Mary Lynk - CBC Radio - Jun 11, 2024
The World Wildlife Fund lists the Wabanaki-Acadian old-growth forest as endangered — with only one percent remaining. It is very rare to come across an old-growth forest stand, and Peter Romkey took Mary to a secret location which was in pristine condition with trees more than 300 years old, and a rolling thick forest floor of mosses and fungi ... This forest is mostly second or third-generation trees now from clear-cutting and logging. The Wabanaki-Acadian forest stretches from parts of the Maritimes and Southern Quebec down into several New England states.
Maine Public - June 24, 2024
he Wabanaki-Acadian Forest, which stretches from parts of the Maritimes and Southern Quebec down into several New England states, is comprised largely of newer forests, already cut down and logged, over and over. Just one per cent of its old growth is left, and the World Wildlife Fund lists it as endangered.
New England Forests - Jan 16, 2024
Much of New England's second-growth forest is on a trajectory toward old-growth, following the mid-1800's abandonment of cleared agricultural lands. However, there is increased pressure to manage these forests, which will stall their return to their natural state. This documentary film describes the characteristics and great importance of "old growth" New England (and other northeastern) forests. Atmospheric physicist Anastassia Makarieva explains the "Biotic Pump" theory, which describes the crucial role that natural, mature, native forests play in regulating the Earth's winds and hydrologic cycle, and the biotic pump's feedback loop that sustains forests. Environmental scientist Margery Winters discusses "morticulture", the role of fallen logs and hollow trees in the ecology of the forest and its soil.
More info on W8banaki-Acadian forest
Woodland Woman - March 4, 2021
the forest makeup changes depending on “topography, geology, and proximity to the ocean.” For example, acidic soils near bogs give rise to black spruce, tamarack, and black ash. While, sugar maple, yellow birch, and red oak prefer fertile soils that are moist, but moderately drained. The forest goes by many names: Wabanaki, Acadian, or New England. Wabanaki honours the Mi’kmaw and Wolastoqiyik peoples ... In Canada, it’s also called the Acadian forest after French Acadian settlers. In the US, it’s known as the New England forest ... Today, the Wabanaki-Acadian forest contains only 1 percent old growth. The average age of its trees is around 55 years, whereas before settlement, they were estimated to be over 200 years old ... What remains is a young, even-aged forest that is less resilient to natural disasters (fires and windstorms) and invasive insects. It also provides less habitat for wildlife than a multi-generational forest would ... We also see an increase in the abundance of “tree species common in the boreal forest,” including poplar, white birch, black spruce, balsam fir, and jack pine.1 Scientists are calling this the ‘borealization’ of the Wabanaki-Acadian forest and it further reduces its ecological resilience.
Mosseler et al - Environmental Reviews - September 2003 (link)
... our limited knowledge of OG suggests that, when the average age of the dominant and co-dominant trees of the typical late-successional species associations of the AFR has reached about 150 years, such forests generally appear to have attained most of the structural features commonly associated with old-growth forests (e.g., standing and fallen, dead and dying trees in various stages of decay, a layered, multi-age canopy structure). What little OG remains is largely restricted to small, isolated stands, often associated with steep gorges that were inaccessible to harvesting or areas that were otherwise protected or avoided being harvested. Late-successional, old-growth forest types dominated by relatively shade-tolerant, long-lived species such as sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.), beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.), eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carr.), and red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) and with a significant component of eastern white pine (Pinus strobus L.) and yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britt.) often represent the final stages of forest stand development.
