Grants and Contributions:

Grant or Award spanning more than one fiscal year (2017-2018 to 2018-2019).

Temperate hardwood stands are of particular importance to the Shareholder Mills in the Northshore Forest duex000D
to their high-value products and global demand. When managed properly, they can produce high veneer gradex000D
wood, which carries considerable global market value. If managed improperly, they produce low-grade woodx000D
(e.g., firewood) and forestry companies, like Northshore Forest Inc., make minimal, or negative return onx000D
investments. However, there is a growing understanding that species' responses under changing climate can bex000D
complex and unexpected. As such, in order to properly manage the inherent risks of harvest policies / plans,x000D
managers must evaluate the potential for threshold or surprise effects that result from climatic change outsidex000D
the range of historical conditions.x000D
In the summer of 2016 we sampled five pure sugar maple stands in the Sault Ste. Marie area, Elliot Lake areax000D
and Haliburton forest. Tree cores from these stands were used to estimate long term growth trajectories.x000D
Further isotopic analysis of these tree cores will help determine the roles of carbon fertilization andx000D
environmental variation on growth trends in sugar maple stands. The information gained from analysis willx000D
help (1) identify whether forests are likely to be stressed directly by climate (water, temperature) or if somex000D
other stressor may be present and (2) present recommendations for future management to increase productivityx000D
under climate change scenarios.x000D
It is well understood that management decisions regarding hardwood selection treatments, i.e. intensity andx000D
frequency, have effects on wood quality and value. As such, economic, social and environmental benefits canx000D
be expected through improved forest management strategies in the face of climate change. Further, due to thex000D
vast importance of forests to Canada and the severe realities of climate changes impacts, even an incrementalx000D
insight has the potential to have noticeable improvements in the coming decades.