Forestry in Canada pg 279 - 294
Sustained Yield Forest Management: use of forest resources at a rate that allows the forests to renew themselves
Forest Characteristics:
Forest Characteristics:
- Commercial Forest: forests which have trees that can be harvested for profit
- Forests near roads / train tracks / rivers to cheaply transport
- Non-Commercial Forest: forests that are unlikely to be harvested for industrial use
- Too far from markets to make transportation costs economical
- Boreal Forest Region (Boreal Shield, Boreal Plains, Boreal Cordillera):
- Largest region
- Mainly coniferous, some deciduous
- More pulp and paper production then lumber production (smaller trees)
- Taiga Forest Region (Taiga Plain, Taiga Shield, Hudson Plains, Taiga Cordillera)
- Stunted trees due to thin soil/cold temperature/short growing season
- Coniferous trees
- Small parts are logged due to inaccessibility and distance from markets
- West Coast Forest Region (Pacific Maritime)
- Most productive region
- Largest trees in Canada
- Highest volume of wood per hectare in Canada
- Montane Forest Region (Montane Cordillera)
- Small coniferous trees
- Second highest volume of wood per hectare in Canada
- Mixed Forest Region (Mixedwood Plain and Atlantic Maritime)
- Deciduous and coniferous trees
- Conifers for lumber, pulp and paper. Hardwoods for lumber
- Very little left due to intensive farming and high levels of urbanization
- Logging Operations: Here are 3 distinct methods of harvesting trees
- Clear-Cutting: used in the vast majority of logging operations (cheapest and fastest method) involves loggers removing every tree, and leaving a barren landscape behind
- More trees are replanted after the clear-cut process, which grow a new forest uniform in species and size, making it easier to re-log this forest in the future
- Shelterwood Logging: involves clear-cutting only part of an old growth forest (forest that has never been cut and is considered important to maintain a wide number of species)
- Small groups of seed-bearing trees are left standing so their seeds can regenerate the logged area
- Used in forests where the trees have grown and aged evenly
- Selective Cutting: involves harvesting only mature trees of the desired type, size, or quality
- Much less disruptive logging method to the forest environment, used in forests with tree species that need shade to become established
- Tends to be a more costly logging process because of the extra care and time taken to cut down the trees
- Clear-Cutting: used in the vast majority of logging operations (cheapest and fastest method) involves loggers removing every tree, and leaving a barren landscape behind
- Pulp and Paper: wood pulp is used to make cellulose fibres, which in turn are used to create paper
- Pulp and paper mills tend to be large, multi-million dollar installations
- Canada is the largest exporter of pulp and paper in the world
- Central Canada is the leading producer, since the trees are much smaller and therefore only suitable for pulp logs (larger trees more valuable for lumber production)
- Lumber: products include raw cut timber, plywood, veneers, particle board, cedar shingles, and chip board
- B.C. dominates Canada’s lumber industry, producing 50% of Canada’s lumber (Quebec in a distant second)
- Sawmills are much smaller operations than pulp and paper mills, with each mill taking advantage of the unique characteristics of the forest that supplies the wood
- New mills are better suited to process small logs, which wasn’t the case in the past (mills were designed for large logs)
- New mills also reduce waste, and utilizes parts of the log that were discarded in the past
- Environmental Hazards: some examples are acid precipitation (caused by factory emissions from industrial areas) and insect pests and diseases (more forest is damaged by insects and disease every year then what is harvested annually by forest companies)
- Forest Fires: fire is a normal part of the life cycle of a forest ecosystem, with new and healthier trees growing quickly in a burned forest
- The problem with forest fires is when they occur in areas with valuable timber
- What are some potential causes of forest fires? (lightning strikes and people)
- A Balanced Approach: must find a balance between keeping the forests as renewable as possible, while still managing to provide the raw lumber and jobs necessary for farming, while also maintaining sections for the natural wildlife / recreational areas
- First nations people, coupled with scientists, decided on some recommendations for keeping forests safe:
- Important plants and animal habitats, and archeological sites, should be studied and mapped
- Watersheds (basin that surrounding waters drain into) would be used as the basis for planning
- Ecosystem approach to forest planning would be used (pg. 293)
- First nations people, coupled with scientists, decided on some recommendations for keeping forests safe: