ISBN 0706-9413

..----------~-------Fal-l/w-inte-r19-91~

INFORMATION FORESTRYPacific & Yukon Region

Canada 1.1 Forestry ForetsCanada Canada

e ards f e car o 00

Doug Pollard

Let's not get

carried awa)'

Hith

presenring the

orest for carbon

alone. there are

many other l\'orthy

uses offorests that

can and should be

incorporated into a

forest-use strategy.

''''We are not dinosaurs! And the future isnot as bleak as cartoonist Gary Larson oncepredicted," say Forestry Canada researcher Dr.Doug Pollardl " Despite all uncertainties, wecan develop resilient strategies for a shift inthe forest resource if the climate changessignificantly over the next 70 years.Sustainability is a matter of management."

Pollard, who is Program Head of ForestEcosystem Dynamics, explains that the forestsector is steward of a vast pool of carbonwhose size and condition are sensitive to theclimate and to management policies. Studyresults of the carbon pool show that onbalance, most of Canada's forest regions,including the coastal forests, appear to be netaccumulators of carbon, he says. Preliminarynational estimates, albeit very rough, show anet annual accumulation of carboncomparable to Canada's annual emission ofcarbon from fossil sources.

Pollard compares this to the time whenthe world's forests were relatively undisturbedby exploitation and were in dynamicequilibrium with the atmosphere, even thoughwildfires were uncontrolled. Forest neitherremoved nor contributed carbon dioxide,andneither did mankind.

"The forest sector has been identified as asource of carbon as a result of burning pulpwaste for energy and also from slash burning.But what constitutes a net release of carbondioxide to the atmosphere is open tointerpretation," Pollard says, "for in forestry,what goes up can come down."

The use of pulp wastes for energy can beviewed as a displacement of fossil fuel by arenewable energy source. The burning of slashwill be at least partially compensated byregrowth of the forest. He adds that muchgreater sources loom on the horizon: awarming trend, amplified at northernlatitudes, could well lead to very substantialemissions of methane and carbon dioxide fromthe forests and peat lands of these vast areas.

"Let's not get carried away withpreserving the forest for carbon alone," hesays. "There are many other worthy uses offorests that can and should be incorporatedinto a forest-use strategy."

Pollard takes the position that, if climatemodels are correct, change is inevitable, andmust be addressed with adaptive rather thanwith mitigative measures.

"This year, British Columbia plantedalmost 300 million seedlings that willexperience climates to the year 2050 and

I beyond," he points out. "Foresters are all too

2

aware that they are planting, and thereforeplanning, for tomorrow's climate. They wantinformation and guidance. What are we tosuggest?"

Pollard's advice is caution. Plans shouldbe such that if warming does not occur, noirrevocable damage will be caused by adaptivetactics. He believes it is too soon to modify ourplanting programs or our protectioninfrastructure or even to change out harvestingprocedures.

"If climate does not change as expected,we shall have spent money needlessly, andworse, we may have seriously comprised ourforests," he warns.

Left to it's own devices, nature would notbe entirely helpless. There may well besufficient adaptability in the gene pool of cropand other tree species to cope with thevagaries of even rapid climate change,according to Pollard. As well, BritishColumbia maintains a very large store ofcommercial tree seeds and has the capacity tostore 65 tonnes in long-term cold storage.

"There are procedures and oninfrastructure in the forest sector that can bebrought to bear on the task of conserving anddistributing genetic materials if needed," hesays. "A systematic network of stands,managed as locally-evolved seed sources,coupled with large-scale seed storage, wouldbe an effective strategy to address the threat ofdiminished adaptiveness in our forestecosystems. "

He believes this could be augmentedwith a breeding program that could producevarieties selected for specific qualities such asdrought-resistance. It is a fail-safe system. Ifclimate does not change, the forest will nothave been compromised.

"A comprehensive strategy of in situ andex situ gene conservation will serve forestrywell under any conditions, and should be inthe sector's first line of defense for the future."

Unlike the dinosaurs which had "brainsthe size of walnuts," we have the ability toreason and to plan. Use these abilities, Pollardurges, and we can prevent our following thepath of the dinosaurs.

lThe Forestry Chronicle, No.4, Vol. 67, Aug. 1991

Detecting·unwelcome visitors

Forestry

Canada j

establishiIlI{ .

a pn tics lab and I

attl ndant

xprrtisr to enable

the identific' tion

of f!, ps,' moth

strajn~.

