XVI International Botanical Congess

In January of 1998 the most powerful ice storm of the century led to the accumulation of up to 110 mm of ice on the hardwood forests of Mont St. Hilaire, Quebec. Using species-specific regressions relating branch diameter to mass we determined that the storm generated 19.46 t/ha of macro-litter. This represents a 16-fold increase in the annual input of coarse woody debris (>4 cm diameter) and a 19-fold increase in the annual input of woody litter (>1 cm diameter). This loss represents 5.3 to 7.6 percent of total standing biomass and 15 to 22 years of growth. Given that these losses exceed those reported for both other ice storms and other forms of climatic disturbance in forest ecosystems, the role of ice storms in driving forest dynamics may be greater than is currently appreciated.