The Lake Auger Old Forest (french: Forêt ancienne du Lac-Auger) is a protected area of old-growth forest in the
Côte-Nord
Côte-Nord (, ; ; land area ) is the second-largest administrative region by land area in Quebec, Canada, after Nord-du-Québec. It covers much of the northern shore of the Saint Lawrence River estuary and the Gulf of Saint Lawrence past Tadous ...
region of Quebec, Canada.
It is classified as an
exceptional forest ecosystem.
Location
The Lake Auger Old Forest Old Forest is in the unorganized territory of
Lac-Jérôme in
Minganie Regional County Municipality
Minganie is a regional county municipality in the Côte-Nord region of Quebec, Canada. It includes Anticosti Island. Its seat is Havre-Saint-Pierre, Quebec, Havre-Saint-Pierre.
It has an area of according to Quebec's ''Ministère des Affaires ...
of the Côte-Nord region.
It lies to the west of Lake Auger.
It is in the watershed of the
Little Watshishou River
The Little Watshishou River (french: Petite rivière Watshishou) is a salmon river in the east of the Côte-Nord region of Quebec, Canada.
Location
The Little Watshishou River originates in Lake Gallienne, and flows southwest to enter the Gulf of ...
.
The forest covers a rugged area of , and is northwest of
Havre-Saint-Pierre.
The forest is administered by Quebecʻs Ministry of Natural Resources, Wildlife and Parks, Forest Environment Directorate.
It was designated old-growth forest in 2005, and has IUCN management category III.
A map of the
ecological regions of Quebec shows the Lac Auger Old Forest in the east spruce/moss subdomain.
Flora
The Lac-Auger Old Forest mainly consists of stands of
black spruce
''Picea mariana'', the black spruce, is a North American species of spruce tree in the pine family. It is widespread across Canada, found in all 10 provinces and all 3 territories. It is the official tree of the province of Newfoundland and Labra ...
(''Picea mariana'') and
balsam fir (''Abies balsamea''), or stands of black spruce alone, over 200 years old.
The oldest trees are about 285 years old.
The forest has not been seriously affected by fire, insect infestations or windstorms, and has never been modified by human activities.
It has developed naturally, and has trees of varied ages from saplings to mature and senescent trees of great age, with much wood litter including the fallen trunks of large trees.
The natural renewal process probably predates the oldest trees in the forest.
Although old, the trees are relatively small due to the harsh climate, with few larger than in diameter or in height.
The forest grows on medium or steep slopes covered with thin
glacial till
image:Geschiebemergel.JPG, Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains (pebbles and gravel) in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material (silt and sand), and this characteristic, known as ''matrix support'', is d ...
.
There is also black spruce in
sphagnum moss in damp areas, and
white spruce White spruce is a common name for several species of spruce (''Picea'') and may refer to:
* ''Picea glauca'', native to most of Canada and Alaska with limited populations in the northeastern United States
* ''Picea engelmannii'', native to the Ro ...
(''Picea glauca'') on the richest sites, often at the foot of slopes along the many streams that criss-cross the area.
There are some
white birch
''Betula papyrifera'' (paper birch, also known as (American) white birch and canoe birch) is a short-lived species of birch native to northern North America. Paper birch is named for the tree's thin white bark, which often peels in paper like ...
(''Betula papyrifera'') in openings in the forest caused by windstorms.
Fir and black spruce also dominate
the undergrowth.
The other undergrowth plants are not very diversified, and include
hypnaceous mosses and common broad leaf plants such as
Canadian bunchberry (''Cornus canadensis''),
blue-bead lily (''Clintonia borealis'') and
creeping snowberry (''Gaultheria hispidula'').
Notes
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Lake Auger Old Forest'
Exceptional forest ecosystems of Quebec
Protected areas of Côte-Nord