Change from pre-settlement to present-day forest composition reconstructed from early land survey records in eastern Quebec, Canada

Questions What was the tree species composition of forests prior to European settlement at the northern hardwood range limit in eastern Quebec, Canada? What role did human activities play in the changes in forest composition in this region? Location Northern range limit of northern hardwoods in the Lower St. Lawrence region of eastern Quebec, Canada. Methods We used early land survey records (1846-1949) of public lands to reconstruct pre-settlement forest composition. The data consist of ranked tree species enumerations at points or for segments along surveyed lines, with enumerations of forest cover types and notes concerning disturbances. An original procedure was developed to weigh and combine these differing data types (line versus point observations; taxa versus cover enumerations). Change to present-day forest composition was evaluated by comparing survey records with forest decadal surveys conducted by the government of Quebec over the last 30 years (1980-2009). Results Pre-settlement dominance of conifers was strong and uniform across the study area, whereas dominance of maple and birches was patchy. Cedar and spruce were less likely to dominate with increasing altitude, whereas maple displayed the reverse trend. Frequency of disturbances, especially logging and fire, increased greatly after 1900. Comparison of survey records and modern plots showed general increases for maple (mentioned frequency increased by 39%), poplar (36%) and paper birch (31%). Considering only taxa ranked first by surveyors, cedar displayed the largest decrease (19%), whereas poplar (15%) and maple (9%) increased significantly. Conclusions These changes in forest composition can be principally attributed to clear-cutting and colonization fire disturbances throughout the 20th century, and mostly reflected the propensity of taxa to expand (maples/aspen) or decline (cedar/spruce) with increased disturbance frequency. Quebec's land survey archives provide an additional data source to reconstruct and validate our knowledge of North America's pre-settlement temperate and sub-boreal forests.