Ecology and Traits of Plant Species that Compete with Boreal and Temperate Forest Conifers: An Overview of Available Information and its Use in Forest Management in Canada

Abstract

In boreal and temperate forests in Canada, at least 71 plant species, including trees, shrubs, herbs, grasses, and ferns, have the potential to significantly reduce the growth of conifer regeneration. A thorough understanding of the autecology of these plants—their response to their environment—can help resource managers to improve their approaches to vegetation management, thereby maximizing crop tree growth and survival. In this paper, we highlight key sources of information about the autecology of the major species that compete with forest conifers, including books and field guides, journal series, Web sites, and plant trait databases. We suggest ways that this information can be applied in resource management, recommend approaches for maintaining and updating this information, and underline the needs for developing a single, consolidated, comprehensive source of such information for use by resource managers and researchers. Information gaps are also briefly discussed.