TREE BREEDING 



The aim of forest tree breeding is to supply seed and plant 

 materials that, from a genetic standpoint, are best suited 

 for the purposes of artificial forest regeneration. These 

 studies were initiated in 1946 and are comprised principally 

 of white pine and poplar projects. 



The main objectives in white pine breeding are resistance 

 to blister rust and weevil, and satisfactory growth form and 

 growth rate. The program has been continued since 1946. 

 Intensive acquisition of breeding materials, mainly exotics, 

 has been in progress throughout. Present emphasis on 

 interspecific hybridization is producing rust-resistant 

 materials of direct use-value. 



The poplar breeding program, initiated in 1947, aims to 

 produce aspen-like hybrids, suitable for growing in southern 

 Ontario, having good growth rate and growth form, good 

 wood and ease of vegetative propagation. At present, the 

 main objective is the production of new hybrids with good 

 rooting ability from stem cuttings. 



The principal aim of the breeding program in hard pines was 

 primarily, at the time of its initiation in 1952, to find resist- 

 ance to the pine shoot moth. Recently, the objective has 

 changed toward production of a red pine-like tree, superior 

 in growth rate, branching habit, resistance to shoot moth, 

 and adaptability to red pine sites. 



A spruce breeding program was started in 1964 to determine 

 the genetic variability of the native spruce species, the 

 genetic relationships of native and exotic species and the 

 value of certain spruce hybrids. Controlled pollinations with 

 black spruce, white spruce and several exotic species were 

 continued in 1966. 



WHITE PINE BLISTER RUST SURVEY 

 The blister rust work, which has been continued by the 

 Research Branch since 1942, is designed to obtain quanti- 

 tative data on the occurrence of rust and rust damage at 

 selected stations. Such data may be used to characterize 

 epidemic conditions and as an aid to prognosis. 

 In 1966, the second and fifth periodic examinations were 

 made in the North Bay and Pembroke Districts respectively. 

 WOOD QUALITY 



The purpose of the studies of wood quality is to define the 

 specific physical and chemical wood characteristics which 

 contribute to superior quality in end- use products, and to 

 relate these characteristics to heritable and environmental 

 factors. A wood quality unit is established in the Research 

 Branch, and the Ontario Research Foundation receives an 

 annual grant from the Department for making pulping and 

 other tests on wood samples provided them. 

 To date, work has concentrated on black spruce. 

 The Ontario Research Foundation did work in 1966 in three 

 areas: wood structure related to paper quality, black spruce 

 wood quality in mature stands, and effects of extractives on 

 wood quality. Complementary work by the Research Branch 

 included determination of mean specific gravity, determina- 

 tion of compression wood percentage, and comparisons of 

 tree hole density and core samples. 

 SITE 



The objective of the site research program is to determine 

 the productivity of land. Consequently, work has been 

 directed toward obtaining knowledge pertaining to the 

 relationships between soils, climates, and crops, and to 

 organize this information into a classification system adapt- 

 able to various types of management, with the forest being 

 the major crop considered. Much of the effort of the site 

 research unit in 1967 was concerned with the ARDA pro- 

 gram, especially in map production, which will be reported 

 elsewhere. The general sub-divisions of the work as a whole 

 come under the headings of regional, factorial and land 

 productivity research. 



Regional site research was continued in 1966-67 comprising 

 the recognition, classification, mapping and description of 

 physiographic sites, as well as the determination of natural 

 vegetation succession, including the initial evaluation of the 

 potential productivity of the more important sites. 

 Two projects which were completed in 1965 may be selected 

 for reference: field and laboratory investigations of the dis- 

 tribution of the parent soil materials on the Canadian Shield 

 south of the Ottawa River; mapping the land units of the 

 Swastika District to provide District staff with an ecological 

 framework for their land use plans. 



In 1966, further progress was made in factorial site research 

 which was developed from the need in regional site researci 

 for a better understanding of soil and climatic factors which 

 influence forest growth. 



Field and laboratory nutrient studies have dealt with such 

 subjects as the release from minerals of calcium and dilute 

 sulphuric acid, especially relating to uptake by jack pine 

 from three types of sand; availability of nitrogen and phos- 

 phorous through processes in the forest humus rather than 

 by weathering of mineral materials; and studies in soil 

 genesis dealing with the influence of the forest on the soil. 

 The research program dealing with water as a site factor 

 is continuing and includes the assessment of the effects of 

 moisture regimes on forest growth within specific climatic 

 regions. Several programs which received particular atten- 

 tion in 1966 may be mentioned: comparison of soil moisture 

 and current radial growth with and without irrigation: the 

 influence of various moisture supplies and growth of red 

 pine, white spruce and larch seedlings. 

 Most of the timber productivity part of the research in 1966 

 was conducted in co-operation with other agencies and 

 related to red pine plantations and hard maple woodlots. 

 FOREST MENSURATION 



Growth and yield studies in 1966 included measurements on 

 permanent sample plots, in red pine plantations and in 

 natural stands of red and white pine; construction of im- 

 proved tree volume tables, and improved methods of timber 

 estimating. Statistical and advisory services were rendered 

 to research foresters in tree breeding, reforestation and 

 silviculture, with particular reference to height and diameter 

 growth. Consultants in statistics and computer programming 

 assisted in all of the foregoing work. 

 MATHEMATICAL STATISTICS 



A specialist in statistical analysis and computer program- 

 ming provided services which included consultations on, 

 and participation in, planning, designing, analyzing and 

 interpreting the results obtained from experiments, as well 

 as from collections of data by numerous investigators. Most 

 of these services were rendered to the several sections of 

 the Research Branch, but some were made use of by other 

 Branches of the Department and co-operating agencies. In 

 addition to providing sampling systems and computer pro- 

 gramming, the services included much data processing. 



