article id 79,
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                        Research article
                    
        
                                    
                                    
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                            In the process of implementing sustainable management in the eastern  Canadian boreal forest, we tested two selection cutting methods and  compared them with two widely used practices in the boreal forest:  clearcutting with protection of the advanced growth and soils and  irregular shelterwood cutting leaving small merchantable stems. We used  old-growth irregular stands as references in comparing the impact of  these silvicultural treatments on the diversity and abundance of  beetles. Three groups were targeted: saproxylic flying beetles, epigaeic  saproxylic beetles and epigaeic non-saproxylic beetles. A sampling  design including 320 pitfall traps and 80 multidirectional  flight-interception traps was deployed in 2007. A total of 26 906  beetles was captured including 407 taxa distributed among 52 families.  We found that clearcutting with protection of the advanced growth and  soils and irregular shelterwood cutting leaving small merchantable stems  had a greater impact on beetle communities than both selection  cuttings. Canopy opening as well as the presence of snags and downed  woody debris appear as important attributes for several saproxylic and  non-saproxylic species. Beetle communities in selection cuttings  remained more similar to those found in controls; these silvicultural  treatments are new tools to implement ecosystemic and sustainable  management in irregular boreal forests.
                        
                
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                            Légaré,
                            Université Laval, Faculté de foresterie, de géographie et de géomatique, Pavillon Abitibi-Price, Québec, Canada
                                                        E-mail:
                                                            jpl@nn.ca
                                                                                
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                            Hébert,
                            Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Laurentian Forestry Centre, 1055 du P.E.P.S., P.O. Box 10380, Stn. Sainte-Foy, Québec (Québec), G1V 4C7, Canada
                                                        E-mail:
                                                            christian.hebert@rncan.gc.ca
                                                                                          
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                            Ruel,
                            Université Laval, Faculté de foresterie, de géographie et de géomatique, Pavillon Abitibi-Price, Québec, Canada
                                                        E-mail:
                                                            jcr@nn.ca