Chapter 10 Review Questions

T (see “An Overview of Canada’s Forests”)

T (see “Forestry and Climate Change”)

T (see “Timber Forest Products”)

F (see “An Overview of Canada’s Forests”)

F (see “Introduction”)

F (see “Rate of Conversion”)

T (see “Intensive Forest Management”)

F (see “Site Preparation-Biocide Use”, Box 10.3)

T (see “Fire Suppression”)

Forest ecosystems services are those beneficial services arising from ecological functions such as nutrient and water cycling, carbon sequestration, and waste decomposition. For example, plant communities are important in moderating local, regional, and national climate conditions. Biological communities are also of vital importance in protecting watersheds, buffering ecosystems against extremes of flood and drought, and maintaining water quality. Forests are also places of exceptional scenic beauty, and millions of Canadians travel each year to participate in nature-related recreational activities such as wildlife viewing in parks and protected areas, nature walks, and bird watching.

Forest ecosystem products are products of use to people such as timber and its products. Key forest products include softwood lumber, wood pulp, printing and writing paper, and wood panels. In addition to the important “services” that forest ecosystems in Canada provide, forests are a valuable source of non-timber commodities. Wild rice, mushrooms, berries, maple syrup, edible nuts, furs and hides, medicines, ornamental cuttings, and seeds—collectively known as non-timber forest products (NTFPs)—are typical examples.

(see “Forest Ecosystem Services and Product”)

Each provincial government establishes an annual allowable cut (AAC), based on the theoretical annual increment of merchantable timber, after considering factors such as quantity and quality of species, accessibility and growth rates, and amounts of land protected from harvesting because of other use values, such as parks and wildlife habitat. The AAC should reflect the long-range sustained yield (LRSY) of a given unit of land, or what that land should yield in perpetuity, also referred to as wood supply. This target is ultimately limited by the growth conditions, the biological potential of the site, and how that potential can be augmented by silvicultural practices. It is not sustainable to have an AAC that consistently exceeds this biological potential; however, this is often the case.

Culmination age is one factor that is necessary to calculate AAC effectively; it corresponds with the rotation period for a forest type, or age of forest maturity (typically 60–120 years). Old-growth forests have far higher timber volumes than second growth forests at culmination age. This is known as the falldown effect, and it results in AACs up to 30 per cent lower. Because second growth forests produce less timber, there is still great motivation to continue to convert old growth forests.

(see “Rate of Conversion”)

Nova Scotia has implemented guidelines for the establishment of wildlife corridors to reconnect habitat. If clear-cuts are in excess of 50 hectares the guidelines recommend that at least one corridor be created, with irregular borders and a minimum width of 50 metres. Furthermore, in 2010, Nova Scotia announced that whereas clear-cutting currently accounted for 95 per cent of the harvested area, this would be reduced to 50 per cent by 2015. However, the province later abandoned that commitment without public consultation, leading to ongoing protest campaigns and negative media coverage related to clear-cutting. This example highlights how establishing policies, regulations, and guidelines is just one step for improving environmental management, whereas implementation, monitoring, and continuance can be much more difficult to achieve.

(see “Harvesting Methods”)

Silviculture is the practice of directing the establishment, composition, growth, and quality of forest stands through a variety of activities including harvesting, reforestation, and site preparation.

The dominant forest harvesting practice is clear-cutting, where all trees are harvested in an area ranging from 15 to over 250 hectares. Clear-cuts fragment forested areas and disturb forest areas, to the detriment of interior forest species.

Reforestation is now a common part of forestry practices, although it was given little effort prior to 1985. In 2013, 0.6 million hectares of land were harvested, 8.6 million hectares were defoliated by insects, 4.2 million hectares were burned by fire, and yet only 357,600 hectares were planted and reseeded.

Sites that are regenerating after harvesting are managed to promote growth of the target tree species for future harvest. One main method is application of biocides to reduce competition and prevent insect damage. Health and ecological concerns stemming from biocide use have led to alternative methods such as use of pheromones and Bacillus thuringiensis to control insect pests.

As re-forested stands grow, they are managed intensively to ensure successful and uniform tree growth. Trees are thinned, the forest floor is scarified, prescribed burning may be done, lower branches are pruned or sheared to make harvest easier and wood quality higher, and less desirable trees are removed. These techniques benefit some species and harm others, and result in structural simplification and lower biodiversity.

Fire suppression is often done to protect harvestable timber, however some tree species require fire to germinate, and do not regrow in fire-suppressed areas. This reduces potential stand diversity. It also leads to build-up of ground fuel, which may lead to larger, hotter fires that do more damage.

