Working to Measure Biodiversity on New Planting Sites

By Val Deziel, Director of Restoration Programs, Forests Ontario

Biodiversity is the variety of life. It is important as it contributes to the resilience and integrity of ecosystems, supports ecosystem services such as soil formation, climate regulation, and air quality regulation, and helps ensure that ecosystems can adapt to changes and stresses.

Typically, biodiversity can be measured by the number of different animal and plant species as well as species evenness and species richness. These measurements are difficult to make on afforested sites, which are sites that have been barren for a long time. Since afforestation (which is just one of our many types of forest restoration approaches) is the first step in the long journey to diverse and mature forests, these measures of biodiversity take longer to evaluate, so Forests Ontario uses other data as a proxy for biodiversity on these newly planted sites.

To begin, we analyze the number of trees and tree species planted on thousands of planting sites each year. Next, we use Geographic Information System (GIS) technology to look at sites that are planted near a watercourse, riparian area, or wetland or that are near Areas of Natural and Scientific Interest (ANSI). Planting near water can provide regulating and supporting ecosystem services, while planting near ANSIs can contribute to the health and longevity of those areas by extending forest cover and creating connectivity.

We also look at connectivity in woodlands, protected areas, and the Greenbelt. Having larger connected areas maintains natural ecological processes and allows wildlife the room to access resources, breed, and find habitat. If habitats are fragmented and connectivity is lost, ecological systems and processes can break down.

Finally, we can use Global Biodiversity Information Facility data to identify observations of indicator species near our planting sites. Indicator species are animals (including the Cerulean Warbler, pictured below) or plants that are commonly associated with a particular tree species or ecosystem whose presence indicates strong ecological health and high forest quality.

As we move forward in our efforts to restore our forested landscapes, finding ways to improve landscape connectivity, planting near areas of significant or ecological value, and looking for ways to identify indicator species will help our efforts to constantly improve and support biodiversity.

[Note: An edited version of this article has been published in the Protecting Canada's Forests and Biodiversity - A Special Interest Section by Mediaplanet in the September 25 edition of the National Post.]