Module 7: Woodlot Ecology: Your Living Woodlot

Objectives

imageThis module is intended to give you, the woodlot owner, an overview of the living systems that are present on your woodlot, and how these systems may be affected by the ways in which you manage your property.

We will look at the components of living systems, from large groups of trees to the activity of microscopic soil organisms. We will examine how they interact and compete with one another for food, moisture and light. Finally we will look at ways that you, as a forest owner, can manage your land through holistic approaches that consider both scientific factors and human values.

Managing for multiple values on a small woodlot can be a daunting challenge. But it is essential to learn these management skills as timber values rub shoulders with other uses such as wildlife, recreation and aesthetics.

The author would like to thank the following individuals for their suggestions, comments and support during the compilation of this module: Simon Mutabazi, NSDNR Extension Forester; Tim Whynot, Manager, NSDNR Stewardship and Outreach; Bruce Carter, NSDNR Private Land Forester; Eugene Quigley, NSDNR Forest Technician;  Emily Gratton, Manager, NSDNR Publications and Communications; Kevin Keys, NSDNR Forester, Tim McGrath, NSDNR Forester, Ian Millar, Executive Director, RPFANS and Martha Grantham, Supervisor of the Natural Resources Education Centre.

No acknowledgements would be complete without thanking Anne Comozzi, who drafted the first Module 7, titled Woodlot Ecology, in 1992.