Forest Care
by Catherine Stratford – April 2024
We have the most diversified forest in Quebec (48 species of trees). There are more forests along the border, because of the smaller rural population density.
One of the best ways that we can help fight Climate Change in Hemmingford, is to take active care of our trees and woodlots. Our trees are under added stress due to more extreme weather (stronger winds, freezing rain or heavy snowfalls, less regular precipitation…), the lack of tree-planting projects, the loss of forest cover due to the cutting of live trees to accommodate large machinery and the growing needs of businesses/agriculture.
We need to remember that mature trees are an excellent captor of CO2, and other greenhouse gases. They grow slowly and should be preserved whenever possible!
Some ways to help sustain a healthy forest, as presented by Stéphane Gingras from Ambioterra and David Bibeau-Lemieux (our local Forestry Engineer), at the Conference on the State of Forests in the Montérégie Area, presented in St Chrysostome on February 8, 2024 are listed below:
Use good forestry practices to protect biodiversity by protecting wildlife habitat:
- Leave at least 10% of the dead trees in place, especially those with trunks at least 30cm in diameter, they are good habitat for wildlife.
- Preserve larger trees in the forest as they give the most seed or regeneration of the forest.
- To enrich biodiversity, plant species of indigenous hardwood trees that were formerly part of our forests, but that have become rare such as Red and White Oak, Bur Oak, Swamp White Oak, Shagbark Hickory, Bitternut Hickory, American Chestnut, Black Walnut and Black Maple. Check the Ambioterra website www.ambioterra.org/corridors-verts/ to see where you can obtain these species.
- Check on newly planted trees for 3 years, to help them get established, watering them in drought and weeding around their base. Use tree cages to protect them in the first years.
- Remove invasive species (for instance, Buckthorn) to protect biodiversity, invasive species crowd out native plants/trees reducing biodiversity.
- Replace tree species that are decimated by insects or disease (e.g., the Ash trees destroyed by the Emerald Ash Borer Beetle) with different species of indigenous trees.
By using sustainable farming practices, you also encourage biodiversity and enhance tree -cover:
- Plant wind-break hedges, they protect the fields from soil erosion and provide wildlife with habitat.
- Leave Green Corridors connecting fields to forests for wildlife passage.
- Use no-till planting techniques, to protect the soil’s nutrients and to keep it from drying out.
- Do not leave the soil bare in winter, plant a cover crop to pro tect the soil from nutrient loss and erosion. Grow cover crops which can later be turned under to feed the soil.
- Protect trees whenever possible, recognize their value in the ecosystem and in the battle against Climate Change.
- Protect river-and ditch-banks by respecting them when seeding, widening them when possible and planting them with shrubs, and trees to protect the waterways from pollution and sedimentation.
- Use natural fertilizers and avoid using chemical pesticides. Limit the use of pesticides.
Municipalities can also encourage biodiversity and forest health by
- Planting trees/shrubs in their public spaces and along riverbanks.
- Actively enforcing Municipal bylaws that restrict clear-cutting in their territory.
May is Forest and Tree Month in Quebec. Once again, volunteers from the Hemmingford Environment Committee will be holding a Free Tree Distribution for Hemmingford citizens in front of the Old Convent, 549 Frontier St. Saturday May 18, from 10am to 1pm.
This project is sponsored by the Quebec 4-H Clubs and the trees are provided by the Quebec Ministry of Forests, Fauna and Parks. Planting and caring for our trees/forests is a concrete way to fight Climate Change!