DIVERSE Research

On March 11th, join us for our 5th DIVERSE webinar, with Dr. Olivier Villemaire-C?té to discuss the selection of suitable tree species for the future of Canadian forests. We know that?global change?is making life increasingly difficult for Canadian trees; temperatures and precipitations are changing, natural disturbances such as fires are expected to become more frequent and intense, and exotic pests and diseases are on the move. But trees are not all the same: some species, and some populations within species, will tolerate these new conditions better than others. To increase the?resilience?of Canadian forests, we can?figure out what tree species, and more specifically which populations within species, will be the most adapted to future conditions across Canada. This will help guide forest management activities by recommending silvicultural methods that will favor the growth and abundance of these species. In some cases, this might lead to the recommendation to assist the migration of trees from other provenances: by moving populations from within current ranges, by extending current species ranges, or even by bringing species that may not currently be present in Canada.

We are excited to share our Fall Newsletter with you, now available both in French (see below) and in English. ?? If you want to know what the DIVERSE team has been up to, take a look at the research updates from the FunTree Campaign led by Morgane Dendoncker and Isabelle Aubin, and learn more about one of our doctoral students' research and aspirations, Kyle Dues. https://lnkd.in/djzpb4YB **** Nous sommes très heureux de finalement partager l'infolettre d'automne de DIVERSE! Si vous voulez suivre ce que l'équipe de DIVERSE fait depuis quelques mois, jetez un coup d'oeil aux progrès de la campagne collaborative de terrain FunTree, coordonnée par Morgane Dendoncker et Isabelle Aubin. Notre infolettre présente également le projet de recherche de l'étudiant au Doctorat Kyle Dues! Voici le lien vers la version en fran?ais: https://lnkd.in/dYdRMVar

Join us for our 4th DIVERSE Webinar on February 11th at 11:00 MST (OR 13:00 EST). We are lucky to receive Professor Brad Pinno who will guide us through the work and science behind the implementation of alternative silvicultural treatments, specifically looking at how they can be used for adapting forests to global changes.

DIVERSE Welcomes Its New Eastern Coordinator: Madeleine Gauthier ?? ?? We are excited to have you join our team and we look forward to working with you in 2025! Madeleine and Kathryn are already finalizing the next newsletter, stay connected to hear more about DIVERSE's progress. https://lnkd.in/ebyPZKiR

On December 18th, our Project Leadership Team came together at the University of Alberta to meet with our Western partners, government representatives, researchers and students. We heard from a few of our students as they shared the preliminary results, methods, and approaches of their projects. As the DIVERSE project continues, we will engage more in these types of sessions. Thanks to everyone who made it out in the snowy conditions!

Please join us next week on Wednesday, December 18th, 11am MST/1pm EST for our second DIVERSE webinar! We will be hearing from Dr. Marie-Josee Fortin from the University of Toronto as she shares about DIVERSE Themes 3 and 4. If you have any questions about the event, please contact us at [email protected]. Scan QR code for Zoom link in poster below.

DIVERSE is looking for a PhD student as a part of Theme 4: Simulating different forest management scenarios under global changes, to be co-supervised by Dr. Charles Nock (UofA) and Dr. Marie-Josee Fortin (UofT). Please share this with anyone you know who may be a good fit for the project. Take a look at the attached document to learn more about this PhD position that's part of a research project aiming to test a new approach in managing both commercial and protected forests in the wake of global change.

Check out this new CFI article by DIVERSE's own Dr. Nelson Thiffault,! Nelson is a part of the DIVERSE Theme 1 Team, which investigates forest resilience and vulnerability. In this article, Nelson talks about the implementation of research initiative, Adaptive Silviculture for Climates Change (ASCC), at the Petawawa Research Forest in Chalk River, Ontario.

Earlier in October, the Silviculture Research Group at the UofA visited some pre-commercial thinning (PCT) trials in post-harvest juvenile lodgepole pine stands near Whitecourt, Alberta. These trials will be used to evaluate different thinning densities, and in addition to evaluating individual tree and stand level growth responses, researchers will be looking at plant community response and drought resiliency of the different treatments. Although not part of the core DIVERSE silvicultural trials, these sorts of studies can help us understand the influence of different silvicultural treatments on adapting forests to global change which is the exact goal of the DIVERSE project. UofA MSc student, LISA NAA OKAI, will be doing her master's project on these stands. Although Lisa isn't a part of the DIVERSE project, the project will be training many more grad students just like her throughout it's 5 year span. If you are interested in pursuing graduate studies and are interested in joining DIVERSE, or you know of someone who would be an excellent student for this project, please contact us at [email protected] .

In addition with project coordination for DIVERSE, our Western Coordinator Kathryn Knodel keeps busy in the field! Earlier this summer, Kathryn spent a couple days helping weed for a Tree Diversity study near Peace River. The objective of this Tree Diversity study is to evaluate the effects species mixtures and initial planting density have on above and below ground biomass growth. To test the effects of species diversity five key boreal species were planted including trembling aspen, larch, paper birch, white spruce and lodgepole pine were planted in differing mixtures. These mixtures were then planted at two different densities of 25 and 50 cm. To quantify below ground infiltration rates minirhizotron tubes were installed. The inside of these clear plexiglass tubes can be photographed to give researchers a glimpse into what is happening below ground. The last few photos show what some of the plots looked like when they were first set up.