PARENT SESSION
Oral Session #73: Applied Ecology and Ecological Economics. Presiding: J. Hof.
Friday, August 10, 2001. 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Hall of Ideas P&Q.
Silviculture and its impact on four plants with medicinal value in Northwestern Ontario.
Chandy, Shibi1, Euler, David, 1
ABSTRACT- Vegetation management to release conifers from competing angiosperms is practiced throughout Canada. Aerial herbicide application, mechanical cutting, are some of the techniques used to suppress competing vegetation. These techniques allow conifers to establish in the first few years after planting. One of the issues that arise, especially from the public, is concern that aerial herbicide applications have on other values. Hence, there is pressure on managers to find alternatives for the chemical control of vegetation that hinders early conifer growth. The abundance of ( Cornus stolonifera Michx., synonym serecia ), ( Epilobium angustifolium L), ( Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn), and ( Rubus ideas L.var. stringosus (Michx).Maxim) was determined, seven years after the silvicultural treatments were first applied in the area. All four species studied show potential medicinal ingredients both from ethnobotanical, and pharmaceutical perspectives. A single application of herbicides or mechanical treatments did not show any statistical difference from the control plots in the abundance of these species. By using mechanical methods for controlling these species, the medicinal values can be made available for development by the pharmaceutical companies, without contributing to any environmental degradation that may result from aerial herbicide application.
KEY WORDS: Aerial application, Cornus stolonifera, ethnobotany, Epilobium angustifolium, medicinal use,, mechanical treatments,Pteridium aquilinum, Rubus, vegetation management