Through Black Spruce

Through Black Spruce
Author: Joseph Boyden
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 376
Release: 2009-03-19
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1101028688

A haunting novel of love, identity, and loss-from the internationally acclaimed author of Three Day Road Beautifully written and startlingly original, Through Black Spruce takes the considerable talents of Canadian novelist Joseph Boyden to new and exciting heights. This is the story of two immensely compelling characters: Will Bird, a legendary Cree bush pilot who lies comatose in a remote Ontario hospital; and Annie Bird, Will's niece, a beautiful loner and trapper who has come to sit beside her uncle's bed. Broken in different ways, the two take silent communion in their unspoken kinship, revealing a story rife with heartbreak, fierce love, ancient feuds, mysterious disappearances, murders, and the bonds that hold a family, and a people, together. From the rugged Canadian wilderness to the drug-fueled glamour of the Manhattan club scene, this is thrilling, atmospheric storytelling at its finest.

A Key for Predicting Postfire Successional Trajectories in Black Spruce Stands of Interior Alaska

A Key for Predicting Postfire Successional Trajectories in Black Spruce Stands of Interior Alaska
Author: Jill Frances Johnstone
Publisher:
Total Pages: 46
Release: 2008
Genre: Black spruce
ISBN:

Black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill) B.S.P) is the dominant forest cover type in interior Alaska and is prone to frequent, stand-replacing wildfires. Through impacts on tree recruitment, the degree of fire consumption of soil organic layers can act as an important determinant of whether black spruce forests regenerate to a forest composition similar to the prefire forest, or to a new forest composition dominated by deciduous hardwoods. Here we present a simple, rule-based framework for predicting fire-initiated changes in forest cover within Alaska's black spruce forests. Four components are presented: (1) a key to classifying potential site moisture, (2) a summary of conditions that favor black spruce self-replacement, (3) a key to predicting postfire forest recovery in recently burned stands, and (4) an appendix of photos to be used as a visual reference tool. This report should be useful to managers in designing fire management actions and predicting the effects of recent and future fires on postfire forest cover in black spruce forests of interior Alaska.

Growth and Nutrient Status of Black Spruce Seedlings as Affected by Water Table Depth

Growth and Nutrient Status of Black Spruce Seedlings as Affected by Water Table Depth
Author: Miroslaw M. Czapowskyj
Publisher:
Total Pages: 16
Release: 1986
Genre: Black spruce
ISBN:

S2A greenhouse experiment was conducted to study the effects of soil water level on growth, biomass accretion, and inorganic element uptake by black spruce. One-year-old containerized seedlings were grown for 3 years at three water table depths. All trees survived for the duration of the study confirming that black spruce has a certain degree of survival tolerance to high water tables. However, tree height, diameter growth, and biomass production significantly increased as the depth to water table increased. The foliar levels of N, P, K, Mg, Fe, Zn, and B increased and those of Cu and Mn decreased with the increasing depth to the water table. For ash and Ca, differences were significant but did not follow a consistent trend. In shoots, the level of N, Ca, and Mg increased and those of ash, K, Fe, Cu, B, Al, and Mn decreased with the increasing depth to the water table. The level of P was not affected by the water table. In roots, the level of N and Ca increased and the level of ash, Mn, Fe, Al, and Cu decreased with increasing depth to the water table. The level of P, Mg, and Zn was significantly different but did not follow any trend. Foliar concentration of ash, Ca, Na, Mn, Fe, Zn, Cu, Al, and B increased and concentration of N, P, K, and Mg decreased with the increasing foliage age. In shoots, ash, Ca, Al, Fe, and Zn increased and N, P, K, Mg, and B decreased with the increasing tree and shoot age. In roots, Fe, Mn, Na, and Al increased and N, P, and Cu decreased with the increasing tree age.S3.