GREATER FUNDY ECOSYSTEM RESEARCH PROJECT

UNB Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management

Forest Management Guidelines to Protect
Native Biodiversity in the Fundy Model Forest

Site Level Considerations

Coarse Woody Debris

There is considerable research to show the importance of both standing and down coarse woody debris (CWD) for maintenance of biodiversity (see review by Freedman et al. (in press)). Such material is important for denning sites, decomposition, feeding areas, and thermal and drought refuges, among other values. It is important that forest management leave any surplus coarse woody debris on site and not remove it during harvest. As a first consideration, practices such as whole tree harvesting should be avoided. Tree limbs and tops should be left on site after harvest.

Coarse woody debris is important for nutrient cycling
and wildlife use. (Photo: G. Forbes)

A more difficult problem is to specify the amounts of the larger classes of coarse woody debris, including whole trees and large tree boles. It is known that this type of debris is important. Areas managed as plantations will have a significant reduction in coarse woody debris input with second and subsequent rotations. Research in the GFE has shown that natural stands have 300 - 1000 pieces/ha of coarse woody debris comprising 13 - 57 m3/ha total per stand. The larger totals occur in conifer-dominated stands which have large amounts of coarse woody debris because of tree damage caused by the Spruce Budworm. We recommend that there should be a minimum of 200 pieces/ha of coarse woody debris (average piece diameter greater than or equal to 10 cm), and a minimum total of 10 m3/ha throughout the rotation of the stand.

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Information provided by:
Dr. Graham Forbes
Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management at UNB
Last Update: Dec 17, 1997
This document: http://www.unb.ca/web/forestry/centers/cwru/coarse.htm