt ancienne ». Nous présentons ici un aperçu des caractéristiques de la pessière noire ancienne poussant sur dépôts organiques, argileux et grossiers. Nos objectifs étaient: (1) déterminer l'étendue des forêts plus vieilles; (2) décrire la structure, la composition et la diversité en fonction des classes d'âge; (3) mettre en lumière les processus clés dans la pessière noire ancienne. Nous avons échantillonné la composition de l'étage supérieur, l'abondance de bois mort, la composition du sous-bois et les plantes invasculaires de 91 peuplements forestiers, le long d'une chronoséquence de 20 à plus de 250 ans après feu. Nous avons utilizé le maximum de la surface terrière des arbres, observé à 100 ans sur les dépôts argileux et grossiers et à 200 ans sur les dépôts organiques, pour définir le début de la forêt ancienne. Dans la ceinture d'argile, les forêts anciennes sont abondantes, couvrant de 30 à 50 % du paysage forestier. L'épinette noire domine sur tous les sols organiques, ainsi que dans tous les peuplements plus âgés. Bien que les espèces du sous-bois soient moins nombreuses et qu'aucune d'elles ne leur soit exclusivement liée, les forêts anciennes présentent une structure variée et renferment davantage de Sphagnum, de lichens épiphytes et d'éricacées. La paludification, processus caractéristique des peuplements forestiers anciens sur dépôts argileux dans cette région, entraîne une diminution de l'abondance des arbres et du bois mort. Par conséquent, on ne trouve pas dans les forêts anciennes d'épinette noire, les quantités élevées de gros arbres et de chicots qui caractérisent d'autres forêts anciennes. Des perturbations à petite échelle, comme les épidémies de la tordeuse des bourgeons de l'épinette et les chablis, sont fréquentes et créent de nombreuses trouées. Des stratégies d'aménagement à l'échelle du paysage et du peuplement pourraient réduire les changements structuraux causés par la récolte; cependant, il est essentiel de préserver des peuplements non aménagés à tous les stades de développement pour conserver toutes les caractéristiques d'une pessière noire ancienne. Mots clés : forêt boréale, forêt ancienne, paludification, Picea mariana, développement structurale, succession. [Traduit par la rédaction] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]