Boreal forests, caribou populations in Quebec and Ontario are degrading due to logging, study shows

A study led by researchers from Canada and Australia shows logging is degrading boreal forests in Quebec and Ontario, threatening local caribou populations.

The study, published in the journal MDPI, was led by researchers at Australia’s Griffith University and Canada’s University of Toronto and Université du Québec à Montréal.

Researchers found that 14,024,619 hectares, or more than 140,000 square kilometres, of forest had been logged in parts of Quebec and Ontario from 1976 to 2020, some of which was more than 100 years old and had a direct impact on wildlife in the region.

Logging activity across both provinces peaked in the year 2000, according to the study, and despite a sharp decline in logging during the worldwide financial crisis of 2008, “the cumulative area continued to increase” over time.

Researchers said there are only eight patches of old forest in the study area that have an area greater than 50,000 hectares, which is the threshold for defining “Intact Forest Landscapes” — areas important for the conservation of biodiversity in Canada’s ecosystems.

Researchers noted that older forest areas are crucial habitats for caribou, and while there are 21.2 million hectares of old forest in the parts of Quebec and Ontario included in the study, it exists “as a vast scatter of patches” across the region in “a highly anthropically disturbed forest.”

Of the 21 caribou populations in both provinces that were included in the study, researchers said 16 are at high risk, three are at very high risk and two are at low risk.

“Major changes are needed in boreal forest management in Ontario and Quebec for it to be ecologically sustainable, including a greater emphasis on protection and restoration for older forests, and to lower the risks for caribou populations,” researchers said in the study.

The 19 caribou populations highlighted in the study should be met with a “restoration” response rather than a “conservation” approach, researchers added.

While it may seem as though planting new trees is an easy fix, it still results in a loss of biodiversity and impacts key aspects of the ecosystem, according to the study. Researchers said this is because people are still interfering with a naturally regenerating forest and by planting new trees, it changes the habitat.

In Quebec, about 20 per cent or 8.2 million hectares of forest was regenerated through tree plantations. In Ontario, planting new trees is often the way the province will artificially regenerate forest area.

The study states the federal government’s forest sustainability efforts are rooted in maximizing wood production and making sure “commercially desirable” trees are regenerated. In this way, researchers said Ontario and Quebec have largely avoided deforestation, however, the protection and restoration of older forests is paramount.

Researchers said patches of older forests in both provinces need to be set aside and protected to restore caribou habitat and strengthen the integrity of the landscape.