This page is a subpage of nsforestmatters.ca/
Ecol. Forestry & Conservation
Selected items… Workin on it
Titus Smith, a pioneer of plant ecology in North America
E Gorham, 1955 in Ecology Archived on JSTOR. “The contribution of the early naturalists to plant ecology is seldom acknowledged, though many of the facts upon which ecology is based were observed and correctly interpreted long before the subject became established professionally. In calling attention to the neglected yet brilliant investigations of Titus Smith, Jr., the writer hopes both to rescue from undeserved oblivion one of the earliest North American ecologists, and at the same time to provide an example of the marked capacity for careful observation and induction exhibited by many of the early amateurs. Titus Smith, Jr., born in 1768 and died in 1850, was a native of New England who accompanied his father to Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1783. After a broad education at home, he became a land surveyor, and in 1801 was commissioned by the governor of the colony to make a survey of the unfrequented areas of Nova Scotia, for the purpose of describing their natural resources, agricultural potentialities, and suitability for settlement. During 1801 and 1802 Smith made three trips, to the eastern, western, and northern parts of the Nova Scotian 1nainland, largely through the woods and with a single companion (none on the northern tourr. The unpublished journals of these tours, together with a map, lists of the flora, and notes on the various tree species provide an admirable…”
From Fernow, 1912. “Mixed forest, Sugar Maple, Yellow Birch, Beech, Red Spruce with Fir on the margin of the lake. Nearly three-fourths of the forests of Nova Scotia are of this type.
Forest Conditions of Nova Scotia
B.E. Fernow. 1912. Commission of Conservation, Ottawa
Available as PDF from NSDNR, also PDFs of Original Regional Maps. “In 1912, the Canadian federal Commission of Conservation published, “Forest Conditions of Nova Scotia”, written by B.E. Fernow and assisted by C.D. Howe and J.H. White. The report was based on information gathered from a reconnaissance forest survey of the Province, carried out under the direction of Dr. B.E. Fernow, then Dean of the Faculty of Forestry at the University of Toronto. The expense for the survey was paid for by the Government of Nova Scotia.
Cover and backcover
Forests of Nova Scotia: A History.
By Ralph S. Johnson. Tantallon: Nova Scotia Department of Lands and Forests, with Four East Publications, 1986. xvi + 407 pp. Illustrations, glossary, references, bibliography, index.
From the Preface: “This book is a history of the forests and their components, beginning with the recession of the last ice age and continuing to 1982. It briefly describes the history of people in their relationship with forests, and of the forest industries, transportation, forest legislation, and forestry organizations. Some forest industries are described in detail, because information regarding these particular industries was readily available.”
From the Forward:
“A forest is “an ecosystem characterized by a more or less dense and extensive tree cover‐a plant community predominantly of trees and other woody vegetation, growing more or less closely together,” according to the Society of American Foresters.
“Although the most evident feature of a forest is the trees, a forest could n o t exist without its less evident components. Lichens and mosses on rocks and ground each have their functions in preparing and supporting soils and forest growth. The forest ecosystem also includes billions of microorganisms and insects per acre, most of them working within or beneath the forest litter to create humus from the waste on the forest floor. Flying insects, many of which spend part of their lives beneath ground or water surfaces, are important parts of the forest ecosystem. So are birds and mammals. Man himself is an important part of this relationship; the only people known to have lived independently of forests are the Inuit.
“Most of the forms of life within a forest are beneficial to it; some, however, are harmful and some are neutral. Those which are benevolent include the soil builders and improvers, the pollinators, the tree seed distributors and those that destroy harmful organisms. Harmful organisms include species of shrubs (e.g., huckleberry and sheep laurel) that under some conditions have permanently replaced forests in Nova Scotia, insects that defoliate or deform trees, bark beetles, wood borers, fungi that damage or kill trees, man and, occasionally, browsing animals. Pests such as mosquitoes and blackflies are considered neutral organisms.
