Table 3 Definition and abbreviation of the variables

TrT

General notation of the silvicultural treatment affecting the stand

TrT₀

No treatment (control)

TrT_BF

All the balsam fir was harvested

TrT_1/3

Thinning from below (removal of the smallest trees while ensuring equal spacing between the remaining trees)

TrT_Elite

Either 50 or 100 dominant trees per ha were released from competition on all sides

StandType

Type of stand (plantation or natural regenerated stand)

Gsp

General group notation for trees being regrouped by species (WS, BF, HW or tot)

WS

Group containing all white spruce (Picea glauca) trees

BF

Group containing all balsam fir (Abies balsamea) trees

HW

Group containing various merchantable hardwood species (described in text)

Tot

Group containing all the trees from WS, BF and HW

N_Gsp

Density of trees for a given G_sp

Nmer_Gsp

Density of merchantable trees for a given G_sp (tree with DBH superior to 9.1 cm)

NSap_Gsp

Density of saplings for a given G_sp (tree with DBH inferior to 9.1 cm)

Dmean_Gsp

Mean value of the merchantable trees diameters for a given G_sp

Dvar_Gsp

Variance value of the merchantable trees diameters for a given G_sp

Dsd_Gsp

Standard deviation value of the merchantable trees diameters for a given G_sp

PDia_Gsp

Proportion of trees per diameter classes for a given G_sp

α_Gsp

Shape parameter of the Weibull equation fitted to the PDia_Gsp

β_Gsp

Scale parameter of the Weibull equation fitted to the PDia_Gsp