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To Cut or Not to Cut by Tod Norri, District Ecologist, Peterborough MNR
S&W Report Winter / Spring 2000 (Volume 18)
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As managers of private woodlots, we need to be as careful as possible to avoid damaging both the structure and composition of the highly diverse, southern Ontario forested landscape. Improper logging techniques can lead to the inadvertent death of animals and long term scarring of the land. With a little logical planning and an understanding of the needs of the forest and its inhabitants, much of this ‘collateral’ damage can be totally avoided. Let’s examine of the crucial components to ecologically sound private land forestry.
Location
Just where is your land? Some of you man own land that is situated within provincially significant natural areas, as determined by the Minister of Natural Resources. Such sites may include Areas of Natural Scientific Interest (ANSI) of provincially significant wetlands. If you have been notified that you are eligible to take part in the Conservation Land Tax Incentive Program, then you are almost certainly an owner of some of this land. Woodland owners on such and need to ensure that their cutting plans do not threaten the features and functions of the area. The Ministry of Natural Resources’ District Ecologist can provide more details about the natural heritage programs and provide input into your cutting plans so they have the least impact.
Timing
As the old saying goes “timing is everything”. Nothing could be truer for forestry in southern Ontario. Picking the right time to log can mean the difference between devastating a woodlot or leaving it much the same as before the cut, the latter of which, of course, should be the ultimate goal of every woodlot manager. In southern Ontario, late summer (early September), fall and winter are the best times to cut trees. Of the three, winter is probably the very best time, as we will see. The main problems associated with cutting trees are the disturbance caused to wildlife, water, soil layers and to the plant composition of the forest.
Forestry should not take place in the spring and summer period because it causes too much damage to many wildlife species, most of which breed at this time of year. For example, cutting trees in early summer will almost certainly result in the death of many nestling of a wide number of forest bird species, from woodpeckers to hawks. Those that are still contemplating breeding will likely be driven away by the noise and disturbance. Spring is additionally bad because forest soils are usually saturated and this can lead to serious erosion. In the late summer and fall, soils are usually much drier and most breeding has finished or local wildlife so the impacts are much less. In many ways, winter logging is the best as most species of wildlife have left the area for climes further south. Layers of ice and snow protect the soil and important wildlife cavity and den trees can be more easily seen, marked and left out of the cutting plan. These are not bothersome insects to deal with, skidding logs is easier, you won't sweat as much and the tree characteristics are much easier to determine in the largely leafless forest.
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What to Cut?
Most private land forestry in southern Ontario uses a selective logging approach. Selective logging infers that some trees are being selected and other are being left. But how do you select the right ones to cut? In addition to following provincial tree marking standards, woodlot owners would do well to consider some additional factors. This is where all forest managers need to have a management plan of some sore to guide creative and ecologically sound cutting.
While creating a multi-aged woodlot (one which will sustain harvests annually for as many future years as possible) is often the ultimate goal of today’s private land foresters, we need to be aware of some other factors as well. For example, “old growth” forest is almost nonexistent in southern Ontario today. Very old trees or portions of older woodlots could be left as untouchable area and allowed to grow into full maturity. Many species of wildlife prefer old growth forest, from the mossy ground layers to the high upper canopy areas. In this way, genetically strong trees could be allowed to set seed well into their upper years thus providing for strong seedling growth for many years to come. Untouched soils of old growth forests exhibit complex bacterial and fungal relationships, which provide the forest with protection against outside diseases. So, why not think about leaving some trees or some area of your forest totally untouched? These monumental trees, and the wildlife that call them home, will form and invaluable living inheritance for future generations.
A natural mix of native species should always be maintained. Contemporary management plans should not seek to “weed out” certain species (except perhaps alien species - see later) from the forest mix. Over thousands of years, many species of songbirds have evolved to use specific layers and niches of the forest. If we remove layers, we are also making the forest less hospitable to these species of wildlife. Hop Hornbeam (oystrya virginiana) has been a tree much maligned and removed by foresters, often left to rot on the ground, but we are now aware that this middle layer forest tree is extremely important to a wide array of forest species. If you need to thin some shrubs or middle layers to increase the amount of light penetration into the forest for seedling growth, make sure you leave other areas untouched to maintain species mix.
Managers should also strive to maintain a similar canopy closure to that which was in the existence prior to the cutting. This will enable many herbaceous ground flora to flourish in conditions similar to pre-cut conditions. Soil moisture will be more effectively maintained in this fashion. Lack of desiccation due to increased sun exposure and drying winds will also make the forest more hospitable to moister loving creatures such as frogs and salamanders.
Alien or non-native species of plants are infiltrating many southern Ontario forests. These include herbaceous plants, shrubs, and trees. They most often get established when ground is disturbed and their seeds manage to come in from nearby built-up areas. Alien species will typically out compete our native species, eventually replacing them with homogeneous monocultures, thus destroying natural biodiversity of the forests. This points to the extreme importance of disturbing the forest soil as little as possible.
Garlic Mustard, Periwinkle, European Buckthorn, Lilac, certain Honeysuckle’s and Manitoba Maples are examples of alien plants found within or at the edge of many rural forests.
Cavity trees, den trees and other important wildlife sites need to be given regard as per thee provincial forestry standards and guidelines. Good tree markers will effectively protect many of those important wildlife trees so that animal which depends on cavities for breeding and denying will not be left without home for their survival.
Leaving a Smaller Footprint
A lot of logging related destruction comes from soil disturbance caused by massive machines and trucks. While such machines will always be a part of large scale logging operations, smaller operations could consider using horsepower to do the hauling. Work horses can be maneuvered through tight trees and they cause much less damage to the forest floor than large machines. They do not pollute the air or water and require only good food and care to work happily for many years. They are quite resistant to rusting as well. You need not own such horses to reap their benefits. Workhorses can be rented or be operated by their owners.
Perhaps you are an inventive sort who can develop new methods for removing logs from a forest that do not causes as many impacts. Maybe you could wheel them out on some sort of small trailer. Or, attach a wheel to one end of a log and hoist the other end of the ground during the hauling process. The trick is to leave the forest as close to the condition as you found it.
Working around water obviously requires very special attention because of the potential for erosion, siltation and destruction of fish habitat. Whether you are planning to cut near creeks, streams, wetlands or lakes, great attention must be paid to leaving appropriate buffers (see provincial policies) around these easily disturbed areas.
Making the Best Cut
Clearly there are many things to consider before you think about cutting your trees. Humans are only one species of animal that uses the forest. Our uses are no more important that the use the black bear, black capped chickadee, an orchid or a forest living land snail makes of the forest. We must respect them as part of the forest. To ignore them puts the entire chain of life in the forest at risk. And, while we may not initially recognize the warning signs that the health and biodiversity of the forest has been diminished, eventually the signs will be clear and by then it may be too late to do anything about it. If we take the time and carefully plan our actions, southern Ontario should continue to have lands graced with vibrant, diverse forests well into the future.
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