Diversity Enhancement
Source: PEI Ecosystem-Based Forest Management Standards Manual (October 2025), pp. 5–6
These requirements apply across treatments. They keep structure, deadwood and species variety in a managed woodlot.
At a glance
| Requirement | Standard | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Cavity and legacy trees | Keep existing cavity trees; group them into leave patches with legacy trees | All treatments |
| Coarse woody debris (CWD) | At least 200 pieces/ha, each averaging ≥7.5 cm in diameter and ≥2 m long | All harvest sites |
| Alternate species | At least 15% of residual density | Plantations, plantation maintenance, pre-commercial and commercial thinning |
| Wind buffer | 15 m untreated strip | Thinnings next to open or exposed areas |
| Scattered seed trees | Leave individuals of listed species standing | Any stand where they occur at low density |
| Rare species | Conserve and manage once confirmed | Wherever a PEI Forests, Fish and Wildlife professional confirms presence |
Cavity and legacy trees
Keep the cavity trees you already have and fold them into leave patches of legacy trees. Where trembling aspen is present, it is the preferred legacy tree: of the local species, it has the greatest potential to provide cavities for the longest time.
Coarse woody debris
Every harvest site must retain downed woody material: at least 200 pieces per hectare, each with an average diameter of 7.5 cm or more and a length of at least 2 m. Deadwood on the ground creates microhabitats for plants and wildlife.
Alternate species in plantations and thinnings
In plantations, plantation maintenance, and pre-commercial and commercial thinnings, at least 15% of the residual density should be alternate species — trees or shrubs kept for diversity rather than as the crop.
- Easiest way to get there: leave parts of the plantation untreated. Cover patches, slash piles, vegetation corridors, bull pens from road building and failed planting spots all count.
- Mix preference: keep hardwoods in softwood treatments, and softwoods in hardwood treatments.
- Duration: alternate species must stay part of the plantation for the whole rotation, not only until the next treatment.
Wind buffer on thinnings
When a thinning borders open or exposed ground, leave a 15 m buffer untreated along that edge. This limits wind getting into the newly opened stand.
Scattered seed trees
If a stand holds only a few natural individuals of the following species, leave those trees standing as seed trees:
- Softwoods: red spruce, white spruce, black spruce, eastern hemlock, white pine, red pine, eastern cedar
- Hardwoods: yellow birch, sugar maple, white ash, black ash, red oak
Rare plants and animals
Once a PEI Forests, Fish and Wildlife professional officially confirms a rare species on the site, it must be conserved and managed as described in Rare Plant and Animal Species.
Based on the PEI Ecosystem-Based Forest Management Standards Manual (October 2025), pp. 5–6. Where this guide and the manual differ, the manual governs.