59 Using fast-growing to promote ecosystem protection in Canada C. Messier, B. Bigué and L. Bernier

Designating forest areas for anada has a vast forest resource • intensive management areas, where varying levels of management of enormous economic impor- traditional intensive inter- intensity, from low intensity to tance, with ex- ventions are used to increase super-intensive, could make it Cports valuing US$22.5 billion in 2002 production; possible to set aside larger forest (FAO, 2003). Some 200 million cubic • super-intensive forestry areas (lig- areas for full protection while metres of wood are harvested every niculture), where priority is given maintaining year in Canada, generating numerous to wood fibre production through levels. economic offshoots in the various re- short-rotation plantations. gions of the country, including almost With certain areas set aside for inten- 300 000 direct jobs, even without count- sive and super-intensive forest manage- ing recreational and tourism activities. ment, high levels of wood production Yet in many parts of the country the could be maintained on less land, and allowable cut has already been reached larger areas of forest than before could and serious wood shortages are predicted be fully protected. Some examples are within 25 years, despite the annual re- also provided that show how intensive forestation operations carried out in all and super-intensive forestry can be used provinces. to help protect the environment. The situation is critical since there is The ultimate aim is obviously sustain- growing pressure from society to in- able management of the forest. What crease protected areas; to modify for- does “sustainable” mean? According estry practices to protect biodiversity; to the Brundtland Report, sustainable and to maintain more old-growth development is development that meets within forests managed for wood produc- the needs of present generations, with- tion. In addition, there is a prospect that out compromising the ability of future future climate change could increase the generations to meet their own needs frequency of fire and insect outbreaks, (Brundtland, 1987). In forestry, “sus- further reducing the quantity of wood tainable management” generally refers fibre available for harvesting. to an approach for using the forest eco- This article proposes the adoption of system that maintains both the integrity a type of zoning principle to help deal and health of forest ecosystems while with these new challenges and achieve maintaining their socio-economic con- sustainable management of Canadian tributions (CCFM, 1997). Indeed, to be forests. The approach would be to set sustainable, must be aside different areas of forest for full ecologically viable, economically fea- protection and varying levels of manage- sible and socially desirable. ment intensity for productive purposes. The management areas might cover the INCORPORATING ECOSYSTEM following range: MANAGEMENT AND PROTECTED • full protection areas, in which log- AREAS IN INTENSIVE FOREST ging is banned; MANAGEMENT SCENARIOS Christian Messier is Professor and Scientific co-director of the Ligniculture-Québec network, • low-intensity management areas, The TRIAD principle (Hunter, 1990) is Department of Biological Sciences, University of where some harvesting of wood an interesting concept that can help in Quebec, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. is allowed but a relatively large promoting sustainable forest manage- Brigitte Bigué is Coordinator of Ligniculture- Québec, Université Laval, Quebec City, Quebec, quantity of standing , snags and ment. This principle incorporates the Canada. deadwood is maintained following conservation concepts of ecosystem Louis Bernier is Professor and Scientific co- cutting (in Canada, often called management and full protection while director of Ligniculture-Québec, Department of Wood Sciences and Forest, Université Laval, new forestry, ecological forestry or pursuing the objective of wood produc- Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. ecosystem forest management); tion. The principle is based on a scenario

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Example of a system agement using more productive exotic emulating natural processes: selective in a and hybrid species (Figure 1). temperate deciduous forest of Many regions of Canada are in the proc- Quebec imitates the natural ess of adopting some form of the TRIAD gap dynamic of these forests; only natural regeneration is (Harris, 1984; Rowe, 1992; Hunter and allowed Calhoun, 1996) or QUAD (Messier and Kneeshaw, 1999) approach. How- ever, while the concept has been well

M. BEAUDET M. developed for landscape goals, there Example of a semi-natural system: have not yet been good descriptions of a cut in coastal the stand-level treatments suitable for British Columbia resembles the structure that remains following fire each of the above categories. With good or windstorm; in such forests planting planning and integration of stand-level is possible but natural regeneration treatments, managers may be able to is also encouraged; main objectives are to harvest wood and protect develop forest areas that complement

biodiversity (expected productivity is F. BUNNELL each other and together serve a wide 1 to 2 m3/ha/year) variety of goals.

