baumzaehlen - Primeval Forests & Their Trees

Michipicoten Post Provincial Park and South Michipicoten River–Superior Shoreline Conservation Reserve, Ontario, Canada

These small parks (altogether 25 km ² ) can be described as a north-western extension of the much larger Lake Superior Provincial Park . There are also unprotected areas – partly untouched – surrounded by these parks ¹ .

This is the wettest section of the Lake Superior shoreline, annual precipitation being about 1000 mm and average annual temperature 1–2°C. The forests have been called boreal rainforests for their abundant mosses, hanging lichens and moisture; due to natural fire suppression by the climate, the forest may have been undisturbed by fire for hundreds or even thousands of years ² . In absence of fires, shade-tolerant late successional species Picea glauca (white spruce), Picea mariana (black spruce), Abies balsamea (balsam fir), Thuja occidentalis (white-cedar) and Betula cordifolia (mountain paper birch) dominate. Tree species diversity is quite low and most species are easy to identify but e.g. Salix spp. (willows), and Sorbus americana (American mountain-ash) and Sorbus decora (showy mountain-ash) may be difficult to tell apart. The canopy is quite open and low. Consequently, the shrub and sapling layer is dense making off-trail hiking difficult.

The major hiking route is Voyageur Trail, which runs through forests, by beaver ponds and along dramatic cliffs facing Lake Superior, dropping sometimes to the shoreline. The area can also be entered by canoe.

References:

1 Henry, M. & Quinby, P. (2010): Ontario’s Old-Growth Forests. Fitzhenry & Whiteside.

2 Newmaster, S. (2010): Boreal Rainforests in Ontario? In Henry, M. & Quinby, P.: Ontario’s Old-Growth Forests . Fitzhenry & Whiteside.

Official site:

http://www.ontarioparks.com/nonoperating/michipicotenpost/