A new approach to forest biodiversity monitoring in Canada

Society increasingly asks forestry agencies to consider maintenance of biodiversity alongside tree growth and wood supply when managing forests. In this paper we explore the mechanisms that managers currently have available to meet this expectation. When assessing three key indicators (trends in ecosystem and habitat extent, trends in distribution and abundance of species, and changes in status of threatened species), we found that managers lack the information for consistent, scientifically rigorous, unbiased reporting on the impact of their management on biodiversity in Canada. We outline the key characteristics of a controversial biodiversity monitoring approach that is taxonomically broad and cumulative-effects oriented. We argue that programs designed specifically to monitor biodiversity, although sometimes criticized as inefficient and ineffective, are statistically and biologically robust in the long term, especially compared to the status quo. Given the nature of biodiversity and the diversity of human impacts, if forest management agencies are sincere in their desire to manage biodiversity, they need to devote the same effort and scientific rigor used to monitor tree growth and harvest rates to develop standardized protocols and rigorous sampling designs for biodiversity monitoring. Federal and provincial governments, as well as the scientific community, will need to cooperate with and support forest managers in this new endeavour.