Uncovering the Remarkable Resilience of Appalachian Hardwood Forests

Uncovering the Remarkable Resilience of Appalachian Hardwood Forests

WRITTEN BY AIDAN PEARCE, COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER

It’s not every day you get to see rare and endangered plants like showy orchids and butternut trees, but for our conservation team and University of New Brunswick student Madi White, it’s a part of the job.  

For the last two summers, Madi and Nature Trust staff have travelled to properties around the province to document the features and resilience of the Appalachian Hardwood Forest (AHF) as part of Madi’s ongoing Master’s project. During fieldwork outings at various AHF sites, they have identified spring and summer ephemerals, conducted tree plot sampling surveys, and collected soil samples! After completing her upcoming fieldwork (which will include tree coring), Madi will analyze the data they have collected, conduct lab work, and write her thesis. 

University of New Brunswick student Madi White, in her natural element. She is surrounded by Goldie’s wood fern (Dryopteris goldieana), a vulnerable species often found in Appalachian Hardwood Forests / Photo by Jon MacNeill

Appalachian hardwood forests feature uniquely moist and nutrient-rich soil, leading to high levels of productivity and biodiversity not seen elsewhere in the province. Strongly associated with the Appalachian Mountain range, the AHF also acts as an important refuge for many animals that depend on these natural corridors. The north-south orientation of these ancient mountains means that animals like moose (Alces alces), black bears (Ursus americanus), as well as hundreds of different bird species depend on this forest type when migrating between seasons.  

The AHF is a haven for trees and other plants rare to the Maritimes, but unfortunately, decades of forest clearing have reduced its span in New Brunswick to just one percent of what it once was. With the AHF that remains, Madi is working to understand how its recovery is impacted by various living and non-living factors, such as species composition and soil health.  

“I’m trying to find out why it’s found where it is, why it’s persisting where it is,” says Madi.  

She and our team have been all over western New Brunswick to record key AHF landscape features and plant species, which will ultimately provide insight into the overall health and recovery of these forests. The presence of certain plants─like Christmas fern and jack-in-the-pulpit─tells us the soil is fairly rich in nutrients. Madi calls these “rich-site indicators,” and says they are a good sign of recovering AHF. 

To get the full picture of AHF resilience, we also need to understand the history of its land usage. 

 “What did this forest used to be? Was it cleared for agriculture? Was it cleared for a pasture? Has it always been a forest?” Madi asks.  

Answering questions like these will help us understand some of the external factors influencing an AHF plot, painting a picture of its resilience over years of potential disturbances. For example, where one plot has a different species composition than another, the historic land usage may be able to fill in those knowledge gaps and help to explain why one area of AHF may be recovering differently. Perhaps the farming that occurred decades prior has influenced its recovery in ways that other activities would not. 

Want to learn more about the rare and unique species found in Appalachian Hardwood Forests? Check out our handy AHF Species Guide!

Research like Madi’s is essential for conservation organizations like ours to properly strategize conservation efforts. By understanding which factors are helping or hindering the restoration of Appalachian Hardwood Forests, the Nature Trust can create protection plans accordingly.  

As New Brunswick faces hotter summers and the growing threat of wildfires, Madi’s work takes on an added urgency. Appalachian hardwood forests play a quiet but powerful role in climate resilience: their open canopies and moist, less flammable understories slow the spread of fire. These mature hardwoods also store immense amounts of carbon, helping to temper the very climate shifts driving extreme heat. By studying how these rare forests recover and persist, Madi is not only protecting biodiversity — she’s helping us understand and safeguard one of our best natural defenses against climate change. 

2024-25 marked our biggest conservation year ever — we protected 21 new properties (15 new nature preserves + 6 expansions), including 2 properties with AHF! You can support this work by donating to our upcoming year-end fundraising campaign and contribute directly toward our effort to protect this unique and essential forest. 

This closeup of a twinflower (Linnaea borealis) gives us a glimpse into the rich and diverse ground vegetation found in Appalachian Hardwood Forests / Photo by Cassie Boxwell

This research is made possible by support from Mathematics of Information Technology and Complex Systems (MITACS), the New Brunswick Department of Natural Resources (NBDNR), and the New Brunswick Wildlife Trust Fund, which has helped Madi gain essential skills and knowledge while contributing to our mission to protect New Brunswick’s unique ecosystems.

We’ve been working since the late 90s to acquire remaining AHF stands and protect them forever as Nature Trust preserves. Explore some of our preserves (new and old!) featuring AHF habitat below: 

Communications Nature Trust