A West Island Forest
The following information is abstracted from an article originally published under the title West Island Forests: Rooted in time, growing toward an uncertain future by Jim and Helen Fyles. Dr Fyles is the Director of the Morgan Arboretum.
Where our forest came from
The strong impact of European settlement and use of the land for agriculture and forestry obscures our current picture of the West Island. The long-term pollen record speaks of migrations of plant species from as far south as North Carolina following the retreat of the glaciers, warming climate and emergence of land areas from the sea. Eight thousand years ago, spruce and pine dominated a forest perhaps reminiscent of the modern coniferous forests of central and northern Quebec. Hardwood trees, such as maple and beech arrived, between 6000 and 4000 years ago. The prevailing concept of the forest ‘association’ typical of the West Island is based on the field research and descriptions of Granter from the 1950’s which characterized the ‘Erablière á Caryer’ on rich soils as a diverse mixed forest of sugar maple with bitternut hickory, white ash, basswood. Considerable uncertainty remains, however, about the composition of the ‘climax’ or ‘old growth’ forest before European settlement. One of the intriguing questions about the pre-European forest is the role that aboriginal peoples played in determining its character. Although no written records exist, the oral tradition held by Mohawk elders suggests that the extent and diversity of the hardwood forests may have been the product of intentional modification of the forest to promote species valued for food, fibre and medicine. Both the aboriginal oral record and written accounts of early European explorers describe large and long-established aboriginal communities with highly developed agricultural systems. The oral tradition recalls the removal of forest using fire and the intentional establishment of beaver colonies in stream valleys to flood the forest. Flooding not only killed the trees, making their removal relatively easy, but also led to the accumulation of sediments which increased the fertility of the soils once the pond was drained and converted to agricultural fields. Nut trees, such as hickory, and fibre species, such as black ash used in basket making, were commonly planted. Although the extent of the use of these ‘management’ techniques in the forests of the West Island is unknown, our concept of the history of these forests should include this important human component potentially reaching back thousands of years.
Land tenure and the ‘back-forty’
The Seignurial land-tenure system that was introduced early in the period of French colonization had a significant effect on the pattern of colonial settlement and agricultural land development, and thus on the forest that was cleared to make way for these activities. In this tenure system, farmers were guaranteed access to the river, which was the primary transportation route. Farm buildings were usually built near the river, with agricultural fields behind and uncut forests remaining farther inland. When lots were divided, among inheriting sons for instance, the right to river frontage was maintained, thus perpetuating the pattern of farms near the river and forests further inland. This approach to land development ensured that the floodplain and riverbank forests were cut first. In many areas of the West Island, this occurred as early as the 1600’s, and few of these forests remain intact today. Farmers used the inland forests for timber and firewood production or for free-range grazing by cattle and they were not converted to other ecosystem types. The location of these forests on soils derived from the ancient sandbars or poorly drained clay sediments, and undesirable for agriculture, strengthened the pattern of land use. Early land-use patterns are still readily apparent on maps of the West Island which show significant areas of old forest only in centra l sections of the area, including the Morgan Arboretum of Ste Anne de Bellevue and Senneville, Cap St Jacques, and Ile Bizard.
A fragmented forest
At one time, the forests of the West Island stretched in an unbroken blanket from Lac St Louis to Riviere des Prairies, divided only by streams and wetlands. Human activity has broken the forest into smaller and smaller pieces separated by tracts of agricultural fields, roads and suburban developments. Where once plants and animals could disperse through unbroken habitat, there now are barriers of asphalt, concrete and chain-link. Dispersal is a key process that maintains a diversity of species in ecosystems and of genes in a population. Research on islands has shown that smaller islands can support fewer species as do islands that are farther from the mainland. Once forest patches become islands in a sea of non-forest, the patches behave the same way, and the number of species that can be supported drops. Narrow corridors along road edges or fence lines become crucial for travel between patches. The distribution of spring flowers in many West Island forests show clearly the effects of how fragmentation and barriers can affect biodiversity. The trilliums are a case in point. Trillum seeds are dispersed by ants and therefore if these plants are exterminated from a forest stand, by cattle grazing for instance, their reestablishment from adjacent areas is very slow. Ants never travel far and seldom cross roads so that even woodland trails can act as barriers to trillium seed dispersal. In a landscape criss-crossed by pavement, dispersal is impossible.
Some trees to remember ...