On a bright sunny day in May, the youngfamily from Ontario arrived in Vancouver andwaited for the moving van. Unknown to them,they were already hosts to visitors from backeast. On the undercarriage of their tent trailerwere the multiple eggs of the European gypsymoth.

On the same day in May, AgricultureCanada inspectors discovered hatching eggmasses of the Asian gypsy moth on a Sovietvessel loading grain in the port of Vancouver.

In both cases, gypsy moth larvae reachedsuitable host plants and developed to adultsduring the summer. In late summer,pheromone-baited traps snared 49 male mothsdemonstrating the presence of these unwantedvisitors.

The European gypsy moth has becomeestablished along the North American easternseaboard and it is often a stowaway aboardvehicles bound for B.C. Fortunately, anannual detection survey conducted byAgriculture Canada, Forestry Canada and theB.C. Ministry of Forests provides an earlywarning of gypsy moth introductions andallows for eradication of the pest before itbecomes established in the province.

Unlike the European gypsy moth, itsrelative, the Asian gypsy moth, can fly, posingan increased dispersal risk andconsequent risk to the province'sforests and future exports. Tocounter this risk, aggressivetrapping and elimination of anyintroduction is vitally important.

Male moths of the Europeanand Asian strains cannot bedistinguished morphologically andthis fact complicates identification.Genetic analysis is one of twocurrently available, albeitexperimental, techniques.Presently, B.C. trap catches are sentto Richard Harrison at CornellUniversity for genetic' fingerprinting' .Another US researcher, Vic Mastro of theUSDA-APHIS is developing an identificationmethod based on wing morphometrics.

Now Forestry Canada is establishing agenetics lab and attendant expertise to enablethe identification of gypsy moth strains.

"We are raising Asian gypsy moth larvaeunder quarantine to provide additional adultspecimens to enlarge the sample size for thevalidation of the experimental identificationtechniques," explains Lee Humble, project co­ordinator. "Relatively few samples have beentested to date."

3

Lee Humbleexamines AsianGypsy Mothlarvae raisedunderquarantine inthe lab.

Humble says in order to confirm that thedifferences found are consistent for bothgenetic and wing morphometric identification,a larger sample of the variation within gypsymoth populations is essential.

While increasing the sample size,Humble and his research group will alsoprovide material to assist other researchers indeveloping new diagnostic tools for theidentification of the persistent gypsy moth, theindiscriminant traveller of the world.

Tree of ife yiel s promis· 9 new dr 9

There's more to the yewstory than harvestingbark.

It's been called the most exciting newdrug to come on the scene in the last 10 or 15years. And the drug comes from what manycall the "tree of life."

Taxol, isolated from yew bark, is thepromising anti-cancer agent that is causingthis excitement in pharmaceutical researchcircles.

Research shows that taxol is effective inthe treatment of ovarian cancer and nowresearchers hope to determine its effect onmany other cancers. Research anddevelopment programs are underway in theUS and France aimed at the production of theraw material from yew trees and theextraction, purification and synthesis of thedrug taxol.

Although taxol is found in all parts of thetree and in a variety of species of yew, interesthas been focused on the Pacific yew or Taxusbrevi/olio. Bristol-Meyers Squibb, holders ofan R&D contract with the US National CancerInstitute for clinical developement of taxol,plan to obtain some 158 000 kilograms of

dried bark from British Columbia.Canada's role in this unfolding drama of

medical research involves researchers at thePacific Forestry Centre.

Forestry Canada researchers will belooking into the role of natural stands of thePacific yew in the supply of taxol, and offactors affecting the establishment and growthof new stands. Specifically, Alan Mitchellwill investigate the physiology of the growthof the species and its regeneration regardingits resilience to cutting and its optimalgrowing conditions. George Edwards willresearch yew seed germination and storagewhile Doug Pollard will be grappling with theissues analysis of this complex subject.

"There's much to learn about thesustainable development of yew, itsdistribution, regeneration, growth, geneticmake-up and other factors," says Pollard. "Itis unique in touching so many importantissues: health and welfare, biodiversity, oldgrowth, multiple use, biotechnology andconservation of genetic resources. "

Delayed trip plants seeds for discussio sThe Iraqi invasion of Kuwait became an

advantage of circumstances for ForestryCanada's Seed Service Officer Frank Portlock.

"I was supposed to go to a meeting of theOrganization for Economic Co­operative Development (OECD)this past February," he explains."But because of the war, I didn'tattend. Instead I went to Parisand Brussels this fall and hadthe opportunity to have one-on­one meetings which probablywouldn't have been possibleduring the scheduled meetingwhen everyone else was there."

Portlock's discussionsduring these meetings centeredon continuing importation byEuropean Community (EC)countries to OECD source­identified seed from BritishColumbia, specifically Sitkaspruce and Douglas-fir. OECDhas four seed importation

categories: source-identified or wild standcollections; select stands; untested seedorchards; and tested seed orchards. There are

4

no wild stands in Europe so the source­identified seed is imported from NorthAmerica under special EC regulations.

"In 1992, in a move toward a sel£­sufficient European community, all this willcome to an end," Portlock says. "This will bea big problem for Canada as 95 percent of ourexport seed is in the source-identifiedcategory. And if this does happen, our exportswill be severely affected."

On the other hand, there are ten OECDregistered untested seed orchards in B.C.which so far have been unable to sell seed inEurope. "If source-identified seed iseliminated in Europe, maybe these sources canpick up the slack," he says.

Was he able to accomplish his objectiveof convincing the Europeans to abandon thisplanned action?

"They became more aware of the impactof their possible decision regarding source­identified seed," Portlock says. "And therewill be another meeting in 1993."

That's a meeting he doesn't intend tomiss - unless another major internationalincident like the invasion of Kuwait preventshim from going.

& gr p or •In e oe •ensl 9

ThiS project.

organized

and

s pported by

iVA SA, integr tes

ail aft and

satellite remote

sensing. field data

and geographical

inforn1ation

systems.

More than 40 per cent of Canada'smarketable timber is found in BritishColumbia, much of it on rugged, mountainousterrain. Large variations in elevation makeanalysis complex while reducing the spatialscales over which distinct biogeoclimaticdifferences occur. These facts increase theneed for decision support systems for forestand environmental management in B.C. tohelp to determine the best management of theforest resource.

The Pacific Forest Centre has recentlyadded a significant component to its abilitiesto provide this help - an R&D group in remotesensing and image analysis, geographicalinformation systems, and artificial intelligencemethods and systems. Heading this group isDr. David Goodenough previously from theCanada Centre for Remote Sensing (CCRS) inOttawa, a branch of the Department of Energy,Mines and Resources.

"One of the things I'm bringing toPFC is a project called SEIDAM, System ofExperts for Intelligent Data Management,"Goodenough says. "This project, supported byNASA (National Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration of the USA), integrates aircraftand satellite remote sensing, field data andgeographical information systems withenvironmental models."

The SEIDAM project is an artificialintelligence system and is supported inCanada by the Department of Energy, Minesand Resources; Industry, Science andTechnology Canada; and Forestry Canada.Goodenough's project is the only one outsideof the United States that has been included inNASA's Advanced Information SystemsResearch Program.

"The SEIDAM project will be able toanswer many questions about the B.C. forests,"Goodenough says. "For example, what is thetimber volume in specific areas? \Nhat is the

health of the forest and what environmentalstresses exist in the forest?"

The ability to make thesedeterminations is an outgrowth of developingtrends in remote sensing like higher spatialand spectral resolution and more microwavemeasurement capability. "The imagingspectrometer could measure, from an airplane,the chlorophyll content of a particular part ofthe forest," Goodenough says. "This is newfor us and there's a great deal of researchnecessary. "

The necessary research will beconducted from Forestry Canada in Victoriaand CCRS in Ottawa and Dr. Goodenough andhis team of experts are already hard at workdoing just that. The SEIDAM project will alsoinvolve scientists from industry and academia.Through technology transfer to industry,intelligent information systems will beavailable to contribute to sound managementdecisions here while helping to makeassessments of global effects on forestecologies in mountainous regions as well.

