The impacts of partial cuts on carbon stocks remain uncertain due to elevated post-harvest windthrow mortality that may counteract the positive effects of thinning on stand growth. This study evaluated the effects of partial cuts and tree mortality on aboveground carbon stocks eight years after harvest in jack pine forests. The experimental design included 24 sites with varying harvest intensities: unharvested control, moderate (30–35 %), and heavy (40–50 %) thinnings. Dendrochronological analyses and allometric equations were used to quantify carbon in live and dead biomass (snags, broken, and uprooted trees). Increases in individual tree carbon stocks between the pre-harvest year and the eighth year post-harvest were lower in controls and similar among partial cut treatments. Eight years after harvest, live carbon stocks per hectare were 41 % lower in the heavy thinning than in unharvested stands but remained similar between moderate thinning and control treatments. Larger trees and those growing closer to skidding trails showed greater increases in carbon stock, with the latter exhibiting a 33 % higher increase on average. Mean total deadwood carbon stocks were 55 % higher in the control than in the partial cuts due to reduced snag carbon in harvested stands. Uprooting was influenced by harvest treatment and proximity to skidding trails, while stem breakage was driven by tree characteristics (height, age, and competition) and distance to trails. The proportion of snags was explained by mean annual wind speed. These findings suggest that moderate thinning could sustain forest carbon stocks with prescriptions aiming at maintaining snag carbon stocks.

White pine decline in managed forests has led to the adoption of ecosystem-based management using natural disturbances, mainly surface fire. However, other natural disturbances, such as spruce budworm (SBW), are present in the native range of white pine but are rarely considered in the management of this species. SBW outbreaks are expected to change in frequency and severity under climate change, increasing the need to understand if and how this disturbance will affect the dynamics of white pine regeneration. In this study, we evaluated the impacts of an SBW outbreak on white pine and balsam fir regeneration and identified environmental variables that affect regeneration dynamics. We evaluated six defoliated and six control study plots in white pine stands close to the northern limit of the Québec’s temperate forest. In each plot, we counted white pine and balsam fir seedlings and measured structural (diameter, height), and abiotic (gap fraction, soil type) variables. White pine seedling density was three times greater in defoliated plots than in controls. By contrast, there was no significant difference in balsam fir seedling density between disturbance types. Seedlings of both species were taller in defoliated plots than in control plots. Overall, the SBW outbreak promoted white pine seedling density and height growth. This research contributes to our understanding of the effects of SBW outbreaks on white pine regeneration dynamics, and it will help forest managers to select harvesting methods that emulate SBW-modulated stand characteristics.