Range of stand treatments Example of a traditional Four categories of silvicultural treat- intensive system: classical and planting ments or systems used in Canada with genetically improved might provide managers with a range trees, normally indigenous of stand management options that would species, with wood production as the main goal probably be acceptable in forest areas (expected productivity is 3 to where harvesting is allowed (not pro- 3 6 m /ha/year) tected areas): • systems emulating natural pro-

RÉSEAU LIGNICULTURE-QUÉBEC RÉSEAU cesses; • semi-natural systems; • traditional intensive systems; Example of a super- • super-intensive systems. intensive system: hybrid These systems cover the extremes poplar ; this type of forestry is done from ecosystem restoration to inten- on a small fraction of sive plantation systems. The division the country’s land and A. PAQUETTE into only four categories is arbitrary, as very high productivity is expected (greater than in reality the categories listed fit on a 9 m3/ha/year) gradient from no intervention to extreme intervention. While it may be desirable whereby the forest area is divided into Messier and Kneeshaw (1999) advo- to create various zones to meet timber, different management areas, each having cated a QUAD approach in which the social and biodiversity objectives, man- a different set of goals and objectives. intensively managed 14 percent would agers should be given some flexibility For example, the forest of Canada could be divided further: 10 percent might be to create a range of stand types using be divided so that the ecosystem man- devoted to intensive management us- different silvicultural procedures. agement approach would be applied on ing traditional silvicultural techniques 74 percent of the forest area, while 12 (classical clearcutting and planting with Concentrating production in percent would receive full protection and genetically improved trees, usually of intensively managed areas 14 percent would be devoted to intensive indigenous species), while 4 percent Intensive forest management makes it management. would be under super-intensive man- possible to achieve productivity gains

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An example of how the productive forests of Canada could be divided into four different zones to Ecosystem management (74%) promote sustainable forest • Reduced timber production management • Longer rotation and diversifi cation of cuts • Partial conservation of biodiversity • Landscape management

from different permanent sample plots in Canada and was based on the dominant species in each plot. Full protection (12%) The productivity of the semi-natural QUAD • All ecosystem types represented • Controls required category was intentionally estimated on the low side, since this category includes forest systems classified as “emulating natural processes” in which the regen- eration lag may be slightly longer. The Intensive management (10%) productivity estimates were scaled up • Indigenous species for the plantation and super-intensive • Traditional silvicultural treatments systems based on the overall values in Fibre farms (4%) the literature. • Poplar (Populus) hybrids and larch (Larix spp.) Using data on the state of Canadaʼs forests in 1998/1999 (Government of Canada, 1999) the annual productivity of the boreal forest (annual allowable cut) was estimated to be about 141 mil- over natural or extensively managed have produced 5 to 8 m3 per hectare in lion cubic metres per year, with an actual stands by harvesting trees at a relatively five to ten years or sawlog timber in 20 annual cut of 108 million cubic metres. young age, just after the culmination of to 25 years. The value of 166 million cubic metres mean annual increment. Following care- Increased levels of management per year of wood available for harvest ful establishment and planting density intensity, however, can also play an developed in the calculations of Table 2 control, conifer plantations in Ontario important part in maintaining wood sup- is therefore well above the productivity and Quebec have yielded nearly 300 m3 ply in forested landscapes managed to of natural forests despite the inclusion of per hectare by age 40 (J. Beaulieu, per- maintain biological diversity (Binkley, reserves and the low productivity from sonal communication). In Canada, sev- 1997). The calculations shown in Ta- a large part of the landscape. eral poplar (Populus) hybrids have been ble 2 demonstrate that with intensive the focus of intensive plantation opera- management on a relatively small area, Incorporating conservation goals tions. Relatively large plantations have the same level of wood production can In the selection of sites for intensive been established in Ontario and southern be maintained even if 15 percent of the wood production, the need to protect and British Columbia, and the current area area is set aside as reserves and a large to apply ecosystem management on the in hybrid poplar plantations is about part of the area (72 percent) is managed productive sites must also be taken into 7 000 ha nationwide (Van Oosten, 2000). semi-naturally. account. It is important not to employ Poplar plantations may yield up to 37 m3 The calculations were carried out as intensive management on all the pro- per hectare per year in coastal British follows. The productive boreal forest of ductive sites, because there would be a Columbia, but the yields are likely to be Canada (140.5 million hectares) (Lowe, high risk of destroying habitats that are much lower in sites with colder winters Power and Gray, 1996) was divided into important for maintaining biodiversity. It and seasons of water stress (Table 1). four site classes. The area of each site is realistic to consider that approximately Larch (Larix spp.) plantations in Quebec class was estimated from the 45 percent of Canadaʼs current wood

