Search

Mixed‐wood boreal forests are characterized by a heterogeneous landscape dominated by coniferous or deciduous species depending on stand moisture and fire activity. Our study highlights the long‐term drivers of these differences between landscapes across mixed‐wood boreal forests to improve simulated vegetation dynamics under predicted climate changes. We investigate the effects of main climate trends and wildfire activities on the vegetation dynamics of two areas characterized by different stand moisture regimes during the last 9000 years. We performed paleofire and pollen analyses in the mixed‐wood boreal forest of north‐western Ontario, derived from lacustrine sediment deposits, to reconstruct historical vegetation dynamics, which encompassed both the Holocene climatic optimum (ca. 8000–4000 a bp) and the Neoglacial period (ca. 4000 a bp). The past warm and dry period (Holocene climatic optimum) promoted higher fire activity that resulted in an increase in coniferous species abundance in the xeric area. The predicted warmer climate and an increase in drought events should lead to a coniferization of the xeric areas affected by high fire activity while the mesic areas may retain a higher broadleaf abundance, as these areas are not prone to an increase in fire activity. Copyright © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human activities have increased the release of selenium (Se) to aquatic environments, but information about the trophic transfer dynamics of Se in Canadian boreal lake systems is limited. In the present study, Se was added as selenite to limnocorrals (2‐m‐diameter, 3000‐L in situ enclosures) in a boreal lake in northwestern Ontario to reach nominal concentrations of 1 and 10 µg Se/L in triplicate each for 77 d, and 3 additional limnocorrals were controls with no Se added. Total Se concentrations were determined in water, sediment, periphyton, benthic macroinvertebrates, zooplankton, and reproductively mature female fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas; added on day 33) collected throughout (and at the end of) the exposure period. Mean measured water Se concentrations in the control, 1‐, and 10‐µg/L treatments were 0.12, 1.0, and 8.9 µg/L. At the end of exposure (day 77), enrichment functions ranged from 7772 L/kg dry mass in the 8.9‐µg/L treatment to 23 495 L/kg dry mass in the 0.12‐µg/L treatment, and trophic transfer factors for benthic macroinvertebrates ranged from 0.49 for Gammaridae to 2.3 for Chironomidae. Selenium accumulated in fathead minnow ovaries to concentrations near or above the current US Environmental Protection Agency criterion (15.1 µg/g dry mass for fish ovary/egg) in the 1.0‐ and 8.9‐µg/L treatments, suggesting that, depending on aqueous Se speciation, such exposures have the potential to cause Se accumulation in fish to levels of concern in cold‐water, boreal lake systems. Environ Toxicol Chem 2019;38:1954–1966. © 2019 SETAC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Forestry Chronicle is the property of Canadian Institute of Forestry and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Detailed understanding of forest disturbance interactions is needed for effective forecasting, modelling, and management. Insect outbreaks are a significant forest disturbance that alters forest structure as well as the distribution and connectivity of combustible fuels at broad spatial scales. The effect of insect outbreaks on fire activity is an important but contentious issue with significant policy consequences. The eastern spruce budworm ( Choristoneura fumiferana) is a native defoliating insect in eastern North America whose periodic outbreaks create large patches of dead fir and spruce trees. Of particular concern to fire and forest managers is whether these patches represent an increased fire risk, if so, for how long, and how the relationship between defoliation and fire risk varies through space and time. Previous work suggests a temporary increase in flammability in budworm-killed forests, but regional and seasonal variability in these relationships has not been examined. Using an extensive database on historical lightning-caused fire ignitions and spruce budworm defoliation between 1963 and 2000, we assess the relative importance of cumulative defoliation and fire weather on the probability of ignition in Ontario, Canada. We modeled fire ignition using a generalized additive logistic regression model that accounts for temporal autocorrelation in fire weather. We compared two ecoregions in eastern Ontario (Abitibi Plains) and western Ontario (Lake of the Woods) that differ in terms of climate, geomorphology, and forest composition. We found that defoliation has the potential to both increase and decrease the probability of ignition depending on the time scale, ecoregion, and season examined. Most importantly, we found that lagged spruce budworm defoliation (8-10 yr) increases the risk of fire ignition whereas recent defoliation (1 yr) can decrease this risk. We also found that historical defoliation has a greater influence on ignition risk during the spring than during the summer fire season. Given predicted increases in forest insect activity due to global change, these results represent important information for fire management agencies that can be used to refine existing models of fire risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Boreal regions and their freshwater ecosystems may be susceptible to future climate change under projected warmer conditions. Northwest Ontario is a boreal region adjacent to the climatically sensitive prairie-forest ecotone (PFE). Pollen records spanning the Holocene from near the Manitoba/Ontario border to lakes up to ~300 km east of the PFE indicate a warmer and possibly wetter mid-Holocene period across northwest Ontario from ~8000 to 4500 cal. yr BP. To date, only one Holocene-scale record of changes in effective moisture, as indicated through diatom-inferred changes in lake level (Experimental Lakes Area (ELA) Lake 239), is available from this region. Our study expands the regional context of Holocene climate