FPInnovations partnered with Canfor Vanderhoof and Doug Brophy Contracting Ltd. to install a high-density lodgepole pine direct seeding trial in the spring and fall of 2014. Two blocks were seeded at rates of 20 000 and 40 000 seeds/ha using the Bracke s35.a seeder mounted on a disc trencher. At the end of the 2015 growing season, total stocking was 6 630 and 5 170 st/ha respectively, of which 46% and 57% came from direct seeding. Further natural ingress and delayed germination are expected to increase stocking to target levels.
Le rapport présente une carte routière traçant les grandes lignes d'une stratégie d'innovation technologique, de recherche et de développement, ainsi que de transfert technologique pour les opérations forestières canadiennes au cours de la prochaine décennie. La carte identifie les points de départ et d'arrivée, discute des forces motrices, décrit les occasions favorables à des améliorations technologiques et donne des recommandations sur la meilleure route à choisir pour l'avenir.
There is uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of using caulk boots vs. non-caulk hiking boots in silviculture work in the interior of British Columbia. WorkSafeBC regulation 8.23, states “caulked or other equally effective footwear must be worn by workers who are required to walk on logs, poles, pilings or other round timbers”, but does not specifically require caulk boots to be worn on steep slopes. Caulk boots are used almost exclusively by silviculture workers in coastal B.C. but are not commonly used in interior B.C. even though there are many situations where they may provide superior traction. Instead, workers in interior B.C. have a preference for non-caulk hiking boots. Workers will often select their boots based on personal preference rather than on information about the boot’s traction performance. Additional information regarding the differences in the traction of caulk boots and non-caulk hiking boots on various forest ground surfaces would help most workers make better-informed choices. Understanding the differences in traction is one of the most important factors when selecting a work boot in any situation and is especially true in the hazardous ground conditions of forest workers. For this reason, FPInnovations constructed a testing apparatus designed to measure and compare the static coefficient of friction of caulk boots and non-caulk hiking boots on four common types of ground cover surfaces in B.C. forests.
