Outcomes of longterm deciduous forest restoration in southwestern Ontario, Canada

• Published in: Biological conservation 2003-10, Vol.113 (2), p.159-169
• Main Authors: McLachlan, S.M, Bazely, D.R
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Applied ecology; Biological and medical sciences; Conservation; Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife; Disturbance; Forestry; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General forest ecology; Generalities. Production, biomass. Quality of wood and forest products. General forest ecology; Multivariate analysis; Parks, reserves, wildlife conservation. Endangered species: population survey and restocking; Regeneration; Restoration; Seed dispersal; Succession
• ISSN: 0006-3207; 1873-2917
• DOI: 10.1016/S0006-3207(02)00248-3

At present, forest cover in southwestern Ontario, Canada, remains at less than 5% due to intensive agricultural and urban land use. Although much of the extant forest is increasingly protected by legislation, remnants continue to be degraded by the spread of non-native plant species, overgrazing, and recreational use. Some parks in the region have adopted management programs aimed at mitigating this degradation. Over the last 35 years, cottages and roads at Point Pelée National Park have been removed and sites either passively restored (i.e. road or cottage eliminated and vegetation allowed to regenerate) or actively restored (i.e. road or cottage eliminated, exotic vegetation removed, and native species planted). In 1994 and 1995, we assessed the effectiveness of restoration by comparing the understorey plant communities in 28 restored sites with those in less disturbed reference sites. There was a significant increase ( P