Suzanne Mills

Predictors of moss and liverwort species diversity of microsites in conifer-dominated boreal forest

Abstract Patterns of moss and liverwort species diversity – species richness and species turnover (β-diversity) – in three conifer-dominated boreal forest stands of northern Alberta, Canada are described. We examined the relationship between bryophyte species diversity and micro-environment at two sample grains, the microsite – substrate types for moss colonization: logs, stumps, tree bases, undisturbed patches of forest floor (dominated by feather moss species), and disturbed patches of forest floor – and the mesosite (25 m × 25 m plots). Microsite type and properties (e.g. decay class, hardwood vs softwood, pH) were the principal predictors of bryophyte species diversity and not micro-environment variation among mesosites. Microsite type was the strongest predictor of microsite species richness and β-diversity was higher among microsites and types and within microsites than among mesosites or stands. Microsite properties were significant predictors of species richness for all microsite types. Log and stump decay classes, influenced also by hardwood vs softwood predicted species richness of woody microsite types and soil pH and moisture predicted species richness of forest floor microsites. β-diversity was highest for tree bases and disturbed patches of forest floor and lowest for logs. Mesosite β-diversity was lower than that among microsites, and mesosite species richness was not well explained by measured environmental parameters. Results suggest that in conifer-dominated boreal stands, species richness of microsites is only negligibly influenced by within-stand variation at the mesosite grain and that substrate characteristics are the most important predictors of bryophyte species diversity in this ecosystem. Nomenclature: Anderson et al. (1990) for bryophytes except for Sphagnaceae (Anderson1990) and Hepaticae (Stotler & Crandall-Stotler 1977); Orthotrichum elegans is recognized as a distinct species from Orthotrichum speciosum (Vitt & Darigo 1997).

Factors Influencing Bryophyte Assemblage at Different Scales in the Western Canadian Boreal Forest

Abstract This study examined bryophyte community composition in relation to microsite and microenvironmental variation at different scales in three conifer-dominated stands in the boreal forest of Alberta, Canada. We documented bryophyte assemblage on specific microsite types (physiognomic forms providing substrates for moss colonization: logs, stumps, tree bases, undisturbed patches of forest floor, disturbed patches of forest floor), and at coarser scales: mesosites (625 m2 plots within stands), and stands (10 ha). Patterns of variation in bryophyte composition arising from the microsite sampling were clearly related to microsite type and, for woody substrates, to microsite quality (decay class; hardwood vs. softwood). Microenvironment (moisture, pH, temperature, light) also had some influence on bryophyte composition of woody microsite types. Forest floor moisture, pH, and light were related to bryophyte composition of undisturbed patches of forest floor while forest floor moisture and temperature were significant correlates for disturbed forest floor. At the coarser-scale, surface moisture and forest floor moisture were related to bryophyte assemblage of mesosites; this was partially reflective of differences among stands. We conclude that bryophyte species composition in these forests is related to a hierarchy of factors including fine scale variation in the type and quality of available microsites along with microenvironmental variation at different scales. Management efforts to preserve bryophyte biodiversity will need to incorporate this complexity.

Employment Relations in the Neostaples Resource Economy: Impact Benefit Agreements and Aboriginal Governance in Canada’s Nickel Mining Industry

Introduction In earlier issues of SPE, Watkins 1 and Stanford 2 argue that resource development continues to be central to Canada’s economy, despite drastic structural changes over the past three decades. They note that everlarger natural resource firms are using highly mobile workforces to produce commodities for export rather than domestic manufacturing, and that fewer benefits are accruing to local communities. The narrative developed is that these changes mark a shift away from the once-prominent mature staples political economy theorized by Watkins 3 in which governments provided firms with access to natural resources in exchange for royalties, commitments to employment, and infrastructural development in rural areas. These arrangements resulted in the creation of resource-dependent communities throughout Canada, and also promoted economic diversification through expanded secondary manufacturing. Alternatively in what we term the “neostaples” economy, Stanford and Watkins maintain that resource rents are increasingly concentrated in the hands of foreign investors rather than governments, employees, and resource-dependent communities. In addition—and perhaps the reason these changes warrant attention from labour scholars—the neostaples political economy has proven to be a challenging one for collective representation. Whereas unions in the mature staples regime provided a large number of workers with a voice in the workplace and the ability to capture increasing shares of resource rents in

Beyond the Blue and Green: The Need to Consider Aboriginal Peoples’ Relationships to Resource Development in Labor-Environment Campaigns

In this article, I argue that labor researchers in North America need to engage more thoroughly with Indigenous studies if they hope to advance social and environmental justice. First, I suggest that researchers approach Aboriginal peoples’ relationships to the environment by supporting Aboriginal rights to lands and resources. Second, and related to this point, I raise the issue of the need for Aboriginal-controlled development in northern Aboriginal communities. Finally, I draw on a case study on Inuit and union participation in the creation of the Vale Inco, Voisey’s Bay nickel mine in Labrador to discuss how the increasing prevalence of corporate-Aboriginal alliances is creating important challenges to union engagement that need to be addressed.

Seeking security: Gay labour migration and uneven landscapes of work

Previous research has understood the migrations of gay men and other queer people through a lens of identity development, whereby relocation is driven by processes of coming out and consuming particular urban amenities. Meanwhile, labour geographers have largely overlooked sexuality, seeking to understand work-related migration in relation to gender, race, citizenship and the collective organization of workers. Drawing on the migration narratives of gay-identified men living in Ottawa, Canada, and Washington, DC, USA, we argue that the norms governing gender and sexuality within various workplaces, economic sectors and locales continuously influence migration related to work and inextricably linked processes of social reproduction. In particular, we explain how the affective needs of gay workers both deflect them from and attract them to particular locales and workplaces. In their migration destinations, gay workers tend to also transform the norms of social reproduction within workplaces and sectors. While gay workers may use migration to successfully negotiate the uneven landscapes of inclusion and visibility in North America, their agency is also constrained by the ongoing of regulation of sexuality in both workplaces and social and community environments.