Use of Natural Successional Processes in Yukon Highway Vegetation Management
A 44-page case presentation following roadside vegetation after clearing and comparing repeated cutting with selective pruning. Examples include wildlife attraction, sightlines, and later vegetation conditions.
7:38 · 44 slides · Historical presentation · No recorded narration
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About this presentation
Source: Ecological Vegetation Management on Yukon Highways. Slides by David Polster; individual image and diagram credits remain in the presentation. This video includes the complete supplied deck. It is an archive slideshow, not a recording of the spoken conference session.
Dates, costs and examples reflect the original presentation. Treatment suitability depends on current site conditions and requirements.
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Use of natural successional processes to inform vegetation management - a Yukon example. Cleared roadside - initial successional stage
Cleared roadside - pioneering invaders - lot's of moose food! What comes in after clearing?
Blocks sightlines, hides signs (and moose)
Cleared roadside - grows to dense thicket, good cover for moose
Wildlife collisions are a major problem, but we do everything we can to provide enticing food for wildlife near the road.
Fresh grass in the spring brings the deer to the roadside. Vancouver Island example.
This is a hazard to both the wildlife and the motorists.
Eventually bad things happen.
This is a vegetation management issue.
Planting tasty forage crops* along highways attracts animals with fatal results - mostly for the animals but sometimes humans. *or maintaining early successional moose food.
Send in the brush cutters. This brings us back to the beginning with all the moose food growing back.
Cleared roadside 2005 - clearing repeated So now we get serious and in addition to brush cutting, we grub the RoW
Cleared roadside 2005 This is not some cheap operation.
Cleared roadside 2006 - so what do we have?
Pioneering vegetation - let's take a closer look (September 16, 2006).
By August 4th, 2014, the pioneering vegetation had grown to the point where it was obstructing sightlines.
Rapidly growing aspen
Rapidly growing balsam poplar
A variety of rapidly growing pioneers.
Cleared roadside - look to the forest to get off this early successional treadmill.
So how do we get here? Open aspen forest - limited cover for a moose and no forage.
Selective removal of understory stems to speed opening up of forest.
Selective removal of understory trees, pruning spruce boughs…
What about the spruce?
Prune branches, remove young trees.
If we brush cut this forest the aspen and willow will just sucker up, creating a dense stand of pioneering species. Prune branches
With branches pruned, no need to touch this site for decades.
Understanding vegetation successional patterns allows cost effective management
Used on forestry intersections, North Island Highway
Intersection site in Whitehorse during clearing
Notice blocked sightlines
Following trimming, 2007
Sight lines remain opened August 17th , 2014
Just getting started, 2:12 PM Another Whitehorse road.
Sight lines opened, 2:30 PM
Sight lines remain opened August 17th , 2014
Dense early seral vegetation blocks sightlines September 25, 2007, Nanaimo B.C.
A bit of selective pruning September 25, 2007
And we can go from here (September 25, 2007),
to here. September 25, 2007
May 21, 2008
May 15, 2009
June 18, 2011
May 10, 2013