Introduction

Source: PEI Ecosystem-Based Forest Management Standards Manual (October 2025), pp. 1–2

Prince Edward Island sits inside the Acadian Forest region, where the Boreal Forest (to the north) gives way to the Deciduous Forest (to the south). Acadian stands mix softwoods (conifers) with hardwoods (broadleaf trees), and they normally renew themselves through small, frequent disturbances: a few trees fall, the gap fills in, and over time the forest tends toward long-lived, shade-tolerant, late-successional species.

Large disturbances that replace whole stands at once — fire, major windstorms, insect outbreaks — have historically been uncommon here. The province expects them to become more frequent as the climate warms.

A forest in transition

As temperatures rise, many tree and plant species are gradually shifting their ranges northward, on PEI and across Canada. Habitat for cold-tolerant trees such as white spruce, balsam fir and eastern white cedar is expected to shrink over this century, while warmth-favouring species — mostly hardwoods such as red maple and red oak, along with white pine — are likely to take their place. These projections come from a 2010 study by Dr. Charles Bourque, published on the provincial Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action website.

For woodlot management, that means treatment choices, harvest intensity and which species to retain all need to account for where the forest is heading, not only what is standing today.

How we got here

• Before European settlement, roughly 98% of the Island was forested, dominated by long-lived, shade-tolerant species: red spruce, sugar maple, yellow birch, American beech, white pine and eastern hemlock.
• Early use was selective and valuable — white pine for ship masts, and many species for the shipbuilding boom of the mid-1800s.
• Land clearing had the largest impact. Conversion to farms, roads and settlements through the 1800s left only about 30% of the Island forested by 1900.
• Repeated cutting since, often for firewood, has kept much of today’s forest young. It has not had time to reach a late-successional stage, so it holds a higher share of short-lived species than the original forest did.

More than timber

The forest supports a wide range of plants and wildlife, and those communities have changed along with it. Some species need large, continuous tracts of forest; others can use smaller woodlots but depend on treed corridors to move between them. When the forest breaks into small, disconnected patches, it stops working for some of these species — which is why corridors such as hedgerows matter so much in a fragmented landscape.

Large standing trees, both living and dead, are especially valuable. Cavity-nesting species often use them in sequence: a small bird excavates or uses a cavity, and later a larger species enlarges it.

Forests also provide ecological services that Islanders rely on: filtering and storing water, reducing erosion and runoff, shading streams and sheltering land from wind. Forested wetlands and vernal pools are habitats of particular conservation importance. Water is a provincial priority — many Islanders take part in watershed programs — and increasing forest cover in a watershed can improve its water quality.

Why individual decisions matter

PEI is Canada’s most densely populated province, and most of its land is privately owned. Managing across property lines is therefore hard, and a decision on one woodlot frequently affects neighbouring properties and the wider landscape. Harvesting in a way that respects the forest’s ecological services keeps it productive — economically, ecologically and recreationally — for the next generation.

How this guide maps to the manual

This guide currently follows one source: the Ecosystem-Based Forest Management Standards Manual (October 2025) published by the PEI Forests, Fish and Wildlife Division. Each page notes the manual pages it draws on.

Based on the PEI Ecosystem-Based Forest Management Standards Manual (October 2025), pp. 1–2. Where this guide and the manual differ, the manual governs.