David Goodenough

1 9 9 2

A CO PLETE FOR T I DUSTRY CO FE E CESEPTEMBER, 1992

VANCOUVER AND KELOWNA, BRITISH COLUMBIA

TIO SYSTE S IFO ESTR!! E IRO..···Il!~luT A D ATURAL

RE~OU ES A AGE E TFEBRUARY 9 - 14, 1992

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA

5

INFORMATION FORESTRYPublished by

Forestry CanadaPacific and Yukon Region

Pacific Forestry Centre

506 West Burnside Road, Victoria, B.C.,

vaz lM5, (604)363-0600

Editor: Lorraine Blashill

Design: John Wiens

ForestryBits

Pinewoodnematode controltargeted as greenlumber exports toE.C. given reprieve

In mid-December theEuropean Community (EC)voted to allow theimportation of unseasonedsoftwoods from Canada forone more year. The EC'sobjection to importing greenlumber is based on theassumption that it maycontain the pinewoodnematode and its carrier, thesavvyer beetle.

The potential impact ofCanada not being allowed toexport to EC countries wouldbe extremely serious to theCanadian economy sinceclose to $1 billion worth ofunseasoned lumber iscurrently shipped to the ECeach year - $700 million ofwhich comes from BritishColumbia.

Plant health officials inthe EC are concerned that thepossible presence ofpinewood nematodes inimported green lumber couldintroduce wilt disease toEuropean forests.

Currently Canada has a"derogation" or exemptionfor green lumber as long as itis accompanied by a millcertificate ensuring that thelumber is free of bark andgrub holes. This derogationorder has been extended toDecember 31,1992.

In anticipation of a banon importing green lumberby the EC, several monthsago a research project co­financed by the federalgovernment and theprovinces, as well as the

industrial and academicsectors, began to evaluatethe use of heat treatment(pasteurization) in theeradication of pinewoodnematode and its vectors insoftwood lumber.

A team of scientists fromForintek's Ottawa andVancouver laboratories,Forestry Canada's PacificForestry Centre in Victoriaand the Universities of NewBrunswick and Simon Fraserare also looking at alternativetechnologies, such aselectron beam irradiation,radio frequency microwavesand chemical treatments.The Canadian team willliaise closely with an ECteam of scientists led by aresearcher from the IrishScience and TechnologyAgency in Dublin. Finalfield studies in Canada will

I involve both Canadian andEC scientists.

Drs. Jack Sutherland, aI research pathologist, and

Alan Van Sickle, the head ofI Forest Insect and Disease

Survey, at Pacific ForestryCentre, have been activelyinvolved in the researchproject.

About two-thirds of theI lumber going to Europe

comes from the B.C. coastand one-third from interiorforests. According to theCouncil of Forest Industriesof B.C., interior mills kiln­dry about 85 per cent of theiroutput, but only 14 to 15 percent of coastal lumber issimilarly treated.

A study prepared forForestry Canada estimated itwould cost B.C. coastalsawmills some $150 millionfor extra kiln capacity tocomply with the EC

6

requirement, and that kilndrying would add $72million in annual operatingcosts for the mills.

It is hoped the results ofthis research study willprovide enough evidence forthe EC to eliminate the ban

altogether.

Toward a nationalforest strategy

In 1987, Canadiansendorsed a National ForestSector Strategy. In the fall of1990, the Canadian Councilof Forest Ministers called forthe preparation of a newstrategy through a series ofpublic consultations.Throughout 1991 the Councilsponsored five regionalforums across Canada andheld other consultations todevelop this new NationalForestry Strategy, subtitled'Sustainable Forests: ACanadian Commitment'.Suggestions from the publicand from national workshopsform the basis of the strategywhich will be presented atthe National Forest Congressin Ottawa March 2 to 4, 1992.It will be subsequentlydistributed in Canada andabroad.

ational Forest Weekay 3-9, 1992

Business,environment meetat Globe '92

Forestry Canada will beone of approximately 700exhibitors from around theworld at Globe '92 inVancouver, March 16 to 20.

The Forestry Canadadisplay will focus onintegrated resourcemanagement systems as toolsto help Canada achievesustainable development.We will demonstrate howForestry Canada brings thetools together and appliesthem to forest managementissues involving data andmanagement andinformation analysis andpresentation.

The Globe '92 Conferencewill bring together over 3 000people from more than 80countries to brainstorm andto develop innovativestrategies for achievingsustainable development.

