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Table of Contents
Return to Title Page
Natural Fire Regimes in Ontario
Executive Summary
Résumé
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Background and Rationale
Fire Management Strategy
Fire Policy for Park and Conservation Reserves
Fire Management Planning Guidelines for Protected Areas
Fire and Fire Regimes
The Ecological Role of Fire
Principles of Fire Occurrence and Behaviour
Fire Ecology and Effects
Plant Mortality
Plant responses to fire
Community and landscape level responses to fire
Anthropogenic factors that influenced changes in fire regimes
Aboriginal burning
European settlement, land conversion, and resource extraction
Fire exclusion policy
Modern Fire Regimes
Approaches to Reconstructing Natural Fire Regimes
Scale of Analysis
Landscape Approach to Fire Regime Analysis
Ecological Regions of Ontario
Identification of Homogenous Fire Groups
Fire Regime Categories
Natural Fire Frequency and Cycle
Boreal West Forest Region
Jack Pine
Upland Black Spruce - Jack Pine
Fir-Spruce Mixed Wood
Aspen-Birch, Aspen-Birch-Fir
Red Pine-White Pine-Jack Pine
Red Pine - White Pine
Lowland Black Spruce
Cedar and Hardwood Lowlands
Boreal East Forest Region
Jack Pine
Black Spruce
Upland Black Spruce - Jack Pine
Spruce-Fir Mixed Wood
Aspen-Birch, Aspen-Birch-Conifer
Lowland Black Spruce
Tolerant Hardwoods and Hardwood Mixedwoods
Jack Pine - White Pine - Red Pine
White Pine - Red Pine, White Pine-Conifer
Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Forest Region
Jack Pine
Black Spruce
White Pine - Red Pine
Jack Pine - White Pine - Red Pine
Aspen-Birch, Aspen-Birch-Conifer
Oak-Hardwood, Oak-Pine
Tolerant Hardwoods and Mixed-Hardwoods
Conifer and Hardwood Lowlands
Deciduous Forest Region
Tallgrass Prairie
Poplar-White Birch, White Birch-Poplar-Conifer
Oak Deciduous, White Pine-Maple-Oak Mixedwoods
Pitch Pine - Oak Mixedwoods
Tolerant Hardwoods and Mixed-Hardwoods
Conifer, Deciduous, and Mixed Lowlands
Tallgrass Savanna
Tallgrass Woodland
Oak-Maple-Hickory
Alvar
Rock Barren
Sand Barren
White Pine - Red Pine
Jack Pine
Summary and Research Needs
Reference Conditions
Public Involvement
Time Since Last Fire
Effects of Fire on Ecosystem Processes and Biodiversity
Species at Risk
Exotic Plants
Interactions Among Disturbance Agents
Climate Change
Adaptive Management
Management Alternatives
References
Appendix 1 - Fire management zones
Appendix 2 - Summary of biotic and abiotic factors affecting fire behaviour *
Appendix 3 - Plant Species list
Appendix 4 - Fire return interval for natural (historic) fire regimes in Ontario and the Great Lakes Region
Appendix 5 - Fire cycle for natural (historic) fire regimes in Ontario and the Great Lakes region
Effects of Fire on Ecosystem Processes and Biodiversity