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Thanks Andrew. That makes sense given what is currently taking place with a=
nti-biotic resistant 'germs' in hospitals these days.
Cheers,
Lance
From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca [mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca] =
On Behalf Of Hebda, Andrew J
Sent: Wednesday, June 20, 2018 9:01 PM
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
Subject: EXTERNAL: RE: [NatureNS] Nova Scotian forest composition
There was a publication from either the late 1950s or early 1960s by Dr R E=
Balch called the Ecological Viewpoint... It came from either an episode o=
r a series from CBC University of the Air in which he discussed the impact=
of contemporary and historical use of forest insecticides altering the dy=
namics of the budworm populations through selecting for resistant forms.
As I recall he noted that the cycling of those populations was regular and =
predictable with relatively clearly defined maxima and minima in population=
sizes He noted that the selective pressure of the chemicals reduced the cy=
clic nature of the species and resulted in an incremental increase in the "=
low levels" of the species, to the point where the base level of those popu=
lations was higher than the upper level o the normal population oscillation=
s.
The point being that climate change is not necessarily the principal drivin=
g force for specific species impacts. I will see if I can track down the p=
ublication (I think he may have been UNB Fredericton)
A
________________________________
From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca<mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca> [=
naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca] on behalf of Laviolette, Lance [lance.laviol=
ette@lmco.com]
Sent: June-20-18 5:19 PM
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca<mailto:naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>
Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Nova Scotian forest composition
Hi Donna,
Budworm is a native insect however it, like non-native insects, will change=
the composition of Nova Scotia forests and that was what my original quest=
ion was all about. As David has now pointed out, climate change will also b=
e a major 'player' in what the resulting forest will look like in 20 years.
Predictions of what things will be in the future are simply an exercise in =
assumptions so will not be interesting to everyone. Sticking with facts the=
n, the budworm's cyclical impact on Maritime forests is as important as a n=
on-native insect's effect is. The impact on bird populations is a well-stud=
ied phenomena. You mention that you are seeing a few more Bay-breasted Warb=
lers in the forest monitoring plots. I can tell you that monitoring on Brie=
r Island has shown that the population of both Bay-breasted and Cape May Wa=
rblers have been rising dramatically over the last 4-5 years. I expect they=
will continue to increase, as they did 40 years ago as long as the Spruce =
Budworm populations remain high in the Maritimes and the Gasp=E9. The odd t=
hing is that so far the expected rise in Tennessee Warbler numbers hasn't m=
aterialized in our observations. Let us know when you start detecting more =
of that species on your plots and I'll do the same when numbers increase du=
ring migration on Brier Island.
All the best,
Lance
Lance Laviolette
Glen Robertson, Ontario
From: naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca<mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca> [=
mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca] On Behalf Of Donna Crossland
Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2018 6:21 PM
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca<mailto:naturens@chebucto.ns.ca>
Subject: EXTERNAL: Re: [NatureNS] Nova Scotian forest composition
It's best to avoid the 'company line' about "spruce budworm left unchecked"=
. This is a topic that the forest industry uses to instill panic to justif=
y full scale harvesting of spruce and fir, complete with a spray program, e=
tc. Budworm is a native pest and should not enter the conversations over e=
xotics. It comes 'round every few decades, as we know. Bay-breasted, Tenn=
essee and other warbler species can increase rapidly. We can sit back and =
enjoy watching natures responses to it. This year I observed a few more Bay=
-breasted warblers in forest monitoring plots than previous years, and am q=
uestioning if they are from an increased number resulting from the Qc popul=
ation that decided to settle in southwest NS this year instead of heading f=
arther north after returning from the tropics.
The forest industry and DNR would have us "tinker" with this this natural d=
isturbance agent. But balsam fir was never "built to last". Titus Smith r=
eferred to it as a nursery tree to shelter the growth of other late success=
ional tree species. Early entry harvesting in the pure fir/spruce stands w=
ould mitigate the fear of trees dying all at once and wood going to 'waste'=
(industry thinking, not mine), but in actuality industry doesn't want to f=
loat in the big machines for multiple, early, preemptive partial harvests.=
The cheapest approach is to harvest all at once, so they wait until the b=
udworm hits (it was all so predictable), and then cries wolf and harvests =
all at once. But this is the worst scenario for all other ecosystem compon=
ents including soil nutrients then exposed to leaching. The budworm issue =
really hits a nerve.
Balsam fir and spruce will regenerate after budworm. No worries there. Bu=
t hemlock will be repeatedly hit by HWA and not successfully reestablish. =
It will be no more. That's the huge difference between native pests and ex=
otics. The latter situation leaves a permanent void. Forests without heml=
ock, ash, and beech are likely imminent, perhaps in as little as two decade=
s, but who knows. Nature will figure something out, but all these rapid ch=
anges are occurring because of human activities.
--_000_990B3EE94E8A61448C998FEBAEAFC0242333C7B5HCXDSPM2calmcoc_
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