Ecological Silviculture for Lowland Wet Conifer Forest Lake States
| Authors: | Marcella A. Marcella A. Windmuller- Campione, Laura F. Reuling, Robert A. Slesak, Randy Kolka |
| Year: | 2024 |
| Type: | Book Chapter |
| Station: | Northern Research Station |
| Source: | Palik, Brian J.; D'Amato, Anthony W., eds. Ecological Silvicultural Systems: Exemplary Models for Sustainable Forest Management. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons Ltd. |
Abstract
The North American boreal forest spans over 600 million hectares and includes a diversity of ecosystems and forest communities [1]. The boreal forest reaches its southwestern range limit within the Great Lakes Region (GLR) in the United States (Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, USA) and Canada (Ontario). Within the GLR, one of the dominant southern boreal forest communities is the lowland conifer ecosystem, which has been variously referred to as lowland conifer ecosystem, swamp, bog, peatland, marsh, waabashkiki (Ojibwe), and mashkiig (Ojibwe) [2, 3]. From a European- American perspective, some of these names imply a negative relationship to these forests – they were viewed as places filled with biting insects, with limited potential for agri-culture or homesteading and, as such, were seen to have little value [4]. However, lowland wet conifer forest ecosystems have numerous social, ecological, economic, and cultural benefits [1].