UNIT 3 - FORESTRY

1. UNIT 3 - FORESTRY TOPIC 7 – FOREST SUCCESSION

2. TOPICS RELATED TO SUCCESSION • Why do Forests Change over Time? • Human and Natural Disturbances • Seasonal Changes • Ecological Succession • Climax Community • Pioneer Species • 2 Types of Succession • Primary and Secondary • The Role of Fire in Succession

3. Why Do FORESTS CHANGE OVER TIME? • Forests may be altered or disturbed over time due to 2 MAJOR FACTORS: • HUMAN DISTURBANCES • NATURAL DISTURBANCES

4. HUMAN DISTURBANCES • Logging Activities • Clearing land (ex: farming, cabins, roads) • Pollution (ex: acid rain, air pollution, garbage) • Global warming (changes in weather and climate) • Ozone Depletion (more sun exposure)

5. HUMAN DISTURBANCES

6. NATURAL DISTURBANCES • Natural climate change • Species extinction • Volcanic Activity • Floods • Forest Fires

7. NATURAL DISTURBANCES

8. SEASONAL CHANGES • WHAT ARE THEY? • Short-term Changes that Occurs from Year to Year • WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES? • Losing leaves in fall, build-up of snow in forest in winter, changes in temperature and daylight hours, etc.

9. FOREST SUCCESSION • WHAT IS FOREST SUCCESSION? • It is the natural series of LONG-TERM ecological changes that occurs in a forest after a significant disruption. • Unlike seasonal changes, succession changes a forest so that it is never the same again. • There are two stagesto the succession process: • PIONEER SPECIES • FIRST STAGE • CLIMAX COMMUNITY • LAST STAGE

10. PIONEERING PLANTS

11. After a disturbance, a new forest begins!

12. PIONEERING PLANTS • The first organisms to grow in an area which has been disrupted. • They require a lot of light and generally short-lived. • These pioneers provide nutrients for other organisms to come and form habitats in the area. • Examples include: • Lichen • Grass • Moss • Raspberries/Blueberries

13. CLIMAX COMMUNITY

14. CLIMAX COMMUNITY • After undergoing a series of successions over time, the CLIMAX COMMUNITY is formed. • They are slow-growing and long-lived. • It is the FINAL, STABLE, COMPLEX, and SUSTAINABLE community of dominant organisms in an area. • It is the LAST stage of succession. • In a boreal forest, these are generally SOFTWOOD species.

15. 2 TYPES OF SUCCESSION • PRIMARY SUCCESSION • SECONDARY SUCCESSION

16. PRIMARY SUCCESSION

17. PRIMARY SUCCESSION

18. PRIMARY SUCCESSION • This type begins in an area where there is NO SOIL nor PREVIOUS LIFE. • Examples of areas: • Lava field • Sand dune • After a glacier • After an earthquake • Could take 300 y to reach climax community!

19. PRIMARY SUCCESSION STAGES

20. SECONDARY SUCCESSION

21. SECONDARY SUCCESSION • BEFORE AFTER (2 y)

22. SECONDARY SUCCESSION • This type occurs in an area that has been cleared of vegetation, but STILL HAS SOIL at the start. • Examples of areas: • Clear-cut • Over-browsing by Animals • Insect Damage • Forest fire • Could take 75 y to reach climax community

23. SECONDARY SUCCESSION

24. SECONDARY SUCCESSION STAGES

25. FIRE IN FOREST SUCCESION • How long does it take for a forest to recover from a fire? • 75 Years • IT IS natural, especially in boreal forests.

