Assessment, Conservation and Sustainable Use of Forest Biodiversity

Assessment, Conservation and Sustainable Use of Forest Biodiversity
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MODEL FORESTS: DEVELOPING TOOLS TO ADDRESS
BIODIVERSITY ISSUES
Canada’s Model Forest Program
Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service
580 Booth Street, Ottawa, ON (Canada) K1A 0E4
E-mail: modelforest@nrcan.gc.ca
www.modelforest.net
Keywords: model forest, biodiversity, sustainable forest management, Canada, guidelines
Canada’s Model Forest Program
The government of Canada, through Natural Resources Canada – Canadian Forest Service, launched Canada’s
Model Forest Program in 1992 to address the challenge of balancing the extensive range of demands we place
on our forests today with the needs of tomorrow’s generations. A network of model forests representative of
Canada’s diverse forest ecosystems was established to bring together, through partnership, individuals and
organizations striving to make the goal of sustainable forest management (SFM) a reality. Each model forest in
the Canadian Model Forest Network provides a forum where partners can gain an understanding of other
stakeholders’ views, share knowledge, and combine expertise and resources to develop innovative techniques,
tools and approaches to SFM. Model forests act as giant, hands-on laboratories in which leading-edge
techniques are researched, developed, and applied. The network also transfers the knowledge and techniques it
develops so the benefits derived from its work can be shared with others.
MODEL FORESTS DEVELOP TOOLS FOR SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT
By exploring a wide range of technologies from remote sensing to state-of-the-art computer modelling, model
forest partners are developing and demonstrating effective solutions to resource management issues. Canada’s
model forests have developed tools that have been adopted by forest managers, researchers and others, at home
and abroad. Designed to meet the needs of diverse groups of partners, these tools tend to be more widely
applied and readily accepted than those developed by only one organization. Tools developed by model forests
include soil disturbance guidelines, a manual for inventorying woodlots, guides to developing indicators of
SFM, alternative harvesting practices, and protocols for assessing water quality.
BIODIVERSITY RELATED TOOLS DEVELOPED BY MODEL FORESTS
The conservation of biodiversity is an important component of sustainable forest management. It has been
highlighted as one of the primary criteria at both the international level through the Montréal Process Criteria
and Indicators and at the national level in the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers’ (CCFM) criteria and
indicators framework. Many of the tools developed by model forests have focussed on biodiversity. Some of
these include: GIS systems designed to assess biodiversity implications of forest management practices,
guidelines to protect native biodiversity, and matrices linking wildlife and habitat in a fragmented landscape.
Biodiversity Assessment Project (Western Newfoundland Model Forest)
This Western Newfoundland Model Forest (WNMF) project will led to the development of a suite of tools to
assess biodiversity implications of forest management practices. These strategic planning tools, developed in
an ARC/INFO environment, describe the effects of different forest management strategies on landscape
patterns and ecosystem diversity (coarse-filter) and will describe wildlife supplies (fine-filter) in the long run.
Interpretation of outputs focus on ecosystem diversity and landscape patterns. Trends will be identified from
outputs to develop guidelines in terms of rotation period, zonation, siliviculture intensity, patch shape and size
distribution, and spatial layout of harvesting patterns on the landscape.
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