Aim: Indigenous communities involved in conservation planning require spatial datasets depicting the distribution of culturally important species. However, accessing datasets on the location of these species can be challenging, particularly when the current distribution no longer reflects areas with the full range of suitable growing conditions because of past logging. We test whether using occurrence data from community-based field surveys and archaeological records in species distribution models can help predict the distribution of monumental western redcedar trees (Thuja plicata)-large, high-quality trees suitable for cultural purposes such as carving dug-out canoes, totem poles and traditional houses. This species is critically important to indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest of North America, but trees suitable for traditional carving and building are diminishing in abundance due to logging.Location: Our analysis covers the spatial extent of the traditional territory of the Heiltsuk First Nation, which encompasses a portion of the Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia, Canada. Methods:We built and compared species distribution models using the machine learning program, Maxent, based on occurrence data from field surveys and archaeological records of culturally modified trees.Results: Our findings highlight similarities and differences between the predictions from these species distribution models. When validating these models against occurrences from an independent dataset, the archaeological record model performs better than the field survey model. These findings may arise because the independent dataset was collected on an unlogged island-an environment that aligns more closely with the historic forest conditions revealed by the archaeological records than the current distribution revealed by the field surveys. Main conclusions:We demonstrate and discuss the utility of using archaeological data in species distribution modelling and conservation planning when the target species is associated with shifting environmental baselines, data limitations and an important cultural resource. ACK N OWLED G EM ENTSWe are extremely grateful to all the staff at the Heiltsuk Integrated Resource Management Department for guiding this project, providing logistical support and supplying datasets, especially Laurie
ABSTRACT. We compared the resilience to economic shocks-such as the downturn of the U.S. housing market-of commodity sawmills, which tend to be large, and value-added specialty sawmills, which tend to be small or medium in size, that are located in one region of the province of British Columbia, Canada, as measured by their average days in operation over the last decade and during the 2007-2009 recession. Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative measures, we then examined three behavioral characteristics contributing to their different degrees of resilience: flexibility, diversity, and orientation to place. We found that the specialty mills had greater resilience over the decade because they (a) contributed more jobs per volume of wood consumed and produced, (b) had greater flexibility to operate further below their capacity, (c) produced more diverse primary and secondary (value-added) wood products, (d) targeted more diverse markets, and (e) did more log sorting and trading in logs of different species with other specialty mills and with local commodity mills, with whom they acted as a resilient cluster. Although all these activities resulted in more logs flowing toward their highest value use, we found that the specialty mills lacked a secure and adequate timber supply, while the major timber tenures held by the commodity mills went largely unused during the downturn. This finding suggests that, in addition to contributing to resilience within the forest products sector, more access to timber tenure by the specialty mills, or having a greater portion of timber on the open market, would result in more value being produced from publicly owned timber.
Two related species of Hedera spp. exist throughout Canada: English Ivy (Hedera helix L.) and Irish Ivy [Hedera hibernica (G. Kirchn.) Bean]. These species are difficult to distinguish taxonomically and clear distinctions are not always made in the literature, so we largely discuss them as a single taxon in this account. Ivy is an evergreen perennial with two distinct forms: woody vine (juvenile form) or shrub (adult form). In Canada, Hedera spp. are found naturalized along the southern coast of British Columbia (Vancouver, Vancouver Island, and the Gulf Islands) and in southwestern Ontario. During the past century, ivies have greatly expanded their ranges along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of North America and in New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Brazil, and Hawaii. Ivy is physiologically plastic, invading both semi-open and deeply shaded forests. It forms a dense ground cover that can inhibit native vegetation. It grows up on tree trunks and competes for soil nutrients, frequently leading to tree damage or even tree fall. Invasive characteristics include its evergreen habit, persistence, and vegetative reproductive capabilities. Humans have accelerated the spread of ivy by planting it along highway embankments and medians to control soil erosion and through widespread sale as an ornamental plant. There is debate among horticulturalists and ecologists over the destructive and advantageous effects of ivy growth and sale within North America. Various methods of control (chemical, manual, biological, and integrated) may be used to manage this species, but more research is needed to design better control techniques.
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