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PROBE (PRotocol for Operational Brushing
Evaluations)
PROBE is a long-term vegetation management study that has been collecting informaton about
the effects of brushing treatments on conifer seedlings and vegetation in southern interior British
Columbia since 1991.
About the PROBE project
Experimental methods
Vegetation complex descriptions
PHOTO
Publications and research results
Permanent measurement plots
Links to related projects and websites
Provide feedback (message can be sent to a PROBE email address that will come back to Jean H.)
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Funding sources
Website was last updated xxxxx.
Background and objectives of the PROBE project
PROBE is a long-term vegetation management study that has been collecting informaton about
the effects of brushing treatments on conifer seedlings and vegetation in southern interior British
Columbia since 1991. The project includes research installations on 96 individual sites that occur
across a range of biogeoclimatic (BEC) units in the southern portion of the Southern Interior
Forest Region (the former Kamloops and Nelson Forest Regions). Currently, we have fully
analyzed results for eight vegetation complexes (to the veg complex description page) where
lodgepole pine, hybrid spruce, Engelmann spruce, or Douglas-fir have been planted. The results
are providing forest managers with valuable guidance about where brushing is and is not
required, the selection of appropriate treatments, expected conifer and vegetation responses, and
the effects of treatment on non-timber site values. Results may be accessed from a variety of
sources, including online extension notes and publications (to the publications and research
results page), and a web-based Expert System (to the related projects page).
The original objectives of PROBE are:
1. To study the effects of vegetation management treatments on survival, growth, health, and
free-growing status of conifers.
2. To study the effects of vegetation management treatments on abundance, structure, diversity,
and condition of the plant community.
In 2002, we began installing permanent measurement plots (PMPs) on sites where at least 10
years had passed since treatments were applied. The objective is:
3. To study the long-term effects of vegetation management treatments on growth and yield and
stand development.
A comprehensive description of the background and objectives of the PROBE project is provided
in Sections 1 and 2 of the linked document Effects of Operational Brushing on Conifers and Plant
Communities in the Southern interior of British Columbia: Results from PROBE 1991-2000 (to
LMH48)
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Experimental methods
Each PROBE installation is approximately 1.6 ha in size, and consists of a treatment plot (treated
operationally with the rest of the opening) and a control plot (area left untreated in the same
opening) that have similar site history and ecosystem characteristics. Thirty-six crop tree-centred
subplots are established on a grid within each of the treatment and control plots, within which
conifer crop tree size, condition, damage, and degree of overtopping are assessed. For each
dominant plant species and vegetation group (total vegetation, herbs, shrubs, and broadleaf trees),
modal height and cover are also assessed within the 10 or 20 m2 subplots. These measurements
are taken prior to brushing and 1, 3, 5, and 10 years after treatment.
Statistical analysis is carried out when a particular treatment cell (i.e., a particular combination of
vegetation complex/conifer species/ecosystem/brushing treatment) has been replicated at least
three times. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) is conducted separately for each measurement year
for quantitative crop tree and vegetation variables, and summary statistics were produced for
qualitative variables.
A comprehensive description PROBE methodology is provided in Section 3 of the linked
document Effects of Operational Brushing on Conifers and Plant Communities in the Southern
interior of British Columbia: Results from PROBE 1991-2000 .(to LMH48)
(should we put a small photo of someone doing measurements on this page?)
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Vegetation complex descriptions
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Fireweed complex
Fern complex
Mixed Shrub complex
Ericaceous Shrub complex
Subalpine Herb complex
Dry Alder complex
Wet Alder complex
Aspen complex
Mixed Broadleaf-Shrub complex
Cottonwood-Shrub complex
Willow complex
Pinegrass complex
Dry Shrub complex
photo
(use the same descriptions we use in the ES, including the photo. We only need to include those
listed above, not the others recognized by the ES)
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Publications and research results (each of the headings below has its own
page)
Current PROBE results
Summaries of the most recent fully analyzed results and operational interpretations.
Response trends on unreplicated sites
Summaries are provided for some PROBE sites where we do not have adequate site
replication to conduct full analysis, but which can provide some operational guidance.
Publications
Literature citations are provided for material that has been published as a result of the
PROBE project. Links are provided where possible.
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Current PROBE results
Responses of hybrid and Engelmann spruce and the Fireweed complex to manual cutting,
foliar glyphosate, and grazing: A summary of 3-5 year PROBE results
Responses of lodgepole pine and the Fireweed complex to manual cutting: A summary of 5
year PROBE results
Responses of hybrid spruce and the Fern complex to glyphosate treatment: A summary of 5
year PROBE results
Responses of hybrid spruce and the Mixed Shrub complex to manual cutting and grazing
treatments: A summary of 5 year PROBE results
Responses of Engelmann spruce and the Ericaceous Shrub complex to manual cutting: A
summary of 10 year PROBE results
Responses of lodgepole pine and the Dry Alder complex to manual cutting: A summary of 5
year PROBE results
Responses of Engelmann spruce and the Wet Alder complex to manual cutting: A summary
of 5 year PROBE results
Responses of Douglas-fir and the Mixed Broadleaf-Shrub complex to manual cutting, cut
stump-glyphosate, and girdling: A summary of 10 year PROBE results
Responses of lodgepole pine and the Mixed Broadleaf-Shrub complex to manual cutting: A
summary of 10 year PROBE results
Responses of lodgepoloe pine and the Aspen complex to manual cutting: A summary of 5
year PROBE results
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Response trends on unreplicated sites
Response of Engelmann spruce and the Ericaceous Shrub complex to glyphosate
treatment in the ESSF zone
Response of Douglas-fir and the Mixed Shrub complex to manual brushing and
glyphosate treatment in the ICH zone
Response of Douglas-fir and the Fireweed Complex to manual brushing and
glyphosate treatment in the ICH zone
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Publications
Heineman, J.L., Simard, S.W., Sachs, D.L., and Mather, W.J. 2005. Chemical, grazing,
and manual cutting treatments in mixed herb-shrub communities have no effect on
interior spruce survival or growth in southern interior British Columbia. For. Ecol.