changes, with the analysis of diatom assemblages in sediment cores from two additional lakes, which span a distance of over 200 km across the present-day boreal forest, from 80 km west of ELA Lake 239 to ~150 km to the northeast. In cores from both lakes, benthic taxa predominate in the early-to-mid-Holocene period, with a low abundance of planktonic taxa, suggesting lower lake levels by ~2–5 m. Increases in the abundance of planktonic taxa to >50% occurred in both lakes beginning ~4500–4000 cal. yr BP suggesting positive water balance over the last 4000 years in comparison with the mid-Holocene period. This new evidence supports a regional mid-Holocene period of aridity, with reduced water levels across the boreal region of northwest Ontario. If future climate change results in lower effective moisture, then conditions could become similar to the mid-Holocene period aridity, leading to real challenges for the management of water resources across the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To predict the long-term effects of climate change - global warming and changes in precipitation - on the diameter (radial) growth of jack pine ( Pinus banksiana Lamb.) and black spruce ( Picea mariana [ Mill.] B.S.P.) trees in boreal Ontario, we modified an existing diameter growth model to include climate variables. Diameter chronologies of 927 jack pine and 1173 black spruce trees, growing in the area from 47°N to 50°N and 80°W to 92°W, were used to develop diameter growth models in a nonlinear mixed-effects approach. Our results showed that the variables long-term average of mean growing season temperature, precipitation during wettest quarter, and total precipitation during growing season were significant (alpha = 0.05) in explaining variation in diameter growth of the sample trees. Model results indicated that higher temperatures during the growing season would increase the diameter growth of jack pine trees, but decrease that of black spruce trees. More precipitation during the wettest quarter would favor the diameter growth of both species. On the other hand, a wetter growing season, which may decrease radiation inputs, increase nutrient leaching, and reduce the decomposition rate, would reduce the diameter growth of both species. Moreover, our results indicated that future (2041-2070) diameter growth rate may differ from current (1971-2000) growth rates for both species, with conditions being more favorable for jack pine than black spruce trees. Expected future changes in the growth rate of boreal trees need to be considered in forest management decisions. We recommend that knowledge of climate-growth relationships, as represented by models, be combined with learning from adaptive management to reduce the risks and uncertainties associated with forest management decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individual-tree basal area increment (BAI) models were developed for major tree species in the boreal forest of Ontario, Canada. A composite distance-independent individual-tree BAI model was structured based on the log-linearized gamma base function using a dataset derived from a network of ∼1800 permanent growth plots. A suite of fixed effects covariates that included basal area of trees larger than the subject tree, diameter at breast height, stand basal area and latitude, along with ecological land classification ecosites used as a random effect parameter, were found to be significant covariates in the model. A model fitted with the intercept designated as a mixed-effects parameter had a smaller Akaike's information criterion compared with other competing models. The mixed-effects modelling approach allowed us to select the best suite of covariates by correctly specifying the covariance structure according to the hierarchy of the fitting data. Furthermore, inclusion of ecosite as a random effect parameter increased ecological resolution in the BAI model by localizing its prediction and improves compatibility between growth and yield modelling and other important management tools such as the forest resources inventory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We studied the effects of six levels of dispersed green-tree retention (GTR) harvesting (clearcut (0%), 10%, 20%, 50%, and 75%, and unharvested reference (100%)) on understory plant communities in the 8th growing season post-harvest in the mixedwood boreal forest in northwestern Alberta. For the partial harvest treatments (10%, 20%, 50%, 75%) sample plots were located in the partially harvested (retention) strips as well as in the intervening machine corridors used by the harvesting equipment. The understory plant community was significantly influenced by the gradient of retention level. The cover of understory vegetation, especially graminoids, increased with increasing harvesting intensity for the retention strips and overall considering both plots types. Species richness was unaffected by retention level but did decrease as tree density increased. Lower levels of retention lead to increased abundance of early successional, shade-intolerant species. The results suggest a threshold in understory response to GTR harvesting between the 10% and 20% retention treatments. In terms of understory cover and composition, machine corridors within partially harvested forests resembled clearcuts. The results suggest that retaining more than 10% during GTR harvesting could have significant benefits in terms of maintaining understory plant communities more similar to unharvested reference forest. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article presents a study which examines the influence of weather and fuel type on the fuel composition of the area burned by forest fires in Ontario from 1996-2006. The relative importance of fuels and weather in the boreal forest was examined using the compositional analysis. The fuel composition of area burned by 594 large fires that occurred in boreal forest region was evaluated using the providence of Ontario's Provincial Fuels Database and fire records provided by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources.

