Advancing Boreal Mixedwood Management in Ontario


Book Description

Presents proceedings of a workshop held to summarise the current state of knowledge about the ecology of boreal mixedwood forests, to discuss management philosophies for these cover types, and to present information on new research relevant to the future management of boreal mixedwoods. Topics of individual presentations include boreal forests in Ontario, the role of forest disturbance, forest management, industrial use of boreal mixedwoods, forest data bases, forest vertebrate communities, habitat quality indicators, forest microclimate, organic and nutrient removals associated with harvesting, climate change impacts, prescribed fire, silvicultural operations, harvesting methods, vegetation control, ecosystem response to disturbance, site preparation, and effects of harvesting on forest fauna.




Towards Sustainable Management of the Boreal Forest


Book Description

Presenting a summary of the development in boreal forest management, this book provides a progressive vision for some of the world's northern forests. It includes a selection of chapters based on the research conducted by the Sustainable Forest Management Network across Canada. It includes a number of case histories.




The New Normal


Book Description

The Canadian Prairies in a Changing Climate is a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of climate change in the prairie provinces, the impacts on natural resources, communities, human health and sectors of the economy, and the adaptation options that are available for alleviating adverse impacts and taking advantage of new opportunities provided by a warmer climate.




The Establishment of Black & White Spruce on Ontario's Boreal Mixedwood Sites : a Demonstration Forest Program Publication


Book Description

Begins with an introduction on the boreal mixedwood forest in Ontario and a literature review of the habitat, reproduction, and growth of white spruce and black spruce. This is followed by a review of artificial regeneration of spruce after harvesting and an outline of spruce management considerations. Concludes with a report on a case study from the Seine River Demonstration Forest in north-west Ontario. The study was conducted to demonstrate the interaction of site productivity and hardwood competition in the establishment of white and black spruce on a mixedwood site.




Ecology of a Managed Terrestrial Landscape


Book Description

The growing popularity of the broad, landscape-scale approach to forest management represents a dramatic shift from the traditional, stand-based focus on timber production. Ecology of a Managed Terrestrial Landscape responds to the increasing need of forest policy developers, planners, and managers for an integrated, comprehensive perspective on ecological landscapes. The book examines the "big picture" of ecological patterns and processes through a case study of the vast managed forest region in Ontario. The contributors synthesize current landscape ecological knowledge of this area and look at gaps and future research directions from several points of view: spatial patterns, ecological functions and processes, natural disturbances, and ecological responses to disturbance. They also discuss the integration of landscape ecological knowledge into policies of forest management policies, particularly with respect to Ontario's legislative goals of forest sustainability. Ecology of a Managed Terrestrial Landscape is the first book to describe the landscape ecology of a continuously forested landscape in a comprehensive manner. It is written for instructors and students in forest management, wildlife ecology, and landscape ecology, and for forest managers, planners, and policy developers in North America.




Genetic Response of Forest Systems to Changing Environmental Conditions


Book Description

Changing environmental conditions substantially affect genetic variation and its dynamics in forest ecosystems and various systems of plantations. In response to these challenges, the present book focuses on the response to stress in terms of case studies which address physiological and genetic characters as well as various metric traits. Furthermore a choice of studies is presented which refers to diversity and geographic variation of various species and site conditions, respectively. In addition, genetic resources are characterised and a variety of studies is compiled which address reproduction and migration as well as management aspects. Finally, a set of studies is presented which focus on forest tree breeding with respect to uncertain climatic futures.




Harvesting Boreal Mixedwood Stands to Favour Conifer Regeneration


Book Description

Boreal mixedwood sites, an ecologically & economically valuable component of Ontario's forested landscape, are typically dominated by hardwoods soon after major disturbances such as clear-cutting. Alternative harvesting methods may help reduce the level of competition in the regeneration environment and enrich the conifer content. This report describes field trials in northern Ontario that tested approaches for maintaining or increasing the conifer component in hardwood-dominated stands. The report explains the context & rationale for the trials; documents the locations, designs, layouts, & methods to facilitate reassessment over the long term; and presents responses observed during the first three years of treatment.







Developing Sustainable Mixedwood Practices in a Stand-level Adaptive Management (SLAM) Framework


Book Description

This report describes a project to advance knowledge of boreal mixedwood management by testing techniques for achieving productive mixtures of conifers & hardwoods at operational scales. The project is applying treatments in aspen-dominated boreal mixedwood stands at two sites in north-east Ontario. Contrasting approaches are being compared (blended mixtures versus mosaics, partial cutting versus herbicide application, shade-tolerant versus shade-intolerant conifer regeneration) to help identify best practices. Treatment effectiveness is to be assessed by measuring regeneration growth, vegetation succession, soil nutrient dynamics, and changes in invertebrate populations. The report includes information on the site characteristics, treatments, pre- & post-harvest measurement methods, data analysis, knowledge transfer from the project, and project challenges & prospects.




Adaptive Forest Management in Ontario


Book Description

Adaptive management is a formal process for continually improving management policies and practices by learning from their outcomes. The objective of this paper is to outline the basic concepts of adaptive management, provide examples of successful adaptive management initiatives, and evaluate the potential of adaptive management for improving forest policies and practices in Ontario. Information for the paper was collected from on-line literature searches, literature reviews, and interviews with experts. Case studies from the literature are presented from the perspective of broad program issues and address common North American forest sector issues. They illustrate public, industrial, and hybrid approaches to adaptive management that provide relevant experience and success factors that will be instructive for implementing similar programs in Ontario.