Forestry Operations in the Canadian Subarctic: an Ecological Argument Against Clear-cutting

Environmental and floristic evidence is presented to show that, after removal of the White Spruce ( Picea glauca ) and willow-alder ( Salix spp.–Alnus crispa ) canopies from exposed sites within the boreal woodland of the Mackenzie River Delta, Northwest Territories, Canada, environmental degradatio...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental Conservation
Main Author: Gill, Don
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1974
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0376892900004185
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0376892900004185
Description
Summary:Environmental and floristic evidence is presented to show that, after removal of the White Spruce ( Picea glauca ) and willow-alder ( Salix spp.–Alnus crispa ) canopies from exposed sites within the boreal woodland of the Mackenzie River Delta, Northwest Territories, Canada, environmental degradation is such that secondary succession of low-arctic tundra heath, mosses, and lichens, takes place. The extreme exposure of cleared sites enables a hardy group of tundra plants to compete with the local flora and invade the previously forested location.