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The main menu is accessed through the hamburger menu in the "bookmark" on the left-hand side of the page. This report is divided into five chapters. From this menu, you can access each of the main chapters and their sections from anywhere in the report.

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Richard Caners

Introduction

As mentioned in Section 2.3, fire is the principal natural disturbance in northwestern Alberta; it is the dominant natural disturbance in both boreal forest and foothills forest ecosystems.

  • In these forests, fires—along with other natural disturbances such as insect outbreaks and disease—result in a mosaic of stands of different ages from young forests to forests more than 150 years old. This mosaic of ages helps maintain biodiversity across northwestern Alberta.
  • However, 2023 was an exceptional year for wildfires in many jurisdictions, including Alberta. Widespread fires in the summer of 2023 altered land bases across the province[1], including large parts of the Southern Operating Area.
  • Fires are a natural process in forest ecosystems; they do not necessarily burn 100% of the area affected, and burned areas will regenerate. However, high fire rates—particularly if they continue in future years—will affect forest biodiversity and forestry operations.
  • In this section, we use preliminary fire mapping to show how 2023 fires affected Tolko’s Southern Operating Area. 
Flowering fireweed in hollow of burned tree.

The aptly named fireweed thrives in recent burns.

Results

Summary of 2023 Wildfire

The per cent area of the Southern Operating Area that burned in 2023 was:

8.8%

2023 Fire Effects on Vegetation Types

  • Overall, 8.8% of the Southern Operating Area burned in 2023. Pine stands experienced the lowest percentage burned at 6.8%, while White Spruce stands had the highest at 12.5%. Additionally, 22% of the upland grass and shrub vegetation types were affected by fire, but they occupy a small area of the landbase. These burn rates are 10–25 times higher than the annual fire rate observed from 2010–2021. In upland forests, the 2023 fire percentages are 5–10 times greater than the total area disturbed annually by fire and human footprint during that period.
  • The extensive fires in 2023 significantly reduced the amount of old forest, with the impact being especially pronounced in conifer stands, where recruitment had already fallen below disturbance rates from 2010 to 2021 (Section 2.3). Burn rates in 2023 were higher in old deciduous and pine stands compared to younger ones, while rates were similar between old and younger mixedwood and White Spruce stands.
  • Burned harvest areas in the Southern Operating Area were skewed slightly towards conifer and older harvest areas. That pattern is expected from flammability.  
  • Note that values may be revised when detailed fire mapping is available. Ecologically, we have little information on burned harvest areas as habitat for species, or how they will regenerate.
Detailed Land Base Change including 2023 Fires—All Vegetation Types

Detailed Land Base Change including 2023 Fires—All Vegetation Types. For the Southern Operating Area, the average annual percentage (%) of each vegetation type disturbed between 2010 and 2021 by fire, non-forestry (other) footprint, and forestry footprint, compared to the percentage of area burned by the 2023 fire.

Detailed Land Base Change including 2023 Fires—Old (>120 years) Forest

Detailed Land Base Change including 2023 Fires—Old (>120 years) Forest. For the Southern Operating Area, the average annual percentage (%) of old forest (>120 years) disturbed between 2010 and 2021 by fire, non-forestry (other) footprint, and forestry footprint, compared to the percentage of area burned by the 2023 fire.

References

1.

Huggard, D., B. Allen, and D.R. Roberts. 2024. Effects of 2023 wildfires in Alberta. ABMI Science Letters Issue 8: March, 2024. Available at: https://abmi.ca/publication/642

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