PEI REPORT: Promoting Forest Diversity through Planting Programs
by Ken Mayhew

PEI has a long history of planting trees on public and private lands. The first plantations were established in the late 1930s on old farm fields in what is now the PEI National Park in Dalvay. Red pine was the primary species, but a few rows and patches were planted with white pine, white spruce, Douglas fir, and maple. The Second World War put an end to this effort, but in the mid 1950s, the province created its first forest service and tree seedling nursery. They worked to plant harvest sites, abandoned fields, hedgerows and shelterbelts for a variety of social, environmental, and economic needs. 

For the most part these early efforts focused on softwood species - native and non-native - because they were relatively easy to produce, stood up well to the Island’s growing conditions, and produced a wide range of usable products. This practice continued on a small scale until the early 1980s, when federal funding supported an expansion of planting programs, along with other forms of silviculture. While the emphasis was still on species such as spruce, pine, and larch, work also began on developing planting strategies for shade tolerant species such as sugar maple, yellow birch, ash, and oak. 

In the early 90s, the federal government withdrew funding, and at the same time, softwood harvest levels began to skyrocket. Faced with limited funds but high demand from public and landowners for reforestation of large harvest sites, the province and industry chose to support a softwood planting program. However, the reliance on planting as the only method of forest management led to concerns that too much emphasis was being placed on a few tree species, and that this was leading to a simplification of the Acadian forest ecosystem. This sentiment was expressed many times during the recent forest policy hearings by landowners, value-added forest products sector, environmentalists, nature conservancy groups, and the public.

PEI has responded by making a commitment to increase the diversity of species available for planting on private and public lands in its new forest policy. This will result in a decreasing emphasis on the production of species such as white and black spruce, and an increasing emphasis on species such as red oak and white pine, which are better suited to the predicted warmer, drier climate. 

Currently, forest managers combine planting with natural regeneration by designing openings in the forest which mimic natural disturbances. Enrichment planting options for shade tolerant species are being explored in natural stands and older plantations to provide seed sources for the forest of the future. Plantings in riparian zones can utilize many different species; each suited to specific growing conditions and needs for the sensitive ecological zones. 

The challenge has been and continues to be the successful and cost effective establishment of these species on typical forest sites, and ensuring adequate side shade to prevent the development of unwanted branches along the trunk. Side branches can dramatically lower the value of some hardwoods for high value products such as veneer. Researchers have tried planting species such as red oak and yellow birch in dense plantations of several thousand seedlings per hectare, or have interplanted them with fast growing species such as larch, to prevent the development of unwanted side branches. Both approaches show promise but are expensive to implement. 

Research indicates that tolerant hardwoods can be established successfully when time and attention are paid to encouraging suitable natural regeneration, planting a mix of species suited to the successional stage, and providing protection where and when needed. The intent is to provide landowners with a wider selection of tree species, which enhance the forest, meet a great range of ecological needs and goals, and create more opportunities for landowners, industries and society. 

Ken Mayhew is Information Officer, Forests Fish and Wildlife Division, PEI Dept of Environment, Energy, and Forestry and can be reached at 902-368-6450.