“Although the forest usually appears quiet and peaceful, within its boundaries the struggle for existence is terrific and continuous, below as well asabove the ground surface. The struggle is waged between competing species, between predator and prey, and between like organisms. Thousands of seedlings, for example, often start growing where there is living space for only hundreds of mature trees. Although the strongest starters usually reach maturity, weak starters can become strong mature trees when adjacent strong trees are eliminated.
“On the whole, man has been the worst enemy of N0va Scotia’s forests. People have needlessly caused fires that have destroyed thousands of acres of timber; much of this acreage has been burnt repeatedly. Man has also introduced foreign forest insects and diseases into Nova Scotia. With few exceptions, these introduced forest enemies have been more harmful than indigenous ones.
“Forests have often been harvested without regard to the future due to ignorance, poor logging techniques, and the demand for low-cost forest products. Today we are paying for the mistakes of past generations. Our children will pay more dearly than we for these past errors and for our current errors in managing natural resources.”
Nova Scotia through the trees 1761-1930
Kenneth C. Burrows. 2003. Terra Firma Press, Wellington NS, 149 pp
Available from Internet Archive
Interesting, thoughtful and should-be-more-read by Nova Scotians. View extracts.
At the Cutting Edge: The crisis in Canada’s forests
Elizabeth May. 1998. Key Porter Books.
Pages 78-97 provide a concise history of forestry in Nova Scotia.
Green Horizons: The Forests and Foresters of Nova Scotia
Author: Jim Lotz. Published by Pottersfield Press, Lawrencetown, NS., 2005, 1st Edition. “In GREEN HORIZONS, veteran journalist Jim Lotz tells the history of how the forests of Nova Scotia have been both ravaged, and occasionally preserved, over the centuries. It begins with the Mi’kmaq people who relied on the woods for game and useful products. Green Horizons then traces the history of the forests in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries when the ethic of “cut and run” ran rampant, destroying huge numbers of trees as did massive forest fires. The story moves on to the time of saw millers who “took the best and left the rest.” Green Horizons also recounts the history of the past 50 years in Nova Scotia’s forests through interviews of those directly involved in forestry… Source
Defining a forest reference condition for Kouchibouguac National Park and adjacent landscape in eastern New Brunswick using four reconstructive approaches
Donna R. Crossland, 2006. Thesis for Master of Science in Forestry, University of New Brunswick ABSTRACT
A forest reference condition for Kouchibouguac National Park and the adjacent landscape in eastern New Brunswick was derived by integrating information from historical descriptions, witness tree information, square timber harvest records, and ecosystem archaeology. Species frequency results indicated that forests were dominated by mid-to late- successional Picea, Tsuga canadensis, Betula, Acer, Abies balsamea, and Pinus strobes, comprising 70-80 % of 19th century forests. Fagus grandifolia and Thuja occidentalis existed at 5 and 6 – 1 4 %. Trees were mostly tall, large diameter, and mature to old growth. Early-successional or shade-intolerant species occurred at 1-3 % of forest composition. In the current forest, frequencies of Tsuga canadensis and F. grandifolia have decreased to approximately 1 % and 0.1 % respectively, A. balsamea has doubled on many sites, and Populus has become the most abundant hardwood species. Pinus banksiana, nearly absent ca. 1800, has become the most dominant pine species. Six dominant tree species comprise 95 % of contemporary forests, whereas there were nine species ca. 1800. Riparian zones have lost approximately 40 % of forest cover, and support little of the former species composition.
Against the Grain: Forestry & Politics in Nova Scotia
LA Sandbery and P. Clancy. 2000. UBC Press. “This study of foresters and forestry in Nova Scotia presents profiles of seven forestry professionals, whose careers run from the 1920s to the present. Including figures from the interwar, postwar, and contemporary periods, the sample reflects issues and experiences in industrial, government, and civil-sector forestry. It points to a rich tradition of alternative and dissenting practices that is intertwinedwith the professional and political orthodoxies of the day.” Chapters 1 & 2 are available online. Ch 1, a 37 page introduction, is a must-read for anyone trying to comprehend the politics of forestry in Nova Scotia (indeed, the whole book is so recommended).
