DEFINING A FOREST REFERENCE CONDITION FOR KOUCHIBOUGUAC NATIONAL PARK AND ADJACENT LANDSCAPE IN EASTERN NEW BRUNSWICK USING FOUR RECONSTRUCTIVE APPROACHES by Donna R. Crossland BScH Biology, Acadia University, 1986 BEd, St Mary's University, 1990 A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Forestry in the Graduate Academic Unit of Forestry and Environmental Management Supervisor: Judy Loo, PhD, Adjunct Professor of Forestry and Environmental Management/Ecological Geneticist, Canadian Forest Service, NRCan. Examining Board: Graham Forbes, PhD, Department of Forestry and Environmental Management, Chair Antony W. Diamond, PhD, Department of Biology This thesis is accepted. 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Canada DEDICATION To my parents, Errol and Greta Crossland, who raised me within an endearing landscape of forests and lakes in East Dalhousie, NS, and to my husband, Larry, who adapted quickly and understood. n ABSTRACT A forest reference condition for Kouchibouguac National Park and the adjacent landscape in eastern New Brunswick was derived by integrating information from historical descriptions, witness tree information, square timber harvest records, and ecosystem archaeology. Species frequency results indicated that forests were dominated by mid-to late- successional Picea, Tsuga canadensis, Betula, Acer, Abies balsamea, and Pinus strobes, comprising 70-80 % of 19th century forests. Fagus grandifolia and Thuja occidentalis existed at 5 and 6-14 %. Trees were mostly tall, large diameter, and mature to old growth. Early-successional or shade-intolerant species occurred at 1-3 % of forest composition. In the current forest, frequencies of Tsuga canadensis and F. grandifolia have decreased to approximately 1 % and 0.1 % respectively, A. balsamea has doubled on many sites, and Populus has become the most abundant hardwood species. Pinus banksiana, nearly absent ca. 1800, has become the most dominant pine species. Six dominant tree species comprise 95 % of contemporary forests, whereas there were nine species ca. 1800. Riparian zones have lost approximately 40 % of forest cover, and support little of the former species composition. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis was funded by Kouchibouguac National Park to meet requirements to establish long-term vegetation management goals. I thank Park Ecologist, Eric Tremblay, and Manager of Resource Conservation, Michel Savoie, for sharing in my belief that this research was an essential requirement for basing sound ecological decisions. Their financial support from a dwindling park budget made it all possible. To my Park Warden colleagues, thanks for their patience and for accommodating schedule changes that allowed more time to be devoted to completion of this research, sometimes at the expense of a wide array of other important tasks. This research would not have taken place without the support and inspiration of several persons who urged me to pursue my passion for historical forest ecology, though it was well outside my comfort zone as a Park Warden. Dr Elena Ponomarenko gave me the first glimmer of hope that we can describe past forest types with reasonable certainty. I was inspired by nearly every conversation with her, as I assisted with her fieldwork and logistics during several field seasons. Mary-Ellen Badeau found many historical documents through her work as archivist at PANB. She continued to tempt me by providing 19th century survey sketches and forest descriptions of the park until she finally had me convinced that this information must be thoroughly examined to learn the extent of its message. One of the most rewarding outcomes of this research was the admiration and friendship developed for my supervisor, Dr Judy Loo, Canadian Forest Service. I am indebted to her wise counsel, support, and shared enthusiasm toward this research. She also generously provided additional funding for researching several new ecosystem archaeology trenches. I thank CFS for providing me with office facilities while attending UNB. Conversations and newly formed friendships with staff at CFS enriched my educational experience. I also thank staff at NB DNR for their ready assistance in providing digital information on modern forest types and the ecological land classification that assisted me in measuring the extent of forest change over the past 200 years. IV I am grateful for the valuable assistance rendered by to following people: Blayne Peters, Elsipogtog Reserve, assisted me with the time consuming task of entering witness tree into GIS, and helped collect charcoal for ecosystem archaeology research. Ian Demerchant (CFS) provided enormous help with deriving basal area from DNR forest data. His patience was amazing. Erica Reese (volunteer) assisted with tedious ton timber entries. Bill Glenn (PEI Dept. of Ag. and Forestry) and Peter Salonius (CFS) provided some valuable direction on the ton timber calculations. Omer Maillet, farmer, who allowed an ecosystem archaeology trench on his land, and filled in the hole with his tractor, saving some backbreaking work. Audrey Beaudet (Kouchibouguac National Park), helped to incorporate rectangular survey information on GIS, and also aided with occasional difficulties encountered while making map layouts. Thank you, Larry, for spending many days helping to search through microfilm and fiche at PANB for witness tree material. Your understanding and support during the lengthy period of completing this thesis was a true test of your love and commitment. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv LIST OF TABLES x LIST OF FIGURES xi LIST OF APPENDICES xiv CHAPTER 1. GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1 INTRODUCTION 1 The requirement for a forest reference condition 1 An integrated research approach using historical ecology 4 Goals and objectives 5 Description of study area 5 Location 5 Soils and geology 7 Climate 8 Forest communities 8 Synopsis of human history and land use 10 THESIS FORMAT AND INFORMATION SOURCES 13 REFERENCES 19 CHAPTER 2. DEFINING A FOREST REFERENCE CONDITION FROM EARLY FOREST DESCRIPTIONS 22 INTRODUCTION 22 METHODS 23 RESULTS 25 Historical forest composition 25 Coniferous tree species 30 White pine, red pine, jack pine: 30 Red spruce, black spruce, white spruce: 32 American larch: 34 Eastern hemlock: 36 Eastern white cedar: 37 Balsam fir: 37 Broad-leaved tree species 38 Yellow birch, (black birch), white birch, grey birch: 38 American beech: 40 Red oak: 41 White ash and black ash: 41 Sugar maple, red maple, mountain maple, striped maple, silver maple: 42 American elm: 44 Trembling aspen, largetooth aspen, balsam poplar: 45 Ironwood: 46 Other minor trees and shrubs: 46 Species absent from historical descriptions: 47 Species composition noted by James Alexander on the Eastern Lowlands 47 VI Historical Forest Structure and Age Classes 47 Stand ages 50 Shade 51 Forest disturbance dynamics 52 Wind, flooding, drought 52 Animals 53 Insects and pathogens 54 Fire 55 Fire behaviour 58 Soil damage from fire 59 Forest successional responses to disturbance during the 19th century 60 DISCUSSION 62 Synopsis of original forest character in the study area 63 Black birch enigma 66 Disturbance 69 The European altered disturbance regime 71 Other old-growth indicators 73 A point in time? 75 Strengths and limitations of historical forest descriptions 76 Bias 77 Forest observations were impeded in less accessible landscapes 77 Problems with early species' nomenclature 78 CONCLUSIONS 80 REFERENCES 93 CHAPTER 3. DEFINING FOREST REFERENCE CONDITION