THE TRANSFORMATIONS OF THE NATURAL LANDSCAPES OF THE HAUT-SAINT-LAURENT (QUEBEC) AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS ON FUTURE RESOURCE-MANAGEMENT

Owing to its late colonization, (circa 1800), the region of the Haut-S aint-Laurent of Quebec is of high interest for the study of the transf ormations of the natural landscapes of North-Eastern America. Fourteen years of work by a multidisciplinary team and the utilization of some little-used data sources (notary deeds, nominative censuses), make th e considerable scope of these changes evident. First, wetlands have be en altered by human activities to the point that alder scrub is invadi ng the marshes and black spruce has been eradicated from the bogs. Sec ondly, after a rapid expansion during the 19th century, agricultural u se is now in steady decline on areas covered by morainic deposits. Thi rdly, forest exploitation has changed precolonial vegetation to the po int that what was once perceived as a climatic climax (sugar maple-hic kory) is now understood to be an anthropic climax. Overall, the variou s studies discussed in this paper lead to the conclusion that today's Haut-Saint-Laurent landscapes are in need of reconstruction. This reco nstruction must take into account the new rural context, where agricul ture is no longer the dominant activity, and must utilize the theories and methods of landscape ecology.