(see “Silvicultural Systems”)

Human intervention has reduced the natural diversity of the forest through removal of preferred species such as white pine, creating a less diverse forest composed of large areas of mature balsam fir, the budworm’s preferred food.

(see “Site Preparation—Biocide Use”, Box 10.3)

Logged forests undergo a number of changes, including modifications of the physical structure of the ecosystem and changes in biomass, plant species mixtures, and productivity. These changes affect biodiversity directly and indirectly by changing the nature of the habitat. Since more than 90,000 species depend on forest habitats in Canada, this is obviously of concern.

Direct changes arising from forestry practices include the effects on the genetic and species richness of a biotic community. As natural forests are replaced by plantations, natural variability is reduced in favour of selected species.

Early successional species dominate in the immediate post-harvesting phase but are much reduced over time as the canopy closes.

Where replanting takes place, an artificial lack of diversity is created, as in any agricultural system.

Naturally regenerating clear-cuts may also produce a higher biomass of herbivorous species such as white-tailed and mule deer.

Unharvested forests in most areas across Canada comprise a patchwork of forest stands of different ages and diversities regenerating from the effects of various natural disturbances such as fire and insect attack. Forest harvesting reduces this structural complexity, age range, and biodiversity.

Some animal and bird species require forests with old growth characteristics that regenerating forests and tree plantation lack. The kinds of ecological functions served by these species are also at risk as old growth forests are logged.

Human intrusion to undertake silvicultural and other activities also impacts biodiversity. Roads seem to have as big an impact as clear-cuts for grizzly bears, for example.

(see “Forestry and Biodiversity”)

Forest harvesting removes nutrients from the harvested site. Selective tree-length harvesting removes relatively few nutrients compared to large clear-cuts of complete-tree harvesting. Complete tree harvesting removes all above and below-ground biomass, maximizing yield but compromising the potential of that site to produce further harvests. In contrast, tree-length harvesting involves felling, delimbing and topping the trees in the cut-over area, and this leftover material leaves biomass and nutrients that contribute to regeneration. The most common method in Canada is full-tree harvesting, where trees are felled and transported to roadside with branches and top intact. This leaves only the roots and lower trunk to contribute nutrients to the soil.

To judge the potential effects of forest harvesting on site fertility, it is necessary to consider the size of the soil nutrient pool, the amount of nutrients being removed, the net accretions and depletions of nutrients in the forests, and the ways in which these variables interact. On some sites, the proportion of nutrient capital removed in the biomass will be relatively minor, while on others it may be substantial. This depends largely on the existing nutrient capital of the site. Areas with high soil fertility will be less affected.

The amount of nutrients removed by harvesting is further influenced by tree species, tree age, harvesting method, season of harvesting, and other factors. Forest harvesting can also lead to dramatically increased rates of nutrient loss through leaching to the hydrological system.

(see “Forestry and Site Fertility”)

Differences include the following:

• Openings created by fire are irregular in shape, with high perimeter-to-edge ratios that facilitate natural reseeding. Boundaries are gradual, not abrupt as in clear-cut edges.
• Fires leave standing vegetation in wet areas that continues to provide habitat for wildlife and acts as a natural seed source. Clear-cuts remove all trees.
• Fires tend to kill pathogens; clear-cutting allows many pathogens to survive.
• Fire releases nutrients into the soil; clear-cutting removes nutrients in the bodies of the trees.
• Fire helps to break up rock that aids in soil formation; clear-cutting tends to physically disturb the site, leading to compaction and erosion.
• Fire stimulates growth of nitrogen-fixing plants that help to maintain soil fertility; clear-cutting does not.
• Fire encourages the continued growth of coniferous species in many areas through stimulating cone opening; clear-cutting often leads to dominance by shade-intolerant hardwoods. Ultimately, this changes species composition.
  (see “Forestry and Biodiversity”, Box 10.4)

The six goals and targets are listed below:

1. Global Forest Goal 1: Reverse the loss of forest cover worldwide through sustainable forest management including protection, restoration, afforestation, and reforestation, and increase efforts to prevent forest degradation and contribute to the global effort of addressing climate change.
2. Global Forest Goal 2: Enhance forest-based economic, social, and environmental benefits, including works to improve the livelihoods of forest-dependent people.
3. Global Forest Goal 3: Increase significantly the area of protected forests worldwide and other areas of sustainably managed forests, as well as the proportion of forest products from sustainably managed forests.
4. Global Forest Goal 4: Mobilize significantly increased, new and additional financial resources from all sources for the implementation of sustainable forest management and strengthen scientific and technical cooperation and partnership
5. Global Forest Goal 5: Promote governance frameworks to implement sustainable forest management, including through the UN Forest Instrument, and enhance the contribution of forests to the 2030 Agenda.
6. Global Forest Goal 6: Enhance cooperation, coordination, coherence and synergies on forest-related issues at all levels, including within the UN System and across Collaborative Partnership on Forests member organizations, as well as across sectors and relevant stakeholders.
   (see “Global Forest Strategies”)

