GREATER FUNDY ECOSYSTEM RESEARCH PROJECT
UNB Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management
Forest Management Guidelines to Protect
Native Biodiversity in the Fundy Model Forest
Landscape Level Considerations
Stand Conversion
Biodiversity management that is based on an Ecological Land Classification (ELC) relies on forest planning that recognises and maintains forest stands that would occur naturally under local conditions. Although it is recognised that stands can be dominated by softwood or hardwood species through the course of their succession, it is important to recognise the eventual sub-climax and climax make-up for that stand and the ELC. Conversion and maintenance of these sites to a softwood condition changes the landscape heterogeneity of stands and the diversity of habitat types and tree species.
Many tree species in the FMF presently are lumped as intolerant or tolerant hardwood categories and thus are not given adequate consideration in forest planning exercises. By not recognizing the abundance and distribution of these species, they are relegated to minor roles and potentially lumbered out of the landscape. The maintenance of many intolerant hardwoods requires more consideration in the FMF. Some large mixed stands dominated by species such as Red Oak or Black Cherry should be managed as either wildlife areas (acorns for deer and bear) or high-value timber areas. Conversion of these areas to softwood plantations should be avoided.
In many areas of the Fundy Model Forest, mixed stands of coniferous and deciduous species are typical. There has been a tendency to convert these stands to pure conifer because of market forces. Such conversions are also undesirable. We have tried to account for the distributions and historical abundance of these stands in the historical distributions by ecodistrict.
Go to Guidelines for:
Patch Size (Forest Stand Size)
Connectivity
Stand Age - Provisions for Mature Forest Stands
Incorporating Maturity into Forest Harvest Schedules
Guidelines for Mature/Overmature Coniferous Forest
Plantations
Roads
Protected Areas
Water Course Buffers
Habitat Considerations for Specific Species
Special Status Tree Species
Coarse Woody Debris
Snag and Cavity Tree Retention
Return to Table of Contents
The UNB Forestry Home Page
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/convert.htm