The woody vegetation that developed after clear felling and logging 131 stands dominated by Picea mariana was compared with that of stands that developed after fire in boreal forests of Ontario. Each dataset represents a stand chronosequence on a range of substrates. Correspondence analysis and canonical correspondence analysis were used to compare structure and composition. Conifer-dominated stands were less frequent after logging than after fires, and a far greater proportion of logged stands were dominated by poplars (Populus balsamifera and P. tremuloides). Site factors had a major influence on the composition of all stands (both datasets), but disturbance type and intensity, i.e. wildfire versus horse or mechanical skidding after logging, showed the strongest correlation of any single variable. Analysis of the separate datasets indicated similar predictability of vegetation composition from the associated environmental and age data, but regressions were weak. Skidding type and stand age were the most important correlates in logged stands, while soil variables were the most important for post-fire vegetation. Abies balsamea dominated woodland derived from postfire succession and on logged sites skidded by horses. Logged sites skidded mechanically showed complete conversion to dominance by poplars. It is concluded that both the qualitative nature and the intensity of disturbance affected woody vegetation recovery patterns.