The Forest Management Guide for Conserving Biodiversity at the Stand and Site Scales (Stand and Site Guide) provides direction to forest management planning teams and practitioners to help them plan and implement specific forest operations.
| Date Published: | March 18, 2010 | |
| Publisher: | Ontario Government, Ministry of Natural Resources | |
| Author: | Forest Management |
The Stand and Site Guide provides direction on various aspects of conserving biodiversity, including aquatic and wetland habitats and shoreline forests, special habitat features (e.g. bird nests, dens, bat hibernacula), and habitat for species at risk. It also addresses topics like road and water crossing construction and maintenance, soil and water conservation (e.g. rutting, erosion, nutrient loss), and salvage and biofibre harvest operations. The Stand and Site Guide will apply to Crown forests in the entire area of the undertaking which is that part of the province where forest management occurs.
The Stand and Site Guide replaces existing stand and site scale direction currently found in the Natural Disturbance Pattern Emulation Guide, the Moose Guide, the White-tailed Deer Guide, the Pileated Woodpecker Guide, the Marten Guide, the Fish Habitat Guide, the Riparian Code of Practice, the Bald Eagle Guide, the Golden Eagle Guide, the Forest Raptors Guide, the Osprey Guide, the Heronry Guide, the Peregrine Falcon Guide, the Furbearer Guide, the Bat Guide, the Wetland Birds Guide, the Waterfowl Guide, the Cavity Nesting Bird Guide, the Warbler Guide, the Nesting Accipiters, Buteos and Eagles Guide, the Physical Environment Guide, and the habitat management direction in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Conifer Silviculture Guide and the Tolerant Hardwood Silviculture Guide.
This new guide will make the forest management planning process more efficient and the direction provided by the guides more accessible not only to MNR and the forest industry, but also to the public. Equally as important, the operational direction reflects the most recent scientific understanding of managing forest ecosystems, thereby ensuring the conservation of forest biodiversity in the province.
The complementary Background and Rationale for Direction document presents background information on the many topics discussed, and the rationale for direction contained, within the Stand and Site Guide. Information on the background and rationale is based on the best available information as compiled from a thorough review of relevant literature and discussions with experienced researchers and practitioners. Where information was incomplete and/or ambiguous, a conservative approach was taken through judicious application of the precautionary principle.
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Contact Information:
Jim Rice
Forester – Forest Management Guides
Ministry of Natural Resources
Policy Division
Forests Branch
Suite 400, 70 Foster Drive
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
P6A 6V5
PHONE: (705) 541-2165 FAX: (705) 945-6711
Executive Summary
The Forest Management Guide for Conserving Biodiversity at the Stand and Site Scales (the Stand and Site Guide) is one of a series of guides used by forest managers when planning and implementing operations involving harvest, renewal, tending, or the construction and use of roads, and landings on crown land in Ontario. The overall objective of this guide is to contribute to the sustainable management of Crown forests through the maintenance of their long term health. A key aspect of this objective is the conservation of biodiversity.
The Stand and Site Guide uses a combination of coarse and fine filters (with consideration for adverse impacts on other values, silvicultural limitations, and efficiency of implementation) to address the conservation of biodiversity. Coarse filters create a diversity of ecosystem conditions through space and time, based on the concept of emulating natural patterns and processes, to provide habitat for the majority of native species of plants and animals. Fine filters are applied when the ecological requirements of particular species may not be adequately addressed by coarse filters alone, or when societal and/or economic aspects of sustainable development require more or less habitat than coarse filters alone would provide.
Both coarse and fine filter direction is based on a strong foundation of scientific knowledge and operational experience. The best available information was compiled from thorough review of relevant literature and discussions with experienced researchers and practitioners. This information, and how it was used in the development of the guide, is summarized in a companion document (Background and Rationale for Direction). Where information was incomplete and/or ambiguous, a conservative approach was taken through judicious application of the precautionary principle. The direction in the guide can be thought of as an informed hypothesis. Direction associated with a high degree of uncertainty is identified as a high priority for testing within an effectiveness monitoring program that is an integral part of an adaptive management framework.
Direction within this document is characterized as a standard, guideline, or best management practice. Standards must be followed as written; there is no room for interpretation on the part of forest managers. Guidelines are also mandatory and must be followed, but require professional expertise and local knowledge in order to be implemented. Best management practices are not mandatory direction, but rather are examples of practices that the forest managers may wish to use to achieve objectives associated with a standard or guideline.
The direction applies to a wide variety of forest management operations including harvest, renewal, tending, and access. The bulk of the direction is applied during operational planning and/or implementation with some notable linkages to strategic decision making.
Sections 1 and 2 provide an introduction to the guide, an explanation of the relationship between this guide and other forest management guides, and a description of how this guide will be implemented over the coming years. Section 3 provides coarse and fine filter direction that addresses habitat composition and pattern at stand to multi-stand scales. Section 4 addresses site-specific values that require fine filter direction to mitigate potentially adverse effects of regular forest operations. Aquatic, wetland and shoreline forest values, special habitat features, and habitat for species at risk are addressed through the development of area of concern prescriptions or conditions on regular operations. Section 5 addresses the construction of access roads and water crossings, soil and water conservation, and the spread of exotic species. Section 6 provides applicable direction for salvage and biofibre harvests. Section 7 describes MNR’s approach to effectiveness monitoring.
The Environmental Guidelines for Access Roads and Water Crossings is a technical supporting document for the Forest Management Guide for Conserving Biodiversity at the Stand and Site Scales.
State of Ontario's Forests
The latest State of Ontario Forests report is comprised of a feature report and a supporting Criteria & Indicators (C&I) interactive PDF. The feature report focuses on specific themes and provides a high-level summary of the C&I framework. The C&I interactive PDF provides detailed information about the C&I framework.
