Regeneration differences between fire and clearcut logging in southeastern Labrador: a multiple spatial scale analysis

To determine scale-specific effects of disturbance type, soil, and topography on regenerating plant species, we compared regeneration in 10- and 50-year-old clearcuts and burns in southeastern Labrador. Data were analyzed at three scales of resolution: subplot (5 m2), plot (398 m2), and site (3.89 ha). The influence of topography and edaphic factors, and the variance explained by these environmental variables, increased with scale. Disturbance type and year were important across all three scales, but soil and topography were most important at the site scale. Regeneration was more abundant within clearcuts, notably black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP) and balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.). Disturbance type had a greater influence on plant species composition than disturbance age as plant communities remained dissimilar within 50 years after disturbance. Because regeneration is often low after fire in southeastern Labrador, it may be undesirable for forest harvesting to mimic the effects of fire at the scales we evaluated.