All About Forests

All about forests
What is slash burning?
When forests are
harvested, some tree parts are
not used and are left lying on
and in the ground. This
material is called "logging
slash" or simply "slash." The
use of prescribed fire -- that
is, fire used to improve
wildlife habitat -- is called
"slashburning."
Source - Balancing act:
environmental issues in
forestry.
When is slash burning
done?
Slashburning is normally
done only after clearcutting.
It is sometimes done in
shelterwood systems where
the remaining trees have -a
thick fire-resistant bark, in
Douglas-fir or western larch
in B.C., and where there is
little danger of damage to the
trees’ fine feeding roots, such
as in dry climates or on dry
sites where the forest floor is
not thick: and mest of the
roots are protected in the
mineral soil,
Source - Balancing act:
environmental issues in
forestry
- How well is reforestation
progressing in British
Columbia?
The rate of tree planting
has -incteased to the point
where over 200 million
seedlings are planted each
~year. Sometime in 1989, the
two-billionth seedling was
planted; it took 50 years to
plant: the billionth seedling
and only seven years to plant
the: second. (the  three-
’ billionth seedling was planted
in Kamloops on June 4, 1993.
Source: Forest Alliance of

B.C.)

Source - All things

considered: forest
management in British

Columbia

How much of B.C. was
reforested in 1992?
British Columbia replanted

199,270 hectares in 1991-92,
196,043 hectares of this was
on crown fand; 3,277
hectares was on private land.
Source - B.C. Ministry of
Forests,

How important is the
Canadian forest industry to
jobs and the economy?

In 1991, 249,500
Canadians were directly
employed in the forest sector.
In 1990, the total value of the
forest product shipments was
$34.2 billion. —_ Indirect
employment is estimated to
provide a further 499,000
Canadian jobs. About
748,500 Canadians, or one in
10 jobs in Canada, depends
on a healthy forest industry.
Across Canada, the industry
provides the.
mainstay of communities.
Source - British Columbia
forest industry fact book:
1992

What is a clearcut?

A clearcut can be defined
as an area of forest thal has
been completely cleared of
all trees other than seedlings
and occasional. saplings.
When a forest is clearcut, all
the trees that regrow in the
area will be similar in age
and size, Clearculling is the
harvesting practice mosl
commonly used in ~ the
conversion from unmanaged
to managed forests. It is also

the most common method of.

harvesting in managed
limber production forests in
the world... However,
ecologically speaking, a
clearcut is not just defined by
the removal of trees, but also
by the loss of forest
conditions are collectively
teferred to as the "forest
micro-climate." It is this
forest miicro-climate — that
affects how well species live
in the woods. And the
microclimate is, in turn,
affected not just by the size
of a clearcut, but more so, by

econamic |

the shape.
Source - Balancing act:
environmental issues in
forestry.

Does clearcutting destroy
the forest ecosystem
Clearcutting may destroy a
variety of forest conditions
for some period following the
harvest, but these conditions
are not lost forever.
The ‘time taken for their
recovery will depend on
whether the ecological
mechanisms of recovery have

‘been damaged.

Just. because a clearcut
looks ugly says absolutely
nothing about whether these

mechanisms have. been
impaired.

Judging by the ecological
impact of _ clearcutting,

therefore, requires an analysis
of ecological processes and
not just temporary, though
highly viable, changes in the
structure and visual
appearance of the ecosystem.
Source = Balancing act:
environmental issue in
forestry.

How important is the forest
industry to the British
Columbia economy?

On average, each 1,000 cubic
metres of timber harvested in

British Columbia is
associated wilh roughly 0.94
direct .jobs within the

province, $76,000 of direct
provincial gross domestic
product, $157,000 value of
shipments, $7,700 of
stumpage revenue , $960 of
royalty, and other forest
revenue fo the province,
$5,600 of corporate taxes,
and $4,500 of personal
income taxes payable by
forest industry employees.

Source - The economic
impacts of timber
harvesting in British

Columbia

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NORTHWEST FORESTRY DIGEST - JANUARY 1997 — PAGE.27

Charles McKay of the Nisga‘a Tribal council stands by a culvert that was removed and replaced with
a bridge, as part of a watershed restoration project in the Nass Valley, funded by Forest Renewal BC.
The installation of the bridge restored the natural flow at Ginlulak creek allowing salmon to return ta a
lraditional spawning ground.

Salute to the Forest Industry

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