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Influence of Glyphosate on Vegetation Dynamics in Different Successional Stages of Sub-Boreal Spruce Forest

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2017

Thomas P. Sullivan ,
R. A. Lautenschlager  and
Robert G. Wagner
Thomas P. Sullivan
Affiliation:
Dep. of Forest Sciences, Fac. of Forestry, Univ. of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada V6T 1Z4
R. A. Lautenschlager
Affiliation:
Veg. Manage. Alt. Program, Ontario For. Res. Inst., P.O. Box 969, 1235 Queen Street East, Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. Canada P6A 5N5
Robert G. Wagner
Affiliation:
Veg. Manage. Alt. Program, Ontario For. Res. Inst., P.O. Box 969, 1235 Queen Street East, Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. Canada P6A 5N5
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Abstract

This study was designed to evaluate changes in plant biomass, species richness, and diversity after application of glyphosate herbicide in several successional stages of sub-boreal spruce forest near Prince George, British Columbia, Canada. Vegetation was sampled in replicate control (reference) and treatment blocks of “herb,” “shrub,” and “shrub-tree” stages of cutover forest habitats. Volume of herb layers declined temporarily in the first post-treatment year. Shrub layers were reduced in herb and shrub stages, and shrubs and trees were reduced temporarily in the shrub-tree stage. Species richness of herbs and shrubs was similar in control and treatment blocks in the herb successional stage, but shrub richness declined on the treatment in the shrub stage. There were no consistent differences in numbers of herb, shrub, or tree species between control and treatment blocks in the shrub-tree stage. Species diversity (Simpson's index and Shannon-Wiener function) of herbaceous plants was not affected by herbicide application in any of the successional stages, but diversity of shrubs was lower in treatment than control blocks in the herb and shrub stages. Diversity of trees was reduced on treatment blocks in the shrub-tree stage. Species abundance curves of overall plant communities showed little change in the herb stage, a decline in the first post-treatment year in the shrub and shrub-tree stages, with similar patterns between control and treatment blocks in subsequent post-treatment years. The general lack of community-wide reductions in plant biomass and diversity, and the short-term duration of specific changes, suggest that conifer release treatments of plantations have no substantial, incremental effects on wildlife habitat.

Keywords

Glyphosate, [N-(phosphonylmethyl)glycine]hybrid interior spruce, Picea engelmannii Parry x P. glauca (Moench) VossConifer releaseforest managementforest plantationsherbsplant communitiesshrubsspecies richness and diversitytrees
Type
Symposium
Information
Weed Technology , Volume 10 , Issue 2 , June 1996 , pp. 439 - 446
Copyright
Copyright © 1996 by the Weed Science Society of America 

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