The August 2014 tailings dam breach at the Mount Polley Mine, BC severely disturbed downstream forest ecosystems through erosion and tailings deposition. The impacted area presents an opportunity to research using ecosystem legacies (components that survive a disturbance) to rehabilitate disturbed sites.

For many reasons, forest management in Canada will be constrained by ecological and social forest management objectives. Along with meeting the diverse needs of society, forest managers will need to consider increased demands for renewable resources, such as wood. Wood, as opposed to concrete and steel, has a positive impact on the global carbon cycle but is also strong enough to build large buildings. Therefore, there will be an increased demand for stronger wood in the future.

The legalization of Cannabis (marijuana) is now supported by 66% of Canadian voters. Aphria Inc., was the first approved and licensed producer under the MMPR to begin growing in a greenhouse and is currently the second-largest marijuana producer in Canada. Unfortunately, Cannabis is attacked by a plethora of phytopathogens leading to a number of diseases with the most commonly reported are grey mold and powdery mildews.

An emerging strategy for managing natural resources such as Canada's forests more sustainably and responsibly is to use knowledge of how Mother Nature has done it to help guide our hand. This so-called ‘ecosystem-based” approach has gained favour with provincial and federal governments, as well as national and international certification agencies.

A coal mine operating on the Snuneymuxw First Nation reserve lands between 1913 and 1939 has left mine waste that has contaminated the soil, sediment, groundwater and surface water with metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Human health and ecological assessments are being conducted in the area to determine how best to deal with the contamination in the area.

Salmon are inarguably one of the most culturally, ecologically, and economically important fish in British Columbia, however, their stocks have been declining since the 1990’s. The Cohen Commission of Enquiry expert panel emphasized that juvenile mortality during the first months at sea was the most likely cause of fishery declines. The two leading agents of mortality are hypothesised to be food availability for growth and pathogen / parasite infection. The Hakai Institute Juvenile Salmon Program is explicitly addressing these two hypotheses.

This goal of this research project is to understand how wood fibre characteristics within planted and natural stands of spruce behave with changes to temperature and precipitation. Several methods of wood analysis will be used to determine this relationship including dendrochronology, scientifically dating tree-rings and comparing to climate, and analysis of fibre qualities, or cellular wood qualities, within samples of both natural and planted stands of spruce.

The present study investigates the impact of Eurasian honeybees on the functional diversity and reproductive ability of native stem-nesting bees. Honeybees have the potential to compete with native stem-nesting bees, however, currently no studies have examined this interaction in North American temperate forests. The main goal of this project is to develop a more mechanistic understanding of bee community composition and distribution, in particular, under the threat of exotic introduction.

Alfalfa is a legume forage crop that is intensively grown in Canada and represents a major feed source for livestock ruminants (i.e. dairy cows). When establishing pure stands of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) there are two primary options to minimize weed encroachment: the use of herbicides or the use of companion crops. Companion crops will minimize weed development during the establishment year, provide more harvestable forage biomass, and reduce risks of erosion.

An emerging strategy for managing natural resources such as Canada's forests more sustainably and responsibly is to use knowledge of how Mother Nature has done it to help guide our hand. This so-called ‘ecosystem-based” approach has gained favour with provincial and federal governments, as well as national and international certification agencies.