Midply walls have higher lateral resistance than traditional light wood frame shear walls, by creating double shear in fasteners and having larger edge distance. There is also a potential to use Midply wall as infills in Japanese Post and Beam construction, in order to improve the seismic performance of the current system. Little research has […]

Ecosystem-based management (EBM) presumes that sustainability is a function of how well we understand ecosystem function and ecological dynamics. This includes understanding relationships among climate, disturbance, vegetation patterns, and ecological services. Recent research on the historical ecology of montane forests in western Canada has challenged the long-standing notion that stand-replacing fires characterized the landscape. Instead, […]

A thorough understanding of the effects of the natural disturbances on successional dynamics is essential when developing silvicultural approaches. If applied correctly, this understanding should ensure the sustainable management of the wood resources, as well as the conservation of the biological attributes and ecological functions of forest ecosystems. With respect to the spatial and temporal […]

The worlds’ forests are being cleared at an alarming rate to make room for agriculture. Consequently, agricultural companies and those that finance them are increasingly required to demonstrate that the farms that they do business with were not recently deforested. Current methods for assessing deforestation involve using experts to analyze satellite images but this process […]

Heterosis is a natural phenomenon where offspring (hybrids) outperform their parents in many agronomic traits, although exploited in breeding the mechanisms controlling heterosis remain elusive. Genetic distance between parents has been positively correlated with heterosis, yet does not adequately explain the phenomenon. Dividing lines from any crop into heterotic groups that provide optimal combining ability […]

Lignin represents the largest reservoir of natural aromatic compounds available on earth. It is a potential substitute for a range of chemicals currently derived from petroleum, but product development and identification of market opportunities remain challenging. The objective of the research is to utilize industrial softwood kraft lignins from the black liquor of British Columbia […]

Wood composite panels such as particleboard and fiber board swell when they get wet and, as a result, they are only used to make products that are used indoors. However, a new type of (modified) fibreboard has been developed that doesn’t swell when it becomes wet, which opens up the possibility of using fibreboards outdoors […]

Forage nutritive value is a key component of profitable dairy production with forage fiber concentration and digestibility being critical, as high quality forages can reduce requirements for high-cost concentrated feeds. One approach and new technology developed to increase forage quality has been the release of high digestibility/lowlignin alfalfa cultivars, as alfalfa is the main forage […]

The forest industry in British Columbia (BC) is facing increasingly difficult challenges regarding fibre supply. New winch-assist technology that enables fully mechanized ground-based forest harvesting on steep terrain has been increasingly used in BC since 2016. The new systems have improved safety and provide access to fibre that was previously uneconomic. New low-consumption small-size cable […]

Powdery mildew is a foliar fungal disease that attacks all Cannabis sativa varieties. The majority of license producers (LP) producers have witnessed evidence of this problem firsthand. Plant yields and ultimate profitability can be severely undermined by pathogen infections. This pathogen is challenging to deal with, and early detection of fungus and pests eliminate these […]

Cannabis sativa is a multipurpose crop, providing us with fibers, seeds and medicinal compounds. Its current economic importance will likely drastically increase following its legalization in Canada. However, despite its economic potential as well as its long history of use by humans, we know very little about the evolution of this plant. The purpose of […]

Species-at-risk conservation is complex and multi-faceted. However, mitigation strategies are typically narrow in scope, an artefact of conservation research that is often limited to a single species or stressor. The ability to research an entire community of strongly interacting species would greatly enhance our ability to forge more comprehensive and effective conservation decisions. Seismic line […]