The BC Ministry of Forests and Range has recently undertaken a Future Forest Ecosystem Initiative (FFEI) whose purpose is to adapt the BC forest and range legislation and policy to a changing climate and to ensure BC’s forest and rangeland ecosystems remain resilient to stress. This research project helps to provide a scientific underpinning for […]

This project will use vegetation indicators of biodiversity to define response curves for measuring ecological resilience in three forest ecosystems in central BC. The vegetation indicators to be evaluated are: 1) the rate of regrowth; 2) the rate of recovery of species richness; and 3) the rate of recovery of original species composition. The research […]

Forest soils are a significant sink for the greenhouse gas, CO2. Concerns over climate change have led to increased interest in methods to increase the forest C sink. Fertilization of forests has been demonstrated to increase productivity of many forest types and this has an associated benefit of increased C sequestration in biomass. There is […]

Extensive portions of the productive forests in coastal British Columbia display below-average timber productivity possibly due to excess soil water. In particular, conifers regenerating on some western red cedar/western hemlock sites on northern Vancouver Island show very slow growth and nutrient deficiencies after harvest. The research team hypothesizes that the low nutrient supply is caused […]

This project with the BC Ministry of Forests and Range intends to use almost entirely existing stand spatial data and snow-melt data to model early season water availability in mountain pine beetle (MPB) affected stands. The resultant canopy loss due to the MPB is likely to have an influence on the volume and timing of […]

Considerable information has been acquired on soil dynamics in areas under oil sands reclamation and a variety of models have been developed that simulate moisture dynamics and ecosystem productivity. However, to date, nutrient and moisture dynamics have been considered largely in isolation; for models to be useful in reclamation, they need to be capable of […]

Trees uprooted or broken during severe wind events routinely cause power outages in BC. Some researchers believe that climate change will result in more storms in BC. We will investigate the weather conditions that lead to strong winds. Using BC Transmission Corporation’s power outage database, we will examine patterns of outages in space and time, […]

Starting in April 2009, six storey (mid‐rise) high wood frame buildings will be allowed in certain regions of Canada. This will be a new experience to design engineers in Canada, and research is required to support this new development which will expand the use of wood products beyond the traditional low rise, primarily residential construction […]

Mining operations in the Oil Sands area can affect extensive areas of boreal forest. Those forested areas affected by mining are expected to be reclaimed by mining companies to re-establish their natural conditions after the exploitation ends. The long©term success of reclamation plans can be assessed with ecological models that simulate how different environmental factors […]

Climate models project that summers in the southwest Yukon will become increasingly warmer and drier, leading to more forest fires, a longer fire season and slower tree growth. This raises the question of how to manage forest resources sustainably so that they will continue to provide long-term benefits to local communities. There is a current […]

Interest in adopting biomass conversion technologies to produce renewable biofuels and chemicals in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) is strong, fueled by recent closers in the pulp and paper sector, and, stemmed by availability of substantial forest biomass such s lo-quality wood chips in logging and sawmill operations. The NL Department of Natural Resources recognizes that […]

This research will support the development of the Eco-Industrial Park and Ontario East Wood Centre (EOWC), which is under development in the Township of Edwardsburgh/Cardinal. The EOWC is an innovative approach to revitalizing the regional economy by adding value to the under-utilized renewable forest resource in the area. A critical gap in information required by […]