Summary:
Published in The Forestry Chronicle 101(2): 187-206. https://doi.org/10.5558/tfc2025-018
We propose a series of papers presenting the main issues for Québec’s temperate forest arising from the multiplicity of rapid environmental and socioeconomic changes. This first paper presents a brief profile of Québec’s forests to establish a basis for the reflections presented in the remaining papers. Compilations show that the area dominated by deciduous species typical of the Northern temperate zone accounts for 8.8% of the province’s total forest, and that these species are also found mixed with coniferous species on 4.9% of the territory. The disturbances affecting these forests are generally more partial than severe. The most abundant species include shade-tolerant hardwoods such as sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh., 152.4 Mm3), red maple (Acer rubrum L., 141.5 Mm3), yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britt., 135.6 Mm3) and American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh., 27.5 Mm3). A demographic analysis shows that populations of the first 3 species have declined slightly in recent decades, whereas the American beech has tended to proliferate. Sugar maple and American beech are likely to become more abundant toward the northern boundary of their range, possibly due to climate change. However, beech bark disease may hinder the progression of the American beech in Québec.
File:
Sector(s):
Forests
Catégorie(s):
Scientific Article
Theme(s):
Forestry Research, Forests, Silviculture
Departmental author(s):
Author(s):
DUCHESNE, Louis, François GUILLEMETTE, Steve BÉDARD and Rock OUIMET
Year of publication:
2025
Format:
Keyword(s):
écologie forestière, sylviculture et rendement des forêts naturelles – peuplements de feuillus, article scientifique, forêt mixte, forêt décidue, carte forestière, état de la forêt, perturbations forestières, deciduous forest, mixed forest, forest map, forest condition, forest disturbances