American beech (Fagus grandifolia) 
The American Beech is often the most distinctive tree in the forest because of its massive, smooth, grey trunk. The hollows of these large trunks often provide shelter for various animals. Triangular beechnuts, enclosed in a bur, are a favourite and important source of food of birds, squirrels, chipmunks and mice. Native people would eat the nuts raw, cook them into a soup or mush, or boil them to make high quality oil. The inner bark is also nutritious and flavourful and was a protein source in soup or bread. The tough, strong wood of this species is ideal for flooring, furniture and other woodenware. American Beech became relatively more abundant when early loggers neglected it in favour of maple, birch or white pine. In recent years it has suffered from Beech bark disease, initiated by an insect that attacks the bark and makes it susceptible to bark canker fungi. The disease, first seen in North America in 1920, has spread slowly north and has recently been observed on beech trees in the West Island.
Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) 
This tall handsome maple, which adds dramatic colour to our forests every fall, is one of the most common trees on the West Island and one of the most useful to people. Its wood has been used for everything from furniture to musical instruments and it is, of course, the source of maple syrup. Native people developed the technology for tapping the trees early in the spring to catch the first, and sweetest, flow of sap. Sap was also used as a beverage, fresh or fermented into a kind of beer. The sugar maple has two seeds attached to two large papery wings in a horseshoe shape, called a double samara, which can be carried 100 m by the wind. The trees are very sensitive to air pollution and to drought and the anticipated climate change is a major concern for this species. The leaf of the sugar maple is known internationally as it is the centrepiece of the Canadian flag.
Butternut (Juglans cinerea) 
A close cousin of the black walnut, the West Island Forests: Rooted in Time Caring for Community 5.8 butternut produces large nuts that are popular with humans and animals. Enclosed in a sticky, yellow-green husk, the kernel of the nut is sweet, oily and edible and was once very important in the diet of native people. Settlers prized the wood for cabinetwork and furniture, and made syrup from the sap but yields were lower than for sugar maple. The butternut does not survive under shade from above and grows best on well-drained sites. In order to reduce competition from other plants growing around it, butternut produces a substance in its root tissues called “juglans” that is selectively toxic. Homeopathic medicine uses a tincture from the bark of the roots for various maladies related to skin and headaches. Unfortunately, a fungal disease (Butternut Canker) has recently threatened this handsome species and has killed many trees in the southern part of its range.
Bitternut hickory (Carya cordiformis) 
The northernmost of hickories, this is a small tree in the understory of the forest that was well used by early inhabitants of the West Island. The round, bitter nuts, inside a yellow-green husk with a pointed tip, are eaten by wildlife but their high tannin content and extreme bitterness make them unpleasant eating for humans. However, early settlers used oil extracted from the nuts for oil lamps and believed that the oil was valuable as a cure for rheumatism. The Iroquois used the oil mixed with bear grease as an insect repellent and used the bark for furniture and snowshoes. Hickory has traditionally been very popular as a fuel wood because it burns evenly, and produces long-lasting steady heat and the charcoal gives food a hickory-smoked flavour. The general low percentage of hickory in many forests may be due in part to selective cutting of the hickory for fuel wood.
American Elm (Ulmus americana)
This tall, stately tree was once a familiar site in local forests and on city streets. In earlier times, the elm was valued for its interlocked grain that is difficult to split. This was an advantage for uses where bending was needed such as in barrels, baskets, and wheel hubs. The inner bark is tough and can be twisted into long fibres and it is possible that native people used this rope to attach the poles that supported the structure of longhouses. However, the elm has been all but wiped out by Dutch elm disease, a fungal disease spread by beetles. The disease was first introduced to North America in 1930 via a shipment of infected elm from Europe that evidently contained both West Island Forests: Rooted in Time Caring for Community 5.9 the fungus that causes the disease and the European elm bark beetle, the preferred method of transportation of the fungus. The ability of the fungus to hitchhike from tree to tree on both the European and the native elm bark beetle hastened the spread of the disease. By the 1970’s most stands had been devastated and there are only scattered trees left.
Black Cherry (Prunus serotina) 
The largest of the wild cherries, the Black Cherry has a rich, red-brown wood that is highly valued for cabinets and fine furniture. Black cherry fruits are an important source of food for many species of birds and mammals, and numerous migratory birds feed on the cherries as they migrate south in the fall. The leaves, twigs, bark and seeds are poisonous to livestock because they contain a cyanide compound that breaks down during digestion and becomes toxic. Nevertheless, fox, squirrels, rabbits, and native deer are unaffected by the cyanide and commonly consume the cherries. Unlike domestic cherry trees, which flower before the leaves appear, the black cherry flowers when the leaves are nearly fully-grown. These beautiful flowers are unmistakable in late spring.