A palaeolimnological investigation of changes in water quantity and quality in Lake 239, Experimental Lakes Area, in northwestern Ontario indicates marked changes in limnological conditions during the Holocene. Water quantity changes are based on the analysis of diatoms and inferences of lake-level changes from a nearshore sediment core. Changes in water quality are based on the analysis of diatom assemblages and associated quantitative inferences of total phosphorus (TP) from a deep central core, as well as changes in diatom accumulation rates, the proportion of chrysophyte scales to diatoms and changes to organic matter content. Lake levels at least 8 m lower than today were inferred from the nearshore core and were concurrent with an increase in nutrient-rich diatom assemblages, an increase in diatom accumulation and a decrease in the chrysophytes relative to diatoms in the central core. Fragilaria crotonensis and Aulacoseira subarctica were two of the dominant nutrient-rich taxa that contributed to an increase in diatom-inferred TP during the mid Holocene. Results from this study provide strong empirical evidence that water levels much lower than today can dramatically change trophic status, as occurred during the dry mid Holocene, and may provide a good analogue for understanding future impacts of climatic changes due to anthropogenic activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The boreal forest, earth''s second largest terrestrial biome, is currently thought to be an important net carbon sink for the atmosphere. In this study, a newly developed carbon exchange model of TRIPLEX-Flux (with half-hourly time step) is used to simulate the ecosystem carbon exchange of a 75-year-old boreal mixedwood forest stand in northeast Ontario and a 110-year-old pure black spruce stand in southern Saskatchewan, Canada. Results of net ecosystem exchange (NEE) simulated by TRIPLEX-Flux for 2004 are compared with those measured by eddy-flux towers and suggest overall agreement between model simulation and observations. The mean coefficient of determination (R 2) is approximately 0.77 for boreal mixedwood and 0.62 for old black spruce. Differences between model simulation and observation may be attributed to uncertainties not only in model input parameters and calibration, but also in eddy-flux measurements caused by systematic and random errors. The model is able to capture the diurnal variations of NEE for the growing season (from May to August) of 2004 for both sites. Both boreal mixedwood and old black spruce were acting as carbon sinks for the atmosphere during the growing season of 2004. However, the boreal mixedwood stand shows higher ecosystem productivity, carbon sequestration, and carbon use efficiency than the old black spruce stand. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Stand structure diversity is hypothesized (i) to increase with stand development and (ii) to be greater in mixedwood stands than in conifer and broadleaf stands. We examined the effects of time since stand-replacing fire (TSF) and overstory type on stand volume, stand density, and tree-size variability, which is measured using Shannon’s diversity index (H′) and coefficient of variation, in fire-origin boreal forest stands. We sampled 36 stands representing conifer, mixedwood, and broadleaf overstory types, ranging in ages from 72 to 201 years TSF on upland mesic sites in northwestern Ontario, Canada. Stand volume decreased in older mixedwood and broadleaf stands, but followed a U-shaped pattern in conifer stands with TSF. Diameter-at-breast-height-based H′ followed an inverse U-shaped pattern with TSF for all overstory types. Height-based H′ decreased with TSF in conifer and mixedwood stands but peaked at the intermediate age class in broadleaf stands. Diameter-at-breast-height- and height-based coefficient of variation indices followed an inverse U-shaped distribution with TSF. Our results partially supported the two hypotheses, as (i) the 124- to 139-year-old stands were most diverse and (ii) mixedwood stands were more than or as equally diverse as conifer and broadleaf stands, depending on stand development stage and the diversity indices used. Nous posons les hypothèses que (i) la diversité de la structure des peuplements augmente au fil de leur développement et (ii) cette diversité est plus grande dans les peuplements mixtes que dans les peuplements résineux et feuillus. Dans des peuplements boréaux issus de feu, nous avons étudié les effets du temps écoulé depuis le dernier feu (TDF) et de la composition du couvert dominant sur le volume et la densité du peuplement et sur la variabilité de la