The pre-European settlement forest composition of the Miramichi River watershed, New Brunswick, as reconstructed using witness trees from original land surveys

Abstract

The goal of this investigation was to characterize the pre-European settlement forest composition of the Miramichi River watershed using witness trees to contribute to the definition of a baseline for assessing changes over time in the Acadian forest. The witness tree data were stratified by ecoregion and by ecosite, for the portions of the watershed that are in the Northern Uplands, Continental Lowlands, and Eastern Lowlands ecoregions of New Brunswick, as well as by riparian and inland forest; and pre-settlement forest composition (1787–1847) was compared with current forest composition (1998–2000). The witness tree data constitute evidence that a distinctive riparian forest existed before European settlement and that the difference between riparian and inland forest has lessened. They show that the proportions of Betula spp., Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carrière, Ulmus americana L., and Thuja occidentalis L. have decreased; that the proportion of Acer spp. has increased and that Picea spp. and Abies balsamea (L.) Mill. var. balsamea have maintained their overall dominance of the forest in number of individuals, and have increased it on at least 50% of the watershed area.