Ecological forestry is based on four foundation principles:

1. continuity—the provision for continuity in forest structure, function, and biota between pre- and post-harvest ecosystems during regeneration harvests;
2. complexity—the need to create and maintain structural and compositional complexity and biological diversity, including spatial heterogeneity at multiple spatial scales through all silvicultural interventions;
3. timing—referring to the importance of applying silvicultural interventions at ecologically appropriate time intervals; and
4. context—underscoring the importance of planning and implementing silvicultural interventions in the context of objectives developed at larger (landscape) spatial scales. (see “Ecological Forestry”)

To achieve the goals and principles of ecological forestry, three important concepts should be recognized: disturbance, succession and retention.

• Disturbance. Ecological forestry incorporates knowledge about small- and large-scale disturbances and their impact on forest structure and function. Disturbances can range from wildfires and major wind events, to herbivore browsing, disease, and anthropogenic impacts. Disturbances, particularly small-scale ones, create gaps within the forest structure, thereby increasing the complexity and heterogeneity of habitat and providing habitat for a range of species. Harvesting methods that mimic the specific natural disturbances that occur within different types of forest regimes can achieve similar results. It is also thought that species found within the forest ecosystem are likely better able to adapt to disturbances that mimic natural processes. Thus, the goal of ecological forestry is to use the harvesting process as a tool to produce profitable, high-quality wood while also enhancing forest complexity and functional structure.
• Succession. Disturbance is an important component of ecological forestry due to the successional processes initiated after the disturbance. In traditional forestry operations, early seral stages of succession are often overridden through site preparation, fertilization, and the use of biocides to suppress competing vegetation. Proponents of ecological forestry, however, maintain that allowing these early successional stages to proceed can help achieve the goals of continuity and complexity of the forest ecosystem (Batavia, 2015).
• Retention. While traditional forestry focuses on the products removed from the forest, ecological forestry focuses on the products and materials “retained” within the forest. It is also recommended that at least 5 to 10 per cent of trees are left behind, either scattered throughout the stand or in clusters. Research suggests that, at least in the short term, this can help retain some, although not all, species within the ecosystem.
  (see “Ecological Forestry”)

Forests are a carbon sink as they take in carbon dioxide (CO₂) and convert it to wood, leaves, and roots. However, forests are also a carbon source as they release stored carbon into the atmosphere when they decompose or burn.

Large changes in forest carbon sinks and sources affect the climate by altering the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere. As the climate changes, forest carbon storage is affected. A warmer climate speeds up vegetation growth, which means more carbon storage. However, it also accelerates decomposition, resulting in more carbon emissions, and boosts the risk of drought, pest outbreaks, and fire, all of which can significantly reduce carbon storage. The extent of these effects is also influenced by the amount and/or timing of precipitation changes.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change suggests that approximately 730 billion tonnes of CO₂ need to be removed from the atmosphere in order to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2100, and forests play a significant role in this. A rapidly changing climate also has important implications for the forest sector and the communities whose livelihood is closely associated with forests. Wood continues to store carbon even after it is made into products (such as lumber and paper), and only a fraction of the carbon removed from the forest is actually emitted into the atmosphere. Thus, considering carbon sequestration in timber management might become a major factor in how we manage our forests. However, research confirms that ultimately the most effective way to sequester carbon in forests is not to cut down the trees in the first place.

(see “Forestry and Climate Change”)

Clear-cutting is the most commonly applied silvicultural system in Canada, and involves removal of all trees in a cutblock, in one operation, regardless of species and size. Some trees may be left along riparian zones to protect streams. The objective is to create a new, even-aged stand, which will be regenerated naturally or through replanting.

In the seed tree method of clear-cutting, all trees are removed from an area in a single cut, except for a small number of seed-bearing trees, which are intended to be the main source of seed for natural regeneration after harvest.

In the shelterwood method, mature trees are removed in a series of two or more partial cuts. Residual trees are left to supply seed for natural regeneration and to supply shelter for the establishment of new or advanced regeneration. The remaining mature cover is removed once the desired regeneration has been established. Thirty to 50 per cent canopy removal on the first cut is common.