Delegates attending theI trade fair session will be able

to do some comparisonshopping for state-of-the-art

: tools and techniques forenvironmental management;

I discover investmentopportunities in theenvironmental industry;develop businessrelationships, including jointventures and strategic

I alliances essential in theglobal marketplace; and seedemonstrations of newproducts developed inresponse to environmentalchallenges.

RecentPublications

Sources of GrowthVariability in InteriorDouglas-fir

, G.M. Bonnor, R. de Jong andP. Boudewyn

I Data from 92 permanentsample plots was obtained to

I assess the growth of uneven­agedstands of Douglas-fir inthe Interior Douglas-fir zoneof British Columbia and thefactors influencing thegrowth.

I BC-X-328

Simulation of mountainpine beetle (Dendroctonusponderosae Hopkins)spread and control inBritish Columbia

Alan Thomson

A method of predictingspread of mountain pinebeetle through the use of asimulation model isdescribed, and theassumptions underlying themethod is explained,

BC-X-329

Reports and Publications:Pacific and Yukon Region-1990

A listing of the reports andpublications authored bystaff of Forestry Canada:Pacific and Yukon Regionduring 1990.

BC-X-330

Stu WhitneyRoy ShepherdTerry HonerRene de Tong

We welcome to ForestryCanada: Pacific and YukonRegion the following newstaff members:

StaffComings &Goings

Glen Armstrong joins theForest Economics group toconduct research onsilviculture decision models.He was senior researchanalyst with the ForestEconomic and PolicyAnalysis (FEPA) group atU.B.C. and has also heldvarious positions with theUniversity of Alberta andworked as a resource analystwith the Alberta ForestService.

Andrea Eastham hasjoined Forestry Canada'sPrince George District Officeas Forestry Officer: StockProduction and ForestRegeneration. Andrea comesto Forestry Canada from theMinistry of Forests' Red RockResearch Station where shewas a reforestation biologist.

Rene de Jong joined theTimber Production researchprogram as a mensurationistworking with Dr. MikeBonnor. His duties includeanalyzing forest growth andyield data. He received his

B.Sc.F. in 1985 from theUniversity of BritishColumbia.

David Goodenough (seestory on page 5) joined theregion as Program Head ofthe Advanced ForestTechnology research programon November 1. Dr. Good­enough came to the regionfrom the Canada Centre forRemove Sensing in Ottawawhere he was Chief ResearchScientist, MethodologySection.

Ian Moss joins the PrinceGeorge District Office asForestry Officer: SilvicultureGrowth and Yield. He wasmanager of Silviculture atIFS Forestry Consultants ofPrince George. Both he andAndrea Eastham (see above)report to Dr. Keith McClainResearch Manager at thePrince George District Office.

Jason Nault has joinedthe Region as researchchemist specializing inanalytical organic chemistry,working with Dr. John

Manville. Dr. Nault formerlyworked as a researchscientist at FORINTEK beforejoining the staff of PFC.

Over the past few monthswe saw the retirement ofthree of our senior researchscientists:

Terry Honer, SeniorMensurationist, retired after35 years service withForestry Canada. Dr. Honer,who is a professional foresterregistered in Ontario andB.c., has served withForestry Canada in variousresearch and managementcapacities since 1956.

Honer is the seniorauthor of a 1985 reportentitled "Canada's ForestArea and Wood VolumeBalance 1977-81" - acomprehensive assessment ofthe status of Canada's forestresource and its rate ofchange under present levelsof management.

Roy Shepherd, a researchscientist specializing inentomology retired in

September with 39 years ofservice to the government ofCanada. Dr. Shepherd'sresearch focused on forestinsect ecology as it applied todefoliators of coniferous treesin western Canada. Hiscareer with Forestry Canadabegan in Alberta and theRocky Mountain ParksRegion in 1952; hetransferred to the Pacific andYukon Region in 1970.

Stu Whitney also retiredin September following a 33­year career with ForestryCanada as a pathobiologist.

I Dr. Whitney began his careerwith the department in 1958as a research officer studyingtree nursery diseases inQuebec. In 1964 he movedto Alberta where heconducted mycologicalresearch, moving in 1971 tothe Pacific and Yukon Regionwhere he worked on thepathogens of bark beetlesuntil his retirement.

7

INFORMATION FORESTRY