EDMONTON — Current clearcutting practices sometimes outpace the recovery times of vital boreal forest species, according to a groundbreaking global analysis led by University of Alberta researchers. The study was co-led by biologist Dr. Ellen Macdonald and ecologist Dr. Anne McIntosh. It is the first of its kind to examine an extended timeline for recovery and a wide range of life in boreal forests after clearcutting… Analyzing 190 datasets across North America, Europe, and Russia, researchers tracked how clearcutting affects birds, small mammals, insects, spiders, plants and lichens. While faster-growing broadleaf forests like aspen and birch often recovered within 30 years — soon enough to fall within typical 60- to 80-year logging cycles — recovery in mixed and coniferous forests took much longer. In these habitats, recovery took more than 55 years for small mammals like mice and voles, 85 years for flowering plants, 95 years for lichens, and more than 100 years for mosses.