The results of a complete survey of logging, road building, reservoir construction and other human disturbances in Québec’s northern forests in Canada reveals that the Boreal region in Québec is being rapidly impacted over a wide area, mostly by logging, but also
by roads and reservoirs. The study, Recent Anthropogenic Changes within the Northern Boreal, Southern Taiga and Hudson Plains Ecozones of Québec, was undertaken using extensive satellite imagery and analysis and was released recently by Global Forest Watch Canada (GFWC). To complete this project, computer analysis and visual
checking of satellite imagery was done over an eight month period in 2005
The GFWC analysis covered forest changes across several ecological regions and found some dramatic results. In one 628,000 ha watershed, 132,000 ha (27% of the forests in the watershed) were logged and roaded over the course of an 11 year period. In one northern Cree (Eeyou Istchee) trapline area, over 60% of the forest (16,539 ha) was logged over a period of 12 years. The largest contiguous logged and roaded area that was impacted over a similar 11 year period is a boreal forest area of almost 150,000 ha in size.