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TABLE 1. Current and anticipated hybrid poplar growth rates for various beneficial. For example, researchers regions of Canada (m3/ha/year) have proposed a project using fast-grow- Region or province Current growth Anticipated future ing poplars along rivers in agricultural rate growth rate areas. It is plausible that the trees would Best Average Best Average intercept excess nitrate and phospho- Southern Quebec 19 9 20 14 rus, which are major pollutants from Quebec, boreal region – – 12 10 farmland (Haycock and Pinay, 1993). Fast-growing species such as hybrid Southeastern Ontario 15 >12 18 14 poplar and larch are being considered Prairie Region and northeastern British Columbia n.a. 12 19 16 for large areas of abandoned farmland Northern interior with slower-growing highly valu- British Columbia – – 20 17 able hardwood species such as maple Southern interior (Acer spp.), walnut (Juglans spp.), ash British Columbia 30 – 35 25 (Fraxinus spp.) and oak (Quercus spp.) British Columbia coast 37 23 45 35 or spruce (Picea spp.) in the understorey Source: Van Oosten, 2000. to rehabilitate these once-forested areas. Consideration is also being given to the TABLE 2. Potential area, productivity and production of boreal forest in different use of new mixed plantations to create site classes in Canada “green” corridors that would connect Management category/ Area Productivity Production the various isolated pockets of forests 3 3 site index at age 50 (1 000 ha) (m /ha/year) (1 000 m ) scattered across the most inhabited parts Protected areas (15%) of Canada. <10 m 9 097 – – 10 to 15 m 7 196 – – 15 to 20 m 4 646 – – >20 m 142 – – CONCLUSION Subtotal 21 081 – – It appears possible, even desirable, to Semi-natural (72%) use increased yield, fast-growing planta- <10 m 47 483 0.7 33 238 10 to 15 m 35 979 1.0 35 979 tions in Canada as a means of achieving 15 to 20 m 17 587 1.2 21 104 >20 m 303 1.5 455 wood fibre production while promoting Subtotal 101 352 – 90 776 the protection and conservation of the Plantations (10%) countryʼs forestʼs biodiversity. To this <10 m 4 064 1.5 6 096 10 to 15 m 4 797 3.0 14 391 end, it is necessary to be innovative and 15 to 20 m 4 827 3.5 16 894 especially to address the issue of forest >20 m 200 5.0 1 000 Subtotal 13 888 – 38 381 management at the landscape level. The Super-intensive (3%) implementation of fast-growing forest <10 m – – – 10 to 15 m 916 6.0 5 497 plantations on a small portion of the 15 to 20 m 3 000 9.0 27 000 countryʼs productive forest land could >20 m 300 15.0 4 500 Subtotal 4 216 – 36 997 become part of the Canadian strategy to Total 140 537 166 154 achieve the sustainable management of its forest. In the future, the establishment Note: Different levels of productivity were assumed for each area, and there was a bias to include more of the highly productive lands in the more intensive systems. No super-intensive management was applied to the of fast-growing plantations and/or the productivity class of site index <10 m. introduction of fast-growing exotics or hybrids on a portion of the landscape may needs can be met from only 13 percent of the countryʼs wood requirements. This well be associated with forest ecosystem of the area through intensive forestry. If would make it possible to set aside a protection and not the reverse. ◆ this is the case, the ecosystem manage- large proportion of the forest land for ment approach could then be applied full protection. to 72 percent of the productive area in Furthermore, intensive tree-growing order to obtain the remaining 55 percent projects may even be environmentally

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