Selection involves the periodic harvest of selected trees of various ages in a stand. Trees are harvested singly or in groups as they reach maturity. Valuable, mature trees, along with poorly shaped, unhealthy, crooked, and leaning trees and broken or damaged trees, are selected for removal. The objective of this method is to create and maintain an uneven-aged stand. Small gaps created by harvesting leave room for natural seeding.

(see “Harvesting Methods”)

The Mountain Pine beetle is winning the war. The mountain pine beetle epidemic has spread throughout British Columbia’s lodgepole pine forests as a result of a combination of natural beetle population cycles, continuous mild winters, and an abundance of uniformly mature pine stands. There is now concern that the beetles may spread all across the boreal forest. As the beetle spread eastward from central BC, it adapted to Jack pine from its main host, lodgepole pine. Jack pine is a main component of the boreal forest, creating the potential for the problem to become nationwide.

Between 1997 and 2016, mountain pine beetles defoliated more than 80 million hectares of pine forests in BC, worth over $30 billion in lost forest products. By 2016, the infestation had dropped to less than 0.5 million hectares, as all mature pine stands had been either consumed by the beetle or removed by industry.

Increases in AACs in response to insect infestations can disrupt forest plans, over-supply markets, cause short-term decreases in timber value, and affect employment levels when workers are no longer needed to support the temporary increase in harvest levels. Despite nearly a century of active management of the mountain pine beetle, efforts to suppress the outbreaks across BC and other parts of North America have been largely unsuccessful.

(see “Forestry and Biodiversity”, Box 10.5)

Several ways in which Indigenous peoples in Canada may or may not be involved in forest management:

• Forestry excluding Indigenous people. Forests in Canada were traditionally managed from this approach, whereby Indigenous people were ignored and excluded from forest management.
• Forestry by Indigenous people. The simplest form of participation, this approach encourages Indigenous peoples to participate in forest management within the existing management system. Indigenous people may hold contracts, operate facilities, hold tenure, and provide traditional ecological knowledge, but there is often little room to modify conventional practices or to include Indigenous values and goals.
• Forestry for Indigenous people. Here, modifications to the existing forest management system reflect greater acknowledgement of and a place for Indigenous peoples. While government regulations and existing tenure arrangements remain, and management is still primarily controlled by government managers and scientists, there is greater flexibility to incorporate Indigenous participation and Indigenous values and goals. While this perspective is more inclusive of Indigenous perspectives, decision-making power is retained within non-Indigenous institutions.
• Forestry with Indigenous people. Co-management and joint venture approaches are based on significant modifications to existing forest management regimes and offer joint decision-making power arrangements. Here, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous institutions and knowledge regimes are recognized, without one assuming priority over the other.
• Indigenous forestry. Occurs when Indigenous interests and management approaches are dominant. Ideally, this would occur through recognition of Indigenous title on reserve and treaty lands. While scientific and professional forestry approaches would still be incorporated, final decision-making power rests within Indigenous institutions.
  (see “Indigenous Forestry Management”)

Core principles that should be followed with the implementation of Indigenous forestry management:

• Local control. Authority and ability for decision-making in forest planning, management and development reside at the local level; forest community representatives are empowered to decide on various normative, strategic and operational matters.
• Local benefits. Human interactions with forests foster physical, emotional and spiritual gains, felt at individual and community levels.
• Local values. Social interactions, forest conditions, and forestry products deemed important by and for the community, whether for sociocultural, economic, ecological, or aesthetic reasons are upheld.
  (see “Indigenous Forestry Management”)

The Great Bear Rainforest Agreement was a collaborative effort among Indigenous peoples, environmental groups, government, and the forest industry. During the 1990s, conflict over logging in old-growth forests in coastal BC led to protests, demonstrations, and arrests but also initiated a negotiation process. This process took almost 20 years, but in 2016, the Agreement was signed. It offers significant increases in protected areas among the 6.4 million hectares that make up the Great Bear Rainforest and greater recognition of Indigenous concerns. Key to these negotiations was coastal Indigenous peoples’ determination to be recognized as governments in their own right, and not as just another stakeholder.

Some key highlights of the agreement include:

• takes an ecosystem-based management (EBM) approach
• increases the amount of protected old-growth forest
• First Nations will have an increased stake in the region’s forest sector
• addresses First Nations’ cultural heritage resources, freshwater ecosystems, and wildlife habitat
• updated agreements with several First Nations to increase their allocation of forest carbon credits to sell and utilize for development projects of importance to them
• increase in amount of habitat protected
• Great Bear Rainforest and Marine Plan Partnership combined, working with many of the same First Nations
  (see “Forestry and Biodiversity”)