Salvage logging in the boreal and cordilleran forests of Canada: Integrating industrial and ecological concerns in management plans

Abstract

Fire has been part of the North American boreal and cordilleran ecosystems for thousands of years. Because fire and harvesting compete directly for the same wood supply, and provinces have, within the last few decades, tended to reach their annual allowable cut, salvage logging has emerged as a practice to minimize the impact of fire on long-term wood supply. In most parts of the boreal and cordilleran forests, fire-killed boles rapidly degrade after their death, as wood-boring insects, stain, wood-decay fungi and checking lead to significant loss of grade or volume in the months following the fire. Because of this impending degradation, salvage operations are often hurried and other considerations, including the potential ecological impacts of salvage logging, have seldom been taken into consideration when defining harvesting strategies. The ecological consequences of rapid salvage have been widely studied only in the last 5 years, and it is now clear that salvage logging can have negative impacts on natural regeneration by seed, water quality, and fire-associated animal species. In this paper, we review both industrial and ecological constraints to salvage logging and discuss how both can be integrated in salvage plans. In particular, we focus on the issues of salvage timing and retention. At this point, some type of retention of merchantable stands, even if only for a few years, appears to be the only way to alleviate the negative ecological impacts of post-fire logging. On-site operational constraints, e.g., stands that cannot be harvested due to lack of accessibility, represent an important starting point for any retention strategy.Key words: boreal forest, forest fires, salvage logging, biodiversity, natural disturbances, regeneration after fire RÉSUMÉLe feu fait partie de l' écosystème boréal et de l' environnement des Rocheuses en Amérique du Nord depuis des milliers d'années. Compte tenu que le feu et l' exploitation forestière sont directement en compétition pour la même source de bois et que les provinces ont, au cours des quelques dernières décennies, tenté d'atteindre leur possibilité annuelle de coupe, la coupe de récupération est de plus en plus utilisée en tant que mesure de réduction des effets du feu sur l'approvisionnement en bois à long terme. Dans la plupart des régions forestières boréales et des Rocheuses, les arbres brûlés se dégradent rapidement après leur mort, puisque les insectes perceurs de bois, les décolorations, les champignons de pourriture et les fentes entraînent une diminution significative de la qualité ou du volume au cours des mois qui suivent un feu de forêt. Cette situation a pour effet que les opérations de récupération sont souvent effectuées à la dernière minute et que les autres considérations, incluant les impacts écologiques potentiels de la coupe de récupération, sont rarement étudiées au moment de l' élaboration des stratégies d' exploitation. Les conséquences écologiques d'une récupération rapide ont été étudiées à plusieurs reprises seulement depuis les ...

Effects of natural resource development on the terrestrial biodiversity of Canadian boreal forests

“…Salvage logging following fire or insect outbreaks in boreal forests has become increasingly frequent over the last two decades, reflecting decreases in allowable cuts, government incentives, and regulatory requirements (Nappi et al 2004;Saint-Germain and Greene 2009). Extensive salvage logging can potentially restrict regeneration by reducing post-fire seed inputs through removal of aerial seed banks of species with serotinuous cones and by destroying newly established seedlings and vegetative propagules (Fraser et al 2004;Greene et al 2006).…”

Influence of salvage logging on forest recovery following intermediate severity canopy disturbances in mixed beech dominated forests of Slovenia

“…The potential negative effects of such practices on forest ecosystems have raised concerns among ecologists and resource managers. Much of the ecological literature indicates that salvage logging has a negative influence on forest recovery, ecosystem functions, and biodiversity (reviews in Lindenmayer & Noss 2006, Saint-Germain & Greene 2009). As such, the long-term ecological costs may outweigh short-term economic gains, particularly given that the ecological consequences of salvage logging are poorly understood at longer time scales.…”

A stand-level tool for predicting the natural regeneration density of black spruce and jack pine following fire and salvage

“…First, black spruce is much more deleteriously affected by salvage than is pine because a far higher proportion of its seeds have not yet abscised by the time salvage occurs (Splawinski et al 2014). While there are a large number of reasons that forest companies prefer to begin salvaging as quickly as tertiary roads can be constructed, nonetheless early salvage curtails the regeneration of species that abscise their seeds slowly over many years (St-Germain and Greene 2009). Secondly, the harvesting equipment will trample about 30% of already established germinants from the first summer cohort (Greene et al 2006).…”

“…This has a negative effect on black spruce, and to a far lesser extent jack pine, regeneration potential (Greene et al 2006(Greene et al , 2013Splawinski et al 2014). Stands that exhibit poor stocking following salvage must be planted at a cost of about CAD $800/ha (St-Germain and Greene 2009).…”

“…Salvage operations are typically scheduled within the first few months following fire to minimize degradation of fire-killed boles by saprophagous beetle larvae and by checking (St-Germain and Greene 2009). The removal of these stems effectively removes the non-abscised portion of the aerial seedbank (Greene et al 2006(Greene et al , 2013Splawinski et al 2014), and the operation also leads to dramatic mortality among the first cohort of germinants.…”