- At the regional scale, through protected areas (see Section 4.5);
- At the watershed or landscape scale, through a mosaic of forests with differing structures and ages (seral stages); and
- At the cutblock or stand scale, by retaining important ecosystem features such as wildlife tree patches and coarse woody debris.
At the landscape or watershed level, the desired seral stage distribution depends on the types of ecosystems present and the biodiversity emphasis that is assigned to the landscape (see map).
Biodiversity emphasis options are based on the presence of species at risk, rare forest ecosystems, and the history of industrial development.
An important way of conserving biodiversity is to identify and maintain old growth management areas. These areas provide food and shelter for species that depend on old forests.
- Current policy on old growth management will leave out some important forest types, but protecting these forests could reduce the amount of harvestable timber.
- Biodiversity and native species can be lost by forest harvesting practices that do not resemble natural disturbance patterns (e.g., fire, pests, and landslides).
- The loss of important ecosystem features at the stand scale (e.g., coarse woody debris and wildlife trees) can reduce species diversity.
Goals:
- Forest and grassland biodiversity is sustained at all scales over space and time