IS CURRENT FOREST MANAGEMENT SUSTAINABLE FOR THE CANADIAN BOREAL FOREST ?

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IS CURRENT FOREST MANAGEMENT SUSTAINABLE FOR THE
CANADIAN BOREAL FOREST ?

• Biodiversity and Timber production issues

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YVES BERGERONUniversité du Québec en
Abitibi-Témiscamingue

• Collaborators
• Sylvie Gauthier Canadian Forest Service
• Mike Flannigan Canadian forest service
• Alain Leduc Université du Québec à Montréal
• Patrick Lefort Universié du Québec à Montréal

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SEVERE FIRE WITH EVEN AGED POST-FIRE COHORT
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ECOZONE
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Fire frequency in Canadian boreal forest
Burn rates () Burn rates () Burn rates () Burn rates ()
Past Current 2X co2 3X co2
Ecozones (CCC) (CCC)
14 Montane Cordillera 0.667 0.047 0.000 0.000
51 Taiga Shield (w) 0.855 1.202 1.635 2.550
52 Taiga Shield (E) 0.600 0.058 0.079 0.122
61 Boreal Shield (W) 1.900 0.500 0.620 0.827
9 Boreal Plains 1.000 0.066 0.717 0.724
62 Boreal Shield (E) 0.870 0.086 0.100 0.140

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Current burn rate is lower than past burn ratea
real substitution is expectable.
Yield constraints
Low constraint
Biodiversity Yield constraints
Biodiversity constraints
Biodiversity constraints
Current burn rate is higher than past burn rate
fire control must be efficient to expect a real
substitution.
Yield constraints
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AREA BURNED PROJECTIONS (log scale)
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AREA BURNED PROJECTIONS

• Using results from Ecozones monthly analysis we
  projected future monthly area burned for the
  middle of the century and the end of this century
  for the Canadian and Hadley GCMs
• 75-120 increase in area burned by the end of
  this century according to the Canadian and Hadley
  models respectively

CCC 2xCO2
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AREA BURNED PROJECTIONS
CCC 3xCO2
Hadley 3xCO2
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AREA BURNED PROJECTIONS (log scale)
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WORKING HYPOTHESIS Natural disturbance paradigm

• Some SFM goals may be attained by using natural
  disturbance and forest dynamics as a template for
  silviculture

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Conceptual model of the relationship between
coarse and fine filters in habitat management

• A coarse filter operates at a
• variety of spatial scales to
• provide habitat for a very broad range of
  wildlife
• to support interactions among species
• to facilitate ecosystem processes
• A fine filter may be required
• for species whose needs are
• not captured by the coarse
• filter
• Biodiversity is most likely to
• be conserved by hierarchical
• application of both filters on
• the landscape
• from Forest management guide for natural
  disturbance pattern emulation

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Natural stand dynamics in the Mixedwood zone
Fire
Fire
Aspen (mesic- subhydric)
Budworm
Fire
Fire
W. birch (mesic)
Budworm
1st cohort
2nd cohort
3rd cohort
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NORMAL FOREST ROTATION

• A fully regulated forest with a rotation of 100
  years has an equal distribution of stand ages
  that do not exceed 100 years.

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FOREST REGULATION

• Proportion of stands over 100 and 200 years is
  relatively high. Fully regulated even-aged forest
  on a 100-year rotation would only include 40 of
  the natural variability.

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Current burn rate is lower than past burn ratea
real substitution is expectable.
Yield constraints
Low constraint
Biodiversity Yield constraints
Biodiversity constraints
Biodiversity constraints
Current burn rate is higher than past burn rate
fire control must be efficient to expect a real
substitution.
Yield constraints
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AREA BURNED PROJECTIONS (log scale)
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Fire frequency in Canadian boreal forest
Burn rates () Burn rates () Burn rates () Burn rates ()
Past Current 2X co2 3X co2
Ecozones (CCC) (CCC)
14 Montane Cordillera 0.667 0.047 0.000 0.000
51 Taiga Shield (w) 0.855 1.202 1.635 2.550
52 Taiga Shield (E) 0.600 0.058 0.079 0.122
61 Boreal Shield (W) 1.900 0.500 0.620 0.827
9 Boreal Plains 1.000 0.066 0.717 0.724
62 Boreal Shield (E) 0.870 0.086 0.100 0.140