Visual acceptability of forest harvesting for black spruces: comparison of traditional clearcutting and different types of plant retention in various interest groups of a forest resource region

For Quebec's black spruce forests, the usual harvesting process involves logging with protection of regeneration and soil (CPRS) or clearcutting, but at the social level, public perception of this method of cutting is very poor, mainly because of its visual impact. However, other adapted harvesting processes exist for boreal ecosystems. They stem from ecosystem management and offer measures to mitigate the visual impact of CPRS. The results of this study provide a comparison between the visual acceptability of silvicultural practices (harvesting with protection of high regeneration (CPHRS), harvesting retention with protection of small merchantable stems (CPSMT), and green-tree retention) that allow greater vegetal retention than traditional clearcutting (CPRS). This study also aims to see if differences exist in verdicts of acceptability based on affiliation with a forest region and special interest groups such as environmentalists, outdoors enthusiasts, and general interest groups. The study shows that the quality and quantity of regeneration left after cutting influences the verdict. Moreover, practices that leave a residual structure manage to mitigate, partly, the negative visual impact of traditional clearcutting methods. Finally, affiliation with a forest resource region does not systematically influence the verdict of visual acceptability of forest practices. Differences between interest groups suggest that it is knowledge related to the forest environment that influences the verdict.