Dimensions of Power in Forest Resource Decision-Making: A Case Study of Nova Scotia’s Forest Conservation Legislation.
Glyn Charles Bissix, 1999. PhD. Thesis The London School of Economics and Political Science, University of London. “This study identifies power relationships within forest conservation decision-making in Nova Scotia, Canada. Rather than rely on the ‘customary science’ of resource conservation largely based on biological and physical parameters, this analysis is steeped in the traditions of social science and policy analysis. This study’s central focus is the Forest Improvement Act (FIA): 1962-1986. Forest conservation policies and legislative initiatives developed prior to FIA enactment such as the Small Tree Act (STA): 1942 – 1965 are treated in this study as the FIA’s policy gestation period. Theoretical and practical insights derived from this pre-FIA period are used in the assessment of the FIA and these combined understandings are subsequently applied to the analysis of contemporary forest conservation policy. For contemporary analysis, six case studies
including the Nova Scotia Envirofor process and the St. Mary’s River Landscape and Ecology Management proposal, as well as a recent provincial government initiative are examined…Regardless of policy content, this study shows that external forces such as woodfibre markets were key to the implementation of ground level forest conservation. Ironically, this study links the renewal of forest conservation legislation to the demand for increased forest exploitation. New forest policy initiatives were as much to do with pacifying conservation interests as they were about promoting ground level forest conservation.”
Forest Use in Nova Scotia: Past, Present, and a Potential Future
Soren Bondrup-Nielsen. 2024. Article in Between the Tides, Journal of the Blomidon Field Naturalists 51(1), pp 17-20. Graphs (such as that at left) of Volume harvested, Revenue from logging, Employment, Contribution of real GPD per hectare over last 30 years.
Pulp Culture: How Nova Scotia’s Faustian bargain with the pulp industry may leave the sawmills in ruins
Linda Pannozzo in the Halifax Examiner, Mar 12, 2019. There is a lot in the article. Commented Soren Bondrup-Nielsen: “Nova Scotia, part of Mi’kma’ki, has a long history of forest use, from clearing forests for agriculture, to sending timbers to France and later England for ship building, to supplying the wooden ship building industry in the 1800s, to large- scale extraction by the pulp and paper and lumber industries, starting in the late 1800s. Just about all of Nova Scotia has been cut over during the last 300 years, and more than just once or twice. Only the most inaccessible areas of the province have not seen an axe, crosscut or chain saw. Government policies with respect to the pulp and paper industry have been frequently criticized since the early 1900s. This history is summarized in the Halifax Examiner in a thoughtful 2019 article by Linda Pannozzo.”
Forestry report of the Nova Scotia Royal Commission on Forestry.
Nova Scotia. Royal Commission on Forestry. 1984 Available at Dalhosuie University Library. Or view here as Photographs of newspaper ed.
Recommendations are made with respect to: (a) The present and projected forest inventory, its quantity, quality, distribution, value, and availability, and the sustainable harvest levels for products of the forests in relation to present and future industrial and other demands; (b) The most appropriate forest management procedures, including protection and the utilization of the forest resources of Nova Scotia, to ensure maximum future benefits; (c) The impact of land ownership and tenure, competing uses and forest management practices on the future supply of forest products, fish and wildlife population, and recreational opportunities in Nova Scotia; (d) The role of Governments, atall levels, in relation to all aspects of the use and management of the resources of the forests of Nova Scotia, includingtaxation, and the most appropriate regulatory framework for the Province.
Loucks, O.L. (1962). A forest classification for the Maritime provinces. Proceedings of the Nova Scotian Institute of Science, 25(2), 85-167. Available on Dalspace
Very “readable”, comprehensive and well illustrated.