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Old-Growth Forests pp 285–300Cite as

Old-Growth Forests in the Canadian Boreal: the Exception Rather than the Rule?

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Part of the book series: Ecological Studies ((ECOLSTUD,volume 207))

Abstract

Old-growth boreal forest is considered rare since large fires or insect disturbances occur too frequently to allow forest stands to reach old ages. Recent research on historical fire regimes in the circumboreal region have shown that this assertion is false for several reasons. First, fire frequency varies greatly among regions and natural fire cycles are often longer than the normal lifespan of the trees, especially in northeastern Canada, allowing stands of fire-adapted species to be replaced by self-maintaining late successional species. Second, even in landscapes characterised by short fire intervals, the stochastic occurrence of fires allows some parts of the landscape to escape fire for long periods. Old-growth boreal forests possess compositional, structural and functional characteristics, such as a legacy of deadwood and greater structural diversity, that differ significantly from those of post-fire forests. Current forestry practices in boreal forests only partly emulate natural stand dynamics and lead to an important decrease in the proportion of old-growth forests.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chaire Industrielle CRSNG-UQAT-UQAM en Aménagement Forestier Durable, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue, 445 boul. de l’Universite, C.P.700, Rouyn-Noranda, Québec, J9X 5E4, Canada

    Yves Bergeron

  2. School of Resource and Environmental Studies, Kenneth C. Rowe Management Building, 6100 University Avenue, Suite 5010, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, B3H 3J5, Canada

    Karen A. Harper

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  1. Yves Bergeron
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  2. Karen A. Harper
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Correspondence to Yves Bergeron .

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    Bergeron, Y., Harper, K.A. (2009). Old-Growth Forests in the Canadian Boreal: the Exception Rather than the Rule?. In: Wirth, C., Gleixner, G., Heimann, M. (eds) Old-Growth Forests. Ecological Studies, vol 207. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-92706-8_13

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