Conifer Trees of Tofino

Location: The plaque below can be found on the Rain Forest Trail - Route A
This landscape has not always been dominated by giant conifers. A journey through time reveals past forests.

August 1, 40 million years ago

It's hot and sticky. You're strolling through a leafy forest of over 40 different types of hardwood trees. The air is heavy with the scent of magnolia blossoms and thick with buzzing insects. You see no conifers, except as small patches on distant mountain slopes.

August 1, 10 million years ago

A cool breeze blows. Although you're leasrning against a sycamore tree, hardwoods are difficult to find. Instead, conifers have moved down and grown into giants. You wonder....why has the forest changed?

About 15 million years ago

About 15 million years ago the climate cooled. This was partly due to world-wide volcanic eruptions that blocked the sun with clouds of ash. Also, the slow rise of the coastal mountains changed local weather patterns. Cooler summers and wet, mild winters favoured conifers and gradually they edged out the one-flourishing hardwoods.

The apparent chaos of the rainforest creates a variety of living space for plants and animals. Each inhabitant interacts in a web of life that, left undistrubed, will continue to sustain the forest.

The Fibre Factory How does a conifer build a trunk that lasts for centuries while supporting a weight of many tonnes? A tour from bark to heartwood reveals the answer. 1. Outer Bark holds in moisture and wards off insects. 2. Inner Bark a pipeline that transports food manufactured in the needles to other parts of the tree. 3. Cambium Call Layer continually produces new sapwood on its inside face and new bark on its outside face. 4. Sapwood a pipeline for water and minerals moving from the roots to the crown. 5. Heartwood thick-walled dead cells that provide strength and rigidity.

Rain Forest Trail
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