26. FOREST FIRE POSITIVE EFFECTS • IT CREATES REGENERATION OPPORTUNITIES • Large areas of land opened up for growth • Old unhealthy trees are destroyed • Nutrients back to soil • Some species (ex: black spruce) need soil to regenerate • Creates new habitat

27. FOREST FIRE NEGATIVE EFFECTS • Threatens human communities • Could eliminate trees used for harvesting operations • Destroy habitat and food sources of some Species • Could change the Natural Age/Mix of Forest

28. UNIT 3 - FORESTRY TOPIC 8 – OLD GROWTH FORESTS

29. OUTLINE • DEFINITION and TYPES • CHARACTERISTICS • IMPORTANCE/VALUE • OLD GROWTH FORESTS in NL

30. What is an old growth forest? • Old Growth Forests are not simply “old.” • DEFINITION: • A Forest that has had NO RECENT HUMAN OR NATURAL DISTURBANCE (such as harvesting, fire, insect damage, wind throw) • AKA “Ancient Forest”

31. Two Types of Old Growth Forests • Type One - PRIMARY • NOT INFLUENCED OR DAMAGED by humans

32. Two types of Old Growth Forests • TYPE TWO - SECONDARY • DISTURBED by humans

33. OLD GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS • OLD TREES • MULTIPLE AGE TREES • NO SIGNS OF RECENT DISTURBANCE • MULTI-LAYERED • PRESENCE of SNAGS AND DEADFALLS

34. OLD TREES • Trees are close to MAXIMUM life expectancy • Old trees does not necessarily mean LARGE trees! • Often WIDELY spaced.

35. MULTIPLE AGE TREES • Although old trees are dominant, there is a MIX of trees of different ages.

36. NO RECENT DISTURBANCE • The forest has passed through the NATURAL DISTURBANCE PERIOD, which means there has not been a major fire or insect infestation.

37. MULTI-LAYERED • Lower LOGS • Middle SHRUBS • Upper TREES • This layering is called STRATIFICATION

38. Snags and Deadfalls • Old growth forests have an abundance of fallen logs, leaning trees, stumps and snags. • Standing dead trees are called SNAG. • Large logs or bits of wooden debris on the ground are called DEADFALL.

39. Why are old growth forests important? • ECOLOGICAL VALUES • ECONOMIC VALUES • SOCIAL VALUES

40. ECOLOGICAL VALUES • VALUE 1 - Old growth forests are habitat for wildlife. • EXAMPLES • NL MARTEN • Prefer thick, shady old growth forest to hide from predators and easily find prey.

41. ECOLOGICAL VALUES . . . • EXAMPLES . . . • SPOTTED OWL • Requires snags that are common in old growth forest for nest habitat • http://archives.cbc.ca/environment/endangered_species/clips/8982/ • BOREAL FELT LICHEN • Prefers coniferous old growth forest • Threatened in NL by logging and air pollution from Holyrood Generating Plant

42. ECOLOGICAL VALUES . . . • VALUE 2 - Old growth forests are CARBON SINKS. • They store carbon for long periods of time, keeping this carbon out of the atmosphere. • The cutting of these trees increases Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide.

43. ECOLOGICAL VALUES . . . • VALUE 3 – RESEARCH VALUE • Old growth forests provide SCIENTIFIC information about the understanding of forest processes that humans have not influenced.

44. ECONOMIC VALUES • Medicinal and Botanical products • Ecotourism • Timber-related products

45. SOCIAL VALUES • Old growth forests have AESTHETIC value, where we want to protect nature as it stands without disturbance.

46. SOCIAL VALUES . . . • Old growth forests have SPIRITUAL value, especially to groups such as First Nations people who have deep and historical attachments to nature. • http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-75-679-3926/science_technology/clearcutting/clip11

47. HOW MUCH OLD GROWTH IS LEFT?

48. OLD GROWTH IN NL • Old growth forests in NL are classified as WET BOREAL • They are unique because of high MOISTURE levels, and thus very rare FOREST FIRES. • They are dominated by CONIFEROUS trees. • Trees can range from 100 to 250 years of age.

49. FUTURES FROM FORESTS: OLD GROWTH FORESTS FUTURES FROM FORESTS: FOREST ECOLOGY IN NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR Main River: Old Growth balsam fir forest at the base of the Great Northern Peninsula Main River was depicted on one of five stamps in Canada Post's 1991 Canada's River Heritage series Map: http://www.aquatic.uoguelph.ca/rivers/main.htm

50. MAIN RIVER