Current Forest Condition

This section highlights:

• Summary Table which highlights Soils as a Function of Forest Unit and Forest Ecosystem Classification Type (FEC Type) on the Hearst Forest (see Table 1 below);
• A detailed description of the Forest Resource Inventory classification of land and forest; including the productive Crown forest land base;
• The amount of managed Crown forest available for timber production;
• A description of the diversity of the forest;
• A description of the habitat for selected wildlife species, and
• An estimate of landscape processes.

Summary of Soils as a Function of Forest Unit and
Forest Ecosystem Classification Type on the Hearst Forest
TO VIEW A PICTURE OF THE FEC TYPE, MOUSE-OVER THE NUMBER
Source of Ecosite Pictures - NEST FIELD GUIDE FG-001

Table FMP-1 describes the land types by land ownership for the Hearst Forest. Table FMP-1 summarizes the current status of the land base reflecting the updated information described above. The Forest encompasses a total area for all ownerships of 1,525,316 hectares. Of the total, 1,253,789 hectares or 82 percent are managed Crown forest, 269,115 hectares or 18 percent are patent land while the remaining area, 2,450 hectares, is other ownerships. Figure 2 shows the area breakdown by ownership.

Of the Crown forest area, 1,181,455 hectares or 94 percent are managed forest while 72,334 hectares or 6 percent are unmanaged. Unmanaged areas include provincial parks and withdrawals for the Ontario Living Legacy (OLL) candidate parks. OLL candidates on the Forest are not yet regulated, however they are under the jurisdication of this Plan. Although Crown land, provincial parks and candidates are not protected by the Crown Forest Sustainability Act (CFSA). Ontario is not required to manage its park forests sustainably. Figure 3 shows the Crown forest breakdown.

Although the unmanaged forest is not covered by this Plan, where suitable it does contribute for this planning term to landscape targets for biological diversity, particularly in terms of providing wildlife habitat. Unfortunately, without considered management actions to counter the unnatural effects of wildfire suppression, over the long term these areas will age into previously unknown ecological conditions and lose their value for contributing to biodiversity objectives in future Crown forest management planning.

Of the managed forest area, 755,528 hectares are stands, 168,547 hectares are barren and scattered, and 45,333 are protection forest. Figure 4 shows the breakdown of managed forest into the same categories.

Table FMP-1
Management Unit Land Summary

 
The Hearst Forest is located within the Boreal Forest region. Tree species native to the Forest are typical for the region. Within the Forest there is a wide range of species occurrence, associations and site productivity, largely related to surficial geology.

Throughout the Clay Belt portions of the forest, lower lying areas are more extensive and are occupied predominately with black spruce (picea mariana) in varying associations with tamarack (larix laricina) and cedar (thuja occidentalis).  Uplands generally support mixedwood forest of black spruce (picea mariana), white spruce (picea glauca), balsam fir (abies balsamea), trembling aspen (populus tremuloides) and black poplar (populus balsamifera), or purer hardwood forest. White birch (betual papyrifera) is a minor species (To view description, mouse-over the type of tree).

Jack Pine (pinus banksiana) is absent over most of the Forest.  Concentrations of Jack Pine are found only in the townships south of the Mattawitchewan River, along Highway 631, Rogers Road and from the Thunderhouse Falls area on the Missinaibi River east through the former Opasatika Management Unit.