Summary:
Published in The Forestry Chronicle 101(2): 306-318
This paper is the third in a series documenting contemporary issues in Québec’s temperate forest. It addresses air pollutants, including the acidifying air pollutants that cause acid rain, as well as ground-level ozone and trace elements. It briefly discusses the anthropogenic sources of these pollutants, their current status, their impacts on forest ecosystems and the issues they cause for Québec’s temperate forest. Most air pollutants come from combustion of fossil fuels for energy production or transportation. Since the mid-1990s, thanks to pollutant emission reduction programs implemented in Canada and the United States, emissions and ambient air concentrations of most pollutants have declined significantly. Sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.), a dominant species in the northern temperate zone, is especially sensitive to air pollutants and their impacts for ecosystems. Previous chronic pollution of these forests has resulted in significant loss of ecosystem services. However, environmental monitoring is ongoing with a view to documenting ecosystem reactions in the wake of contemporary decreases in anthropogenic emissions of air pollutants in North America.
File:
Permanent identifier (DOI):
Sector(s):
Forests
Catégorie(s):
Scientific Article
Theme(s):
Forest Ecology, Forestry Research, Forests, Silviculture
Departmental author(s):
Author(s):
DUCHESNE, Louis, Rock OUIMET, François GUILLEMETTE and Steve BÉDARD
Year of publication:
2025
Format:
Keyword(s):
article scientifique, scientific article, écologie forestière, forest ecology, sylviculture et rendement des forêts naturelles – peuplements de feuillus, silviculture and yield of natural forests - hardwood stands, pollution atmosphérique, pluies acides, émissions acidifiantes, qualité de l’air, métaux lourds, air pollution, acid rain, acidifying emissions, air quality, heavy metals