GREATER FUNDY ECOSYSTEM RESEARCH PROJECT

UNB Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management

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

Introduction

For the past four years, the Greater Fundy Ecosystem Research Group has been conducting research in the Fundy Model Forest. This research has been sanctioned and funded, in part, by the Fundy Model Forest. The goals of the research have always been: i) To identify strategies to maintain viable populations of native species within the Greater Fundy Ecosystem by focusing on species whose population levels are perceived to be at risk. We share with the Fundy Model Forest a first goal of protecting native biodiversity. ii) To quantify species-habitat relationships for selected species in the Greater Fundy Ecosystem so that the information can be used in land management decisions. iii) To examine ecological stressors in the Greater Fundy area, and to determine how they affect valued resources. iv) To identify operational management options that will ensure the sustainability of the Greater Fundy Ecosystem.

To meet the above goals, a range of research projects have been conducted over the last four years, most of which are ongoing. The majority of research was based on one model: comparing the impacts of forestry between reference stands and stands that were harvested and managed. Most of the research looked at the impacts of clear-cutting and plantations, as this type of forest management dominates the area surrounding Fundy National Park. Studies have also been done that examined other harvest techniques, such as selection cuts. Overall, a range of variables, both biotic and abiotic, have been or are being measured in the studies. In many cases the research projects are not completed and the results presented here are based on the best available data.

An ongoing management planning exercise being conducted by the Fundy Model Forest dictated the need for a set of forest management guidelines. This set of Forest Management Guidelines was developed to meet the timing requirements of that exercise.

The researchers and resource managers involved in developing this set of guidelines view them as a work in progress. As is characteristic of most aspects of forest management, these guidelines are neither complete nor comprehensive. As further research results become available, we will continue to develop these guidelines with the goal of providing a more complete set based on the best available information and understanding.

Return to Table of Contents

The UNB Forestry Home Page