Does anyone know off hand what the statistics are of trees that fall per acre per year in BWCA, as well as numbers on blowdown?

I tried finding numbers online but could not for the life of me.

I can’t answer that but I can say this:

While up in the bush in Canada at Pickle Lake, I ran into a Canadian fire fighter dressed in a yellow jump suit and wearing what looked like moon boots.

He said “On any given day 30% of the boreal forest is laying flat in the woods”.

I’d say that’s pretty accurate.

Nuff said.
Tom

My question is, why would you want to know?

I can't help you with numbers but you need to be aware that while some tree species have indefinite lifespan, others are more limited. An aspen or jack pine over 100 years is extremely rare. Balsam fir may be even shorter lived. White pine and red pine can live until lightning, fire, or windstorms take them down.

tumblehome: "I can’t answer that but I can say this:


While up in the bush in Canada at Pickle Lake, I ran into a Canadian fire fighter dressed in a yellow jump suit and wearing what looked like moon boots.


He said “On any given day 30% of the boreal forest is laying flat in the woods”.


I’d say that’s pretty accurate.


Nuff said.
Tom"

Everybody in Canada says this and my observation over 15 years of travel there would say this is true.

But do they make a sound is the real question....

Anyways, I also don't have much for you. An (interview I did for work) with Lee Frelich had a sentence where he referenced the strength of our wind storms. '99 was of course the most famous case but 2016 did a number also and the tornado in 2021 on Mountain is a smaller example. The BWCAW and surrounding ecosystems do see heavy impact from wind disturbance which plays directly into the fire ecology since blowdown equals fuels and also prompts balsam regrowth which is a perfect wildfire starter.

Lee Frelich had an article in the Journal of Ecology on wind mortality in the BWCAW and that impact on the ecosystem you might find interesting.The researchers did a study on wind event impacts on forests and that disturbance's role in an ecosystem. It's an important study because fire is so often the focus when we talk about forest turnover. Fire burns through, jack pine and aspen regrow, and then over the next century or so the early successional species die off and are replaced by red/white pine, spruces, firs, maples, and so on. There's plenty of wind event examples though where this process speeds up and all the overstory is removed in one big wind event, completely changing the process.

Another article you may be interested in by Chris Peterson though it may have restricted access.

Kasetsu: "Does anyone know off hand what the statistics are of trees that fall per acre per year in BWCA, as well as numbers on blowdown?

I tried finding numbers online but could not for the life of me."

No. But I could share a great recipe for deep-fried mosquitoes!

bobbernumber3: "

Kasetsu: "Does anyone know off hand what the statistics are of trees that fall per acre per year in BWCA, as well as numbers on blowdown?


I tried finding numbers online but could not for the life of me."

No. But I could share a great recipe for deep-fried mosquitoes!"

What kind of oil?? Black fly pie for desert?

That sounds about right. Thanks

TreeBear: "But do they make a sound is the real question....


Anyways, I also don't have much for you. An (interview I did for work) with Lee Frelich had a sentence where he referenced the strength of our wind storms. '99 was of course the most famous case but 2016 did a number also and the tornado in 2021 on Mountain is a smaller example. The BWCAW and surrounding ecosystems do see heavy impact from wind disturbance which plays directly into the fire ecology since blowdown equals fuels and also prompts balsam regrowth which is a perfect wildfire starter.


Lee Frelich had an article in the Journal of Ecology on wind mortality in the BWCAW and that impact on the ecosystem you might find interesting.The researchers did a study on wind event impacts on forests and that disturbance's role in an ecosystem. It's an important study because fire is so often the focus when we talk about forest turnover. Fire burns through, jack pine and aspen regrow, and then over the next century or so the early successional species die off and are replaced by red/white pine, spruces, firs, maples, and so on. There's plenty of wind event examples though where this process speeds up and all the overstory is removed in one big wind event, completely changing the process.


Another article you may be interested in by Chris Peterson though it may have restricted access."

Interesting citations, thanks.