Small Farm Canada welcomed attendees from across the country to the webinar “Managing Small Farm Woodlots” on Wednesday, October 5, 2022. The webinar was led by guest speaker John Pineau, Ontario Woodlot Association Executive Director.
Pineau noted that about 70% of Ontario Woodlot Association members are small farm owners.
He believes woodlot owners can maximize their woodlot’s potential with good planning and by implementing sound management practices. Pineau also noted that woodlots can be valuable from a number of fronts: revenue generation, wildlife habitat, recreation, and aesthetics.
Pineau shared information from several special projects and programs available to woodlot owners.
Managing woodlots for climate change
One of Pineau’s key points was that woodlots can be managed for climate change. He focused on what woodlot owners need to do to prepare and manage for climate change.
Woodlots are resilient – they are able to deal with change and to continue to develop. A great diversity of tree species increases the resilience of forests to disturbances. Pineau made the analogy of having a diversified financial portfolio being comparable to having a diversified woodlot.
“A portfolio (a woodlot) containing investments in securities (tree species) with different characteristics (functional traits) makes it possible to minimize the risks of a sudden drop in one of these securities (loss of one or a few species caused by drought or an exotic insect).”
Pineau also spoke about plasticity – an organism’s ability to change in its environment. He noted that over 130 tree species are native to Ontario, some have more plasticity than others and can tolerate relatively wide variations in environment.
In general, the Ontario Woodlot Associations says trees growing near the southern end of their natural range will be negatively affected by increasing temperatures, because they are likely already growing at temperatures warmer than are optimum. “The reverse can also be true as some species at the northern end of their natural range will perform better as temperatures rise, because they are likely growing at temperatures colder than their optimum.”
He provided some tips, or as he called them “no-regret actions” as they related to climate change. He encouraged woodlot owners to increase their woodlot’s diversity of trees because the more diverse a woodlot is, the more likely it will be able to handle increasing climatic changes. “When considering increasing diversity, keep in mind species that have good drought tolerance and whose range is either partly or mostly south of the location of the woodlot.”
He reminded woodlot owners to document where the trees came from, as well as monitor the results over the years, keeping notes over time. One new tree varieties have been planted, it will be a few years before woodlot owners can make proper assessments of their adaptability to their new forest environment.
He cautioned woodlot owners preparing for climate change not to overload their woodlot with different trees and shrubs from other areas of Ontario, suggesting planting between one to 10 new species to see how they take to the conditions of their individual woodlot.
Pineau suggested planting the new varieties along the edge of the forest so that they can be more easily observed by the woodlot owner over time.
As noted above, keep notes, monitor the tree growth and adaptation. “This is one way you can see how they acclimate and adapt to the new climate conditions,” Pineau said.
“By adding new plants that can tolerate heat or drought better, you can keep a beautiful thriving woodlot that helps our environment.” Pineau reminded those who own woodlots that they are a stabilizing force for climate.
The Ontario Woodlot Association has graciously given permission for Small Farm Canada to share a PDF version of the Association’s December 2021 issue of its magazine “The Ontario Woodlander” with visitors to Small Farm Canada.
Watch the video of the webinar: