Patience • Grows • the Forest
originally published by the island word, july/august 2007 issue
••• Full Article (PDF)– Selected Passage –
Forests are slow to reveal their secrets. Sometimes, a simple question, such as how the growth of Firs compares in mixed or monoculture plantings, can take a century to fully answer. So, it was no surprise that University of Alberta forest biologist, Phil Comeau, spoke with the patience of a Bonsai Master.
Researchers in the US,
Comeau noted, say that a planting with this many Alders means lights-out for conifers.
He led the group through his 15-year plantation. They walked past Alders, Firs, Cedars, Broad Leafe Maples, over a stream, and stopped beneath a shady canopy. Comeau patiently gathered everyone’s attention.
What can we say about this site?
he asked.
Everyone looked up. The Alders had clearly taken over, forming a dense upper canopy thirty feet above. Below, spaced out Firs created a feeble secondary canopy. Six to seven foot cedars were sparsely spread across the forest floor.
Researchers in the US,
Comeau noted, say that a planting with this many Alders means lights-out for conifers.
Well, the Firs are definitely growing,
observed someone from the workshop, but with a canopy like that above them they’ll suffer a lot of mechanical damage.
Comeau had everyone gather around one Fir and note the large knots that spiraled every foot or so up its trunk.
Alders are nitrogen fixers,
Comeau explained, they co-exist with a fungus that pulls nitrogen from the air and fixes it into the soil.
He led the workshop to another site. Neither the Firs nor the Alders dominated. With less Alders mixed into the planting, a delicate balance was found where deciduous and coniferous could share the skies. The Firs were healthier and much taller than in the last site. Even the infamously slow growing Cedars had more of a presence.
Alders are nitrogen fixers,” Comeau explained, “they co-exist with a fungus that pulls nitrogen from the air and fixes it into the soil.
On the West Coast, nitrogen is often the one nutrient missing from our forest’s diet. How to use Red Alders to supplement this nutrient in tree plantations is one of many questions Comeau hopes to answer with his Bowser research sites.
The workshop was eager to learn more, shouting out questions even as the organizers herded them onto the buses, trying to stay on schedule. Comeau calmly bid farewell, reminding the group that his research was far from over.
Whenever anyone asks me how long this project is going to last, my answer is always the same – forever.