Manage. 205: 359-374.
Simard, S.W., Hagerman, S.W., Sachs, D.L, Heineman, J.L., Mather, W.J. [2005].
Conifer growth, root disease, and plant community responses to mechanical and chemical
control of birch and aspen in southern British Columbia’s temperate mixed forests. Can.
J. For. Res. (in press) (provide link when citation is available)
Simard, S.W., Heineman, J.L., Hagerman, S.M., Mather, W.J., Sachs, D.L. 2004. Manual
cutting of Sitka alder-dominated plant communities: effects on conifer growth and plant
community structure. West. J. Appl. For. 19: 277-287.
Simard, S.W., J.L. Heineman, W.J. Mather, D.L. Sachs, and A. Vyse. 2001. Effects of
operational brushing on conifers and plant communities in the southern interior of British
Columbia: Results from PROBE 1991-2000. Res. Br., Min. For., Victoria, B.C. Land
Manage. Handb. No. 48. (provide link)
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Permanent measurement plots (PMPs)
Permanent measurement plots (PMPs) for the collection of long-term growth and yield data are
currently being installed on existing PROBE sites. The data will provide information about the
effects of brushing on conifer growth and yield, stand dynamics, and plant community
development. Measurements are scheduled to occur every 5 years to provide information that can
be used to build or calibrate growth and yield models that take into account vegetation
management treatments and adjust existing management guidelines. Information regarding
broadleaf complexes is particularly important because of the long time period during which
conifers and broadleaves interact, because of the controversy that currently exists regarding
appropriate levels of broadleaves that can be retained at free-growing, and because these
complexes grow in some of the most productive ecosystems in B.C. At present, we have installed
PMPs on PROBE sites where the Mixed Broadleaf-Shrub, Aspen, and Dry Alder complexes are
being studied.
A summary of baseline results is provided in:
Long-term effects of vegetation management treatments on growth and yield and
stand development: A summary of baseline measurements
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Links to related projects and websites
Expert System for Site Preparation and Vegetation Management in Southern
Interior B.C.
 About the Expert System
 Link to the Expert System
FORREX
Dr. Suzanne Simard, University of British Columbia
MOF publications
About the Expert System
The Expert System for Site Preparation and Vegetation Management in Southern Interior
B.C. is a web-based tool to assist in making decisions about site preparation and brushing
treatments. When considering whether or not to apply site preparation or vegetation management
treatments on a particular site it is necessary to consider a wide variety of factors, such as: (1) the
relative importance of various limiting factors, including vegetation abundance, on seedling
performance; (2) predicted development of the post-harvest vegetation community; (3) expected
conifer and vegetation responses to a range of possible treatments; and (4) constraints to
treatment application. It is difficult for silviculturists to integrate the wide variety of information
that is currently available, and consider how it relates to the specific characteristics of a particular
site. An interactive, web-based ‘Expert System’ has been developed to assist silviculturists in
making decisions about site preparation and vegetation management treatments in the southern
interior of B.C. This tool synthesizes information from a variety of sources, including PROBE
(PRotocol for Operational Brushing Evaluation), published research studies, and a variety of
regional experts, and allows the user to comprehensively evaluate a variety of treatment options.
The Expert System uses site-specific information, such as that collected on the FS39A silviculture
prescription form. The information is entered by the user, and the Expert System uses it to do the
following:
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Predict which vegetation complex is most likely to develop following harvest.
Consider the relative importance of different limitations to seedling establishment (i.e., soil
water, soil temperature, air temperature, soil nutrients, vegetation, root rot, rooting
substrate).
Assess the potential effects of various site preparation treatments on these limitations.
Compare alternative site preparation options, including ‘no treatment’, and suggest which
will most reduce the limitations to seedling establishment.
Predict development of the vegetation community following site preparation.
Following seedling establishment, consider the relative importance of light, soil
temperature, soil water, and root rot limitations to seedling performance at various stages
of vegetation development.
Assess the potential effects of various brushing treatments on these limitations.
Compare brushing options, including ‘no treatment’, and suggest which will most reduce
the limitations to seedling survival, growth, and ability to meet free-growing objectives.
Prepare a report explaining the effects of particular site preparation or brushing treatments
on growth-limiting factors and the likely responses of conifer seedlings and vegetation
(literature citations are provided).
Funding sources
Funding for the PROBE project has been provided by the B.C. Ministry of Forests, Forest
Resource Development Agreement (FRDA II), Forest Renewal British Columbia
(FRBC), Forestry Innovative Investment (FII), and the Forest Investment Account (FIA).