taille des arbres, déterminée à l’aide de l’indice de diversité de Shannon (H′) et du coefficient de variation. Sur des stations mésiques et bien drainées du nord-ouest de l’Ontario, au Canada, nous avons échantillonné 36 peuplements représentant des peuplements résineux, mixtes et feuillus pour lesquels le TDF variait de 72 à 201 ans. Le volume à l’hectare diminuait dans les vieux peuplements mixtes et feuillus, mais la relation entre le volume et le TDF suivait une trajectoire en U dans les peuplements résineux. La relation entre la valeur de H′ basée sur le diamètre à hauteur de poitrine et le TDF suivait une trajectoire en U inversé pour tous les types de peuplement. La valeur de H′ basée sur la hauteur diminuait avec une augmentation du TDF pour les peuplements résineux et mixtes, mais a atteint un sommet à la classe d’âge intermédiaire dans les peuplements feuillus. Les relations entre le TDF et la valeur du coefficient de variation basée sur le diamètre à hauteur de poitrine et sur la hauteur suivaient des trajectoires en U inversé. Nos résultats n’ont que partiellement supporté les deux hypothèses puisque (i) les peuplements de 124 à 139 ans étaient les plus diversifiés et (ii) la diversité des peuplements mixtes était supérieure ou égale à celle des peuplements résineux et feuillus, dépendamment du stade de développement des peuplements et de l’indice de diversité utilisé. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Forestry Chronicle is the property of Canadian Institute of Forestry and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Forestry Chronicle is the property of Canadian Institute of Forestry and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Accurate estimation of temporal and spatial variations in photosynthetic discrimination of 13C is critical to carbon cycle research. In this study, a combined ecosystem–boundary layer isotope model, which was satisfactorily validated against intensive campaign data, was used to explore the temporal variability of carbon discrimination in response to environmental driving factors in a boreal ecosystem in the vicinity of Fraserdale Tower, Ontario, Canada (49°52′30″N, 81°34′12″W). A 14 year (1990–1996 and 1998–2004) hourly CO2 concentration and meteorological record measured on this tower was used for this purpose. The 14 year mean yearly diurnal amplitude of canopy-level discrimination Δcanopy was computed to be 2.8 ± 0.5‰, and the overall diurnal cycle showed that the greatest Δcanopy values occurred at dawn and dusk, while the minima generally appeared in mid-afternoon. The average annual Δcanopy varied from 18.3 to 19.7‰ with the 14 year average of 19 ± 0.4‰. The overall seasonality of Δcanopy showed a gradually increasing trend from leaf emergence in May–September and with a slight decrease at the end of the growing season in October. Δcanopy was negatively correlated to vapour pressure deficit and air temperature across hourly to decadal timescales. A strong climatic control on stomatal regulation of ecosystem isotope discrimination was found in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concern about forestry practices creating tree-level monoculture plantations exists. Our study investigates tree diversity responses for six early seral boreal forest plantations in Ontario, Canada, representing three conifer species; black spruce (Picea mariana), white spruce (P. glauca), and jack pine (Pinus banksiana), 14 release treatments, and 94 experimental units. Dominance-diversity curves and Simpson's indices of diversity and evenness indicate tree alpha diversity. We propose a new method for assessing diversity, using percentage of theoretical species maximum (% TSM) which is determined by comparing post-disturbance richness (S) with a theoretical species maximum (TSM). Our results support the hypothesis that alternative vegetation release treatments generally do not reduce tree species diversity levels (% TSM) relative to untreated plots. The only % TSM (P ≤ 0.05) comparison that produced less diversity than in control plots was repeated annual treatments of Vision herbicide at one of the black spruce study sites. Our results generally support the hypothesis that tree monocultures do not develop after vegetation release. Only one out of 94 experimental units developed into a tree layer monoculture (Simpson's reciprocal diversity index = 1). Again this was one of the repeated annual treatments of Vision herbicide at one of the black spruce study sites--a treatment which is atypical of Canadian forest management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a case study of the Lake Abitibi Model Forest (LAMF), this study aims to assess the temporal and spatial variability in carbon storage during 1990-2000, and to present a comprehensive estimation of the carbon budget for LAMF's ecosystems. As well, it provided the information needed by local forest managers to develop ecological and carbon-based indicators and monitor the sustainability of forest ecosystems. Temporal and spatial carbon dynamics were simulated at the landscape level using ecosystem model TRIPLEX1.0 and Geographical Information System (GIS). The simulated net primary productivity (NPP) and carbon storage in forest biomass and soil were compared with field data and results from other studies for Canada's boreal forests. The results show that simulated NPP ranged from 3.26 to 3.34 tC ha-1 yr-1 in the 1990s and was consistent with the range measured during the Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Studies (BOREAS) in central Canada. Modeled NPP was also compared with the estimation from remote sensing data. The density of total above- and belowground biomass was 125.3, 111.8, and 106.5 tC ha-1 for black spruce, trembling aspen, and jack pine in the LAMF ecosystem, respectively. The total carbon density of forested land was estimated at 154.4 tC ha-1 with the proportion of 4:6 for total biomass and soil. The analysis of net carbon balance of ecosystem suggested that the LAMF forest ecosystem was acting as a carbon sink with an allowable harvest in the 1990s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Forestry Chronicle is the property of Canadian Institute of Forestry and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

We consider the implications of climate change on the future of the three dominant forest species, sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.), white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss), and balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.), at the deciduous–boreal forest ecotone, Ontario, Canada. Our analysis is based on individual species responses to past monthly temperature and precipitation conditions in light of modeled (general circulation model) monthly temperature and precipitation conditions in the study area for the 2080s. We then consider the tree species sensitivity to past climate with predicted conditions for the 2080 period. Sugar maple, located at its northern limit in the study area, shows the greatest potential for increased growth rates under the predicted warming and altered precipitation regime. White spruce is likely to benefit less, while the understory dominant balsam fir is likely to experience a decrease in growth potential. These projected changes would enhance the future status of sugar maple at its northern limit and facilitate range expansion northward in response to global warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial patterns can help in understanding the decline and future prospects of threatened species, but the dynamics of range retraction have not been applied to these fundamental questions. I analyzed long-term changes in occupancy by taiga-dwelling caribou ( Rangifer tarandus caribou ) to estimate their rate of disappearance and time to extirpation in Ontario, Canada. Patterns of range recession, 1880–1990, indicated that half of historic woodland caribou range has been lost, a rate of disappearance of 34,800 km[sup 2] per decade, and a northward range recession of 34 km per decade. The mean metapopulation density, the abundance of discrete winter groups, was one group per 1,900 km[sup 2] , suggesting an average loss of 18 caribou wintering areas per decade during this period. There was a strong coincidence between the recent southern limits of caribou occupancy and the northern front of forest harvesting, implying an anthropogenic agent of decline. The estimated time to extirpation of forest-dwelling caribou in Ontario, inferred from the sustained rate of disappearance, was 91 years ( 95% confidence interval: 57–149 years ). The persistence of woodland caribou may depend on spatial separation from human incursion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigates the importance of forest canopy to fluxes of methyl mercury (MeHg) and total mercury (THg) to boreal ecosystems at the experimental lakes area in northwestern Ontario. Effects of wet deposition, throughfall and litterfall fluxes of Hg to forest floor; Accumulation of MeHg and THg in superficial litter/fungal layer of soils in relation to forest fires events.

Focuses on marten activity in the boreal forests of Ontario, Canada. Study area; Subnivean access; Hunting success; Survival and production rates; Management implications.

