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W

e were lucky. Yes, the ice storm did a lot of damage, but, compared to the South Shore, we were on the edge of the storm's path.

In cleaning up after the storm, it will be useful to know which trees have the potential to grow into something and which don't. Generally speaking, most of our forest is second growth. That means that it was cut over for lumber or farming or that it burned at some point in the past century. Most of our area was cleared farms as recently as fifty to sixty years ago. The trees that come up on this cleared land are 'pioneer' species. Their seeds sit in the soil and will not grow in shady areas, but will spring up in sunny, exposed ones becoming the first trees to establish a new forest. They do not thrive in shade and are called 'intolerant' species. These trees tend to grow out and up in the sunshine, but rarely get very large. 'Tolerant' species, on the other hand, germinate and grow in the shade of the forest. These trees can prosper in shade or direct sun. Over time, they will grow very tall and, by casting the intolerant trees in their shadow, will eliminate them.

Tolerant trees grow more slowly. Examples of these are the great white pines that once dominated our forests, sugar maples, some spruces, hemlock and ash. The intolerant trees include white birch, balsam fir, poplar (or trembling aspen) and some red maples.

If a tree is whipped over with its crown in the snow, chances are it is one of the intolerant species. Most likely it will be a birch or poplar. Often it may be necessary to cut these trees down. If the trunk hasn't cracked, it may straighten up, and if the tree isn't too large, you may be able to help it do so. However, it is going to be vulnerable to the next storm. If you have to choose between such a tree and a maple, even though the maple may be smaller, consider taking the birch out.

Pruning the dead branches off of some trees will tidy them up. Make sure you do it right. The Société de l'arbre du Québec, a non-profit foundation funded with private and public money and through the Canadian Forestry Service is offering to help. They have set up a WATS service underwritten by the forestry engineers of Québec.* They can guide you as to the best technique and the best time to prune your trees. A quick call to them informed us that the trees could surprise us with their power to regenerate and that we should not be too hasty in condemning them. Where there is no danger, the best advice seems to be to wait for spring. New growth will hide the missing limbs, but if the crown of a coniferous tree is broken, the tree will have to grow around the old crown. Trees that have done this in the past look a little spooky. They grow straight up to a point, then turn to the side and continue upwards like a headless sentry with one arm pointing to the sky. Sometimes, several new crowns form, as though they were all vying for the top spot.

A part of the forest that is more difficult to predict is the fauna. Species of creatures can be decimated by storms like this, and other, competing, species may fill the gap. By summer's end, we may hear cries in the woods that we have never heard before. The January '97 ice storm in our area seems to have created a niche for the owls, and by late August we could hear them every night.

Written in consultation with Daniel Boyer, forestry engineer, Timmerlinn Ltd. (819) 326-3559.
* La société de l'arbre du Québec. Tel: (800) 811-2727

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