Why is Canadian policy governing boreal mixedwood forests so complicated?

Victor Lieffers

Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta

Simple system – dominated by 2 species.

Objectives

• Review succession and issues of management in boreal mixedwoods

• Review the history of forest policy (Alberta)

• Discuss implications of where we are now and how we might change

• If we could start over again, would we regulate these forests as we do?

Issues

• Public lands

• Provinces have their own rules/regulations

• Bias towards spruce in management/regeneration

• Overlapping tenures - linked to mills

• Designation of mixedwoods into distinct landbase strata

• Regeneration responsibility done by forestry company

• The modelled speed of regrowth – linked to AAC

Boreal mixedwood forests are found on the mesic part of the landscape

Dry

Wet

Mesic

.

Nutrients

Early successional stage is dominated by aspen suckers

Succession

• Seed availability (masting, dispersal distance)

• Seedbeds

Post-disturbance natural regeneration of white spruce

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wind

Spruce seed dispersal

Dense hardwoods – slows spruce growth

Spruce reasonably well in moderate density hardwood

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Natural mixedwoods

Aspen-dominated mixedwood without leaves –understory spruce

Old-growth spruce – aspen is mostly eliminated

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Spruce slowly become dominant

264 pages Developed over ~50 years Thousands of hours of thought and Negotiation Game of cat and mouse with regulators and industry

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Regeneration Standards

Forest Management Planning

Deciduous Wood Supply

Wildlife Management

Viewscape Management

Public Advisory Boards

Natural Disturbance Management

Historical and Archeological

CCFM - SFM Criteria

Biodiversity Conservation

3rd Party Certification & CBFA

First Nations concerns

Forest management units with overlapping coniferous and deciduous rights A recipe for conflict!

• Bias towards conifer.

• Overlapping tenure. Tenure related to supplying a specific mill.

• Taking mixedwood land base and designating it to a specific landbase strata that does not acknowledge succession.

• Movement towards ecosystem management where structure is left behind.

How do we manage spruce now?

2013 ~90% planted in Alberta and British Columbia ~55% planted in Ontario and Quebec

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Control aspen

• Herbicide or Brush saw treatments

• Herbicides peaked at ~45,000 Ha/y – now ~30,000

Gitte Grover

8 year plantation

15 years -tended spruce plantation – expensive to get here

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Age (years)

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ALPAC - L1

How did we get to these regeneration standards?

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1971

• Recognition that regeneration was not assured. Mobilization of this concern

• Stocking of conifer –conifer bias

• Regenerate the forest that you cut!

• Beginning of the conifer landbase (strata)

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1979

• Stocking, C & D landbase, formal survey

– Recognition that Deciduous forest exists and does not need to be converted to conifer

– Stepped up the formality of data collection

– Time of Forest Resource Development Agreement (FRDA)

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Survey Protocol

• Regular grid of 10m2 plots.

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Cutover area

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1991

• Stocking, ecosites, C, M, & D landbase strata

• Performance Survey – year 14,

• Minimum height

• Free-to-Grow Cylinder was enacted (FTG).

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2)Free-To-Grow Standard

(Competition index placed into regulation)

< Height of the conifer

Free-To-Grow Standard

2/3 height

Fails FTG standard

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Outcome of FTG was spraying of deciduous to promote juvenile spruce

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2005 (Alternate Regeneration Standards)

• Stocking, C, CD, DC, & D landbase

• Linkage of standard to yield strata

Spray patterns were planned in terms of distribution of residuals - DC

2010 (Alberta Regeneration Standard)

• Removed the FTG cylinder

• Developed full linkage of Annual Allowable cut to the regeneration of the forest – yield modelled by GYPSY ( and MGM)

• Projected yield of conifer highly limited by presence of aspen

• Models limitations now control management.

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Strata (and strata balancing)

Deciduous Coniferous DC CD

Pure, intimate or aggregated mixtures

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Spruce slowly become dominant

Outcomes

• Competitive system - conflict between deciduous and coniferous mills

• In most management there is an effort to spatially separate the deciduous and coniferous species

• Heavy reliance upon planting and intensive management for conifers

• Relatively little partial-cut silviculture

Why not more understory protection

Regeneration stands built on shaky foundation Overlapping tenures Distinct landbases.

Transfer of responsibility of regeneration on public land to the private firm

…..but government wants control of the outcome.

Problem has been identified earlier

What could be done? • Single tenure holder must supply the timber of

both broadlead and conifer species, i.e.

• Successional planning instead of Landbase Strata

• Eliminate overlapping tenure (strata)

• Leave the current policies in place and let the government do the regeneration and supply the wood??

Thank you