THE DECIDUOUS FOREST CLIMATIC FORMATION IN 

 NORTHERN CAPE BRETON 



I. THE REGIONAL CLIMAX ASSOCIATION-TYPE: THE 

 CLIMAX FOREST 



Present and past distribution of the climax forest. — -To one 

 visiting northern Cape Breton at the present day the prevaiUng 

 aspect of the lowland forests (Figs. 9, 39, 42, etc.) appears to 



Figure 9.- 

 Barrasois. 



-Second growth woodlands of balsam fir and white spruce; 



be coniferous: white spruce and balsam fir predominate on 

 every side. But practically all of these forests are secondary in 

 their origin. Although settlements in this region for the most 

 part date back scarcely one hundred years, during this short 

 period the greater part of the country has been either cut or 

 burned over, and much of it, at one time or another, has been 

 cultivated or used for pasturage. In view of the w^idespread 

 destruction or modification of the original vegetation, the nature 

 of the primeval forests must be judged very largely from the 



