Loucks, O. L. (1961) A forest classification for the Maritime provinces. Proceedings of the Nova 
     
     Scotia Institute of Science. Vol. 25, Part 2: 85-167. 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     Some twenty-four years after Hall/day’s all-Canada study, Oliver Loucks, with the aim of ”providing a basis for 
     
     Maritime silvicu/ture”, carried out a more detailed study of the variation within the forests of the Maritime 
     
     provinces. Loucks used a hierarchia/ system to classify the forests, with the basic unit of his classification being 
     
     the ’ecoregion ’, which he defined as ”a geographic unit within which ecological relationships between tree species 
     
     and site were essentially similar”. Ecoregions were recognized by their characteristic tree species composition on 
     
     ’zona/ site types’ — i. e. on well-drained sandy loam soils on gent/e mid-slopes. He recognized eleven forest 
     
     ecoregions in the Mar/times, and subdivided these — ”on the basis of the pattern of relief, drainage or type of 
     
     bedrock” — into fifty-five geographical/y limited ’site districts’. In the other direction, those ecoregions showing 
     
     ”affinities in dominant tree species composition ” were grouped into ’forest zones’. Seven such zones were 
     
     recognized for the Maritimes (Figure 6/, only two of which extended to Prince Edward Island: the ’Sugar map/e — 
     
     Hemlock — Pine’ zone (a broad—leaved forest-type widely distributed throughout the Maritimesl and the ’Red spruce 
     
     — Hemlock — Pine’ zone (the mostly widely distributed conifer—dominated forest-type). Loucks’ classification was 
     
     based on field data collected by himself and others during the 19503 from many forest sites thoughout the 
     
     Maritime provinces including Prince Edward Island. His study provides a more detailed picture of the forests of the 
     
     island than Hall/"day’s; however — as is evident from his map of the island (Figure 5) — it still gives only a very 
     
     generalized view of the variation within island forests. 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     TABLE 3. Distinctive features of the zones and ecoregions. 
     
    
   
   
    
     A selective 
     
     extraction from 
     
     Loucks’ Table 7. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Zone and Ecoregion Characteristic species Associated climate 
     
    
   
   
    
     Moderately warm, 
     
     moderately dry 
     
    
   
   
    
     Sugar maple — Hemlock — 
     
    
   
   
    
     Pine Zone SM, Be, wP, eH, yB 
     
    
   
   
    
     Moderately warm, 
     
     moderately dry 
     
    
   
   
    
     Magaguadav’c ‘ sM, Be, wP, eH, bF, rS 
     
    
   
   
    
     Hil/sborough Ecoregion 
     
    
   
   
    
     Moderately warm, 
     
     moderately dry 
     
    
   
   
    
     Red spruce — Hemlock — 
     
    
   
   
    
     Pine Zone rS, bF, 8H, WP, rM 
     
    
   
   
    
     Maritime Low/ands bF, rS, bS, eH, wP, rM, jP moderately cool 
     
     Ecoregion wS, Be moderately dry 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     [sM — sugar maple; Be - beech; wP - white pine; eH — eastern hemlock; yB - yellow birch; bF - balsam 
     
     fir; rS - red spruce; rM ~ red maple; bS » black spruce; jP - jack pine; wS - white spruce] 
     
    
   
   
    
     SUGAR MAPLE — HEMLOCK — PINE ZONE 
     
    
   
   
    
     Two ecoregions Two Ecoregions are combined in this zone. One [the ’Pestigouche — Bras d’Or 
     
     in the zone. Ecoregion’] is northern and is characterized by spruce, fir and pine forests among 
     
     scattered hardwood stands [this ecoregion is the found in northern New Brunswick 
     
     and on the eastern tip of mainland Nova Scotia, as well as on Cape Breton Island]; 
     
     the other [the ’Magaguadavic — Hillsborough Ecoregion’] is more southerly and 
     
     tolerant hardwoods are found on a wider range of sites. Hemlock is sparse in the 
     
     former, and common on slopes and valley bottoms in the latter. The soils are more 
     
     strongly podsolized, and consequently the demanding species characteristic of the 
     
     Sugar Maple — Ash Zone are rare. Ip. 105] 
     
    
   
   
    
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