Focuses on marten populations in the boreal forests of Ontario, Canada. Study area; Vegetation; Marten demography; Use of uncut and logged sites; Management implications.

Sulphur dioxide and particulate pollution have been occurring over a wide area in the Sudbury region, Ontario, as a result of massive smelting operations. In excess of 3Z million short tons of SO were released into the atmosphere in the area in 1972, and this pollutant is now discharged through a 1250-foot smokestack. The particulate contribution is an additional complicating and phytotoxic factor. For example, in 1971, 192 tons of nickel, 145 tons of copper, 1130 tons of iron and 4.5 tons of cobalt per 28 days from two of the smelters were released as airborne pollutants (Hutchinson and Whitby, 1974). The natural vegetation of the area is a mixed deciduous boreal forest, with white pine ( Pinus strobus), jack pine ( Pinus banksiana), red maple ( Acer rubrum), red oak ( Quercus rubra), etc. as dominant trees. This forest, which previously surrounded the mining town of Sudbury, has been devastated over the past 50 yr, especially by the SO emissions and the increased acidity of rainfall and soils. An area in excess of 100 mi is now almost devoid of vegetation and damage to the forest vegetation is visible over an area of approximately 1800 mil. The increased stack heights to dilute local pollution problems have spread the problem more widely. The pH of rainfall sampled up to 12 mi east of the smallest smelter in 1970 was less than 4.3 and that within 2 mi of the stacks was frequently of less than pH 3.0. Soil erosion has occurred on a large scale as a consequence of loss of vegetation. Metal accumulation in the soils has also been a complicating and probably highly persistent phenomenon. Concentrations of nickel in excess of 3000 ppm and copper of 2000 ppm in surface soils occur widely. The increased acidity of these soils has increased metal mobility and solubility, presenting phytotoxic problems. The effects on the soil chemistry, especially of organic composition have been profound. They involve an increased metal binding capacity of these soils, and very high levels of sulphur in the purified Tulvic acid′ fraction itself. Indeed, the evidence is suggestive of the incorporation of sulphonic groups into the changed extracts. Such profound and damaging changes may be merely a consequence of the extreme conditions experienced at Sudbury or they may be a harbinger of things to come in many potentially podsolic soils in areas of increasing acidity of rainfall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the findings of two studies done on the sustainable forest management practices employed by Aboriginal peoples in Canada's boreal forests. The first study, "Benefits of Aboriginal Land Use Studies," looks at the value of land use studies that examine the relationship of Aboriginal people to the boreal habitat and provides three recommendations for forest management. The second study, "Keeping Caribou in the Whitefeather Forest," examines the way Anishinaabe people view the land and habitat, the author reports. The study focuses on the Pikangikum community north of Red Lake, Ontario. Forest management suggestions from this study are also presented.

The article reports that a Boreal Mixedwood Workshop was held in Timmins, Ontario on September 19-21 sponsored by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resource's (OMNR) Northeast Science and Information Section in partnership with the Lake Abitibi Model Forest , the OMNR Forest Management Competency Program and the Forestry Research Partnership. The workshop focused on descriptions of boreal mixedwood sites, stand dynamics, autecology of selected crop trees and competitive plants, silviculture and forest management planning. The aim was to disseminate strong information for the development and implementation of effective prescriptions to manage complex mixedwood stands. The highlight of the workshop was a one-day field trip to view research work implemented specifically on boreal mixedwood management.

This article presents information on various meetings on boreal forests that will take place in Canada. The 10th National Forest Congress is scheduled to take place in the National Capital Region in Ontario and Quebec, from September 24-27 and the Boreal Conference 2006 will be held from October 2-5 in Cochrane, Ontario. Both the conferences will examine changes and challenges in the boreal such as climate change, natural disturbances, the pressures to conserve and to extract resources, and the sustainability of natural resource-dependent communities throughout the vast region. The National Forest Congress, organized by the Canadian Forestry Association will take a look at issues related to sustainable land management, including forest and other resource extraction such as oil, gas and mining. Policy planning and practices in the boreal of national and international significance will be analyzed at the conference. The Cochrane Conference to be co-hosted by the Lake Abitibi Model Forest and the Canadian Institute of Forestry, will describe challenges faced by the people living and working in the boreal communities across the continent.