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The Resource
The original forests of Prince Edward Island, characteristic of the Acadian Forest Region, were predominantly high-quality hardwoods- sugar maple, yellow birch and beech.[6] Today's forest, the result of past harvesting and land use activity, falls in either of two major categories: that which grows on land farmed in the past, and that which grows on land which was never cleared. All areas have been subjected to harvesting at least once and most have been cut over many times. Each successive harvest has removed the best trees and left the poorer ones to regenerate. Therefore, the forest we see today does not reflect the quality or makeup of the forests of the past. In ecological terms, much of it is an early successional forest, much of it is even-aged and most of it cannot regenerate itself quickly into commercial species without huge investments of time, capital and labour. Of the native forest, rich in biological diversity and resiliency, only a few scattered remnants of old growth remain.
Census records, aerial photography and forest biomass inventory information provide a fascinating glimpse into the history of land clearing, harvesting and silviculture activity over the last hundred years. For example, a recent report by the Forestry Division states that forest covered 48.6 per cent of Prince Edward Island in 1990, compared to 32.4 per cent in 1935 and 30.9 per cent in 1900.[7] Interpretation of the 1935 aerial photography shows that 17.7 per cent of the area had been harvested recently, compared to 3.6 per cent in 1990. In other words, the forest resource was under far greater pressure from over-harvesting in 1935 than in 1990. Information from the same report shows that the hardwood resource rebounded significantly during the period, from 25 per cent of the total forest in 1935 to 54 per cent in 1990. What began in 1990 with the widespread conversion of forest land to agriculture is quite simply the reversal of a one-hundred-year trend which started with farmers moving away from the land.
Today, the forest resource is split almost equally between softwoods (conifers) and hardwoods. Our definition of hardwoods includes both early successional species such as poplar, red maple and white birch, and late successional species such as sugar maple, yellow birch and beech. Later, in outlining our recommendations, we will distinguish between these two hardwood groups.
The softwood resource, consisting of both pure softwood stands and stands containing a mixture of softwood and hardwood, is under extreme harvesting pressure. Approximately 39 per cent of the total softwood resource has white spruce as a major component, most of this in stands which established themselves naturally on agricultural land abandoned in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. These stands start to die at 40 to 50 years of age, half the natural lifespan of white spruce. Although the cause of premature mortality has not been determined definitively, it is thought to be due to the inability of the soil to retain moisture, or to other factors such as low soil fertility and poor tree genetics. If the current rate of cutting continues, most of the remaining white spruce stands will be clearcut in the next 10-15 years. Without harvesting, they would be lost to natural mortality in any case.
In contrast to the demand for softwood pulp and lumber, there is very little harvesting pressure on the mixed wood stands dominated by poplar, red maple and white birch. Cutting of the denser hardwood species-sugar maple, beech and yellow birch-peaked in the mid-1980s when wood heat was all the rage, but has been on the decline since. The Forestry Division's wood supply model indicates the total hardwood harvest is sustainable at current levels (Figure 4), though it is under some pressure from land clearing. The denser hardwoods will become more valuable as sawmills are forced to convert to other product lines. It is also important to note that mature stands of the late successional hardwood species, sugar maple, yellow birch and beech, are no longer common here and, where they are found, the quality leaves much to be desired. Figure 4 should not therefore be interpreted as a statement that all is well with the late successional hardwood species
In the Report on Forest Resource Issues, the Forestry Division states that the sustainable softwood harvest is approximately 300,000 cubic metres per year, and that this level is sustainable for a period of 15-20 years. In 1994, 1995 and 1996, softwood harvest levels were 365,000, 490,000 and 379,000 cubic metres, respectively (Figure 4). Lower interest rates, global trading agreements and the apparent end of the recession of the early 1990s helped create unprecedented demand for softwood pulp and sawlogs. This trend, characterized by excessive harvesting of the softwood resource, is cause for concern.
Harvest levels of the past three years have not been seen on the Island since the early 1950s. In 1951, Government responded by introducing the first Forestry Act, and Regulations that required the landowner to obtain a permit for every clearcut in excess of two acres or 20 cords. Going further back in history to 1902, we find that A. E. Burke, in an article in the Journal of the Canadian Forestry Association entitled "Forestry in Prince Edward Island," lamented the destruction of woodland.
He wrote:
Only within the last year or so is the sense of our great loss as a province from the almost total deprivation of our splendid forests forcing itself upon us irresistibly.... One hundred years have sufficed to change our island province from a complete forest to one almost bare of trees, and that forest was indeed a most varied and beautiful one.... We are obliged to import to-day all our lumber.... The ax, the torch, man's stupid cupidity and the government's entire neglect have almost swept away this invaluable heritage.[8]There is therefore nothing new about the softwood harvest cycle. It has occurred three times in this century, at intervals of 50 years or so.
Figure 4: Annual Harvest of Softwoods and Hardwoods in Comparison to Sustainable Annual Cut, Prince Edward Island
The Forestry Division has stated to the Round Table that the current level of softwood harvest cannot be sustained. In fact, it is estimated that the sustainable level of softwood harvest will drop from the present 300,000 cubic metres to 125,000 cubic metres around the year 2015, and remain at that level until plantations and managed stands mature. The Woodland Division of Repap Industries, a large pulp and paper manufacturer in New Brunswick, forecasts that if over-cutting continues on its woodlands at a rate of 20 per cent over the next 20 years, at the end of that period, the annual allowable cut will be reduced by 60 per cent for the following 20-year period.[9] The point is that Prince Edward Island's forest industry will be forced to downsize if the harvest of softwood species continues at current levels. Although intensive silviculture can help to reduce the supply gap, it is expensive and it does not get at the real issue which is to control the level of harvest so that it is in line with sustainable levels for the major cover types.
This information has been taken from www.gov.pe.ca