VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Populus balsamifera ssp. balsamifera | Balsam Poplar 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
Balsam poplar is considered a commercial tree in the northern Lake
States, with biomass yields ranging from 1 pound per acre (1.12 kg/ha)
in paper birch (Betula papyrifera) communities to 116 pounds per acre
(129 kg/ha) in white spruce communities of Michigan [92].  Biomass
yields in Alaska average 2.2 pounds per acre (2.5 kg/ha) [95].  Poplars
(Populus spp.) represent a substantial yet relatively unused forest
resource in Canada [46,50].  Annual harvest of balsam poplar in Canada
is less than 1 percent of the allowable cut [46].

Balsam poplar is used for pulpwood, lumber and veneer, and to make
high-grade paper and particle board [32].  It is also used to make boxes
and crates [101].


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Balsam poplar parklands characterized by fescue (Festuca spp.) or other
grass understories have a high grazing capacity [16].

Boreal forests containing balsam poplar support a wide variety of
wildlife including moose, elk, Stone's sheep, mountain goat, mountain
caribou, mule deer, wolf, coyote, black bear, grizzly bear, lynx,
snowshoe hare, wolverine, pine marten, and beaver [78].

Moose [20,63,64,67,71,79,109], deer [63,71], and snowshoe hare
[13,47,108] eat balsam poplar to a small extent.  Voles may damage
cottonwoods by eating the roots [63].

Beavers use balsam poplar for food and building materials.  Beaver
activity creates additional habitat for birds and other aquatic
furbearers [63].


PALATABILITY : 
Balsam poplar is commonly browsed by moose in small amounts [20,71,79].
It was rated as the least preferred moose browse species in Alaska and
Canada, usually comprising less than 1 percent of moose diets
[20,64,79,109].  Bark stripping occurs on balsam poplars by moose in
times of winter food shortage [67].  Balsam poplars with more than 50
percent of the trunk circumference debarked have a high probability of
dying; new bark may grow back on less damaged trees [67].

Snowshoe hares utilize balsam poplar in times of food shortage.
Snowshoe hares ignore first year growth of juvenile balsam poplars but
ring the bark of mature trees and eat the twigs when within reach [47].
Apparently 2,4,6-trihydroxydihydrochalcon 1, a chemical antifeedant for
hares, is present in juvenile balsam poplars [47].  Balsam poplar
growing in the shade of thinleaf alder (Alnus incana spp. tenuifolia) is
more palatable to snowshoe hares than balsam poplars growing in
well-insulated willow thickets, due to differences in states of carbon
stress and amounts of phenolic concentrations in the poplars [13].

The degree of use shown by livestock and wildlife species for
balsam poplar in several western states is rated as follows [24]. 

                            WY         ND        MT

Cattle                     ----       fair      ----
Sheep                      ----       fair      ---- 
Horses                     ----       fair      ----
Pronghorn                  poor       ----      ----                         
Elk                        fair       ----      ----
Mule deer                  fair       ----      poor
White-tailed deer          fair       poor      poor
Small mammals              good       ----      ----
Small nongame birds        fair       ----      ----
Upland game birds          poor       poor      ----
Waterfowl                  poor       ----      ----  


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


COVER VALUE : 
The degree to which balsam poplar provides environmental protection
during one or more seasons for wildlife species is as follows [24]:


                            WY         MT        ND

Pronghorn                  poor       ----      ----
Elk                        good       ----      ---- 
Mule deer                  good       poor      ----
White-tailed deer          good       fair      good
Small mammals              ----       good      poor
Small nongame birds        good       fair      fair
Upland game birds          good       fair      fair
Waterfowl                  poor       ----      ----


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Balsam poplar is an important riparian species which stabilizes river
banks and maintains river islands [36].  It is able to recolonize sites
disturbed by fire or logging [36,57].

Balsam poplar is successful at naturally colonizing borrow pits in
continental tundra regions of northwestern Canada [54].  This tree was
found growing on six separate abandoned coal mine sites in the Rocky
Mountain foothills of Alberta [87].  It has also been documented as
invading and expanding on mining spoils in northern Minnesota [57].

Balsam poplars artificially planted in a heavily burned black spruce
area had the highest survival rate of all seeded species [112].  Balsam
poplar does not naturally colonize black spruce sites after fire
[17,97].

Information on greenhouse propagation and plantation establishment of
balsam poplars is available [22,39,43,63,88].


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
NO-ENTRY


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Balsam poplar is an important stabilizer of riverbanks and river islands
[36]; it also provides habitat for a wide variety of wildlife species.
For these reasons balsam poplar growing in stream corridors should not
be logged extensively [69]. See "Other Management Considerations" within 
the "Management Considerations, Value and Use" section of black 
cottonwood for further information on the effects of watercourse damming 
and stream diversion on balsam and other cottonwoods.

Mechanical logging places balsam poplar at a competitive advantage over
spruce by creating microsites for seedling establishment [11].  Exposure
of mineral soil favors balsam poplar seed germination [36].  Cutting
mature balsam poplars results in sprouting from callus tissue and
dormant buds [36].  Stump sprouting is most pronounced on winter logged
areas.  Improper harvesting can cause poplars to be suppressed, with
shrubs dominating the clearings [46].  Trees cut in the summer have few
surviving sprouts after four years [36].  Decay is a limiting factor in
balsam poplar utilization [94], but with proper management practices, it
could become a very important crop tree in Canada [94].

Balsam poplar has an allelopathic effect on green alder (Alnus viridis
spp. crispa) [36].
 
Balsam poplar can be controlled by 2,4-D + piclorum [103], glyphosate,
and hexazinone [36], and has an intermediate reaction to 2,4-D and
2,4,5-T [73].  This tree is very sensitive to sulfur dioxide fumigation
caused by landfill fires [44].  In an area less than 10 acres (4 ha)
away from one such fire, many balsam poplars were killed.

Diseases and insect pests of balsam poplar have been discussed by
several authors [21,32].

Related categories for Species: Populus balsamifera ssp. balsamifera | Balsam Poplar