About the lab
IRC in Ecosystem-based Forest Management
There is a long-tradition of research in ecosystem-based forest management at the University of Alberta, including work by Dr. John Spence, Dr. Ellen Macdonald to name just a few. This work paved the way for the partnerships and relationships that were central to developing an IRC in Ecosystem-based Forest Management at U of A and Dr. Charles Nock joining The Department of Renewable Resources in 2018.
The overall goal of the Industrial Research Chair (IRC) in Ecosystem-Based forest Management (EBM) is to provide the scientific knowledge basis for development of forest management approaches to improve the resilience of forest ecosystems, and the diversity of values they provide, under climate change.
EMEND Experiment
The Ecosystem Management Emulating Natural Disturbance (EMEND) Project is a large-scale variable retention harvest experiment designed to test effects of residual forest structure on ecosystem integrity and forest regeneration at the forest stand-level. EMEND has excellent facilities as a result of past Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) investments as will be a key hub of activity for the Ecosystem-based Forest Management lab.
Tree diversity and ecosystem functioning
Prior to relocating to U of A in August 2018, Dr. Charles Nock worked with Dr. Michael Scherer-Lorenzen (Geobotany)and Dr. Jürgen Bauhus (Silviculture) at the University of Freiburg in Germany. While at the University of Freiburg, I helped establish novel field experiments, testing different aspects of the relationship between tree diversity and ecosystem function. I am also an active member of TreeDivNet and am currently exploring options for establishing a new tree diversity experiment in the boreal forest of Alberta.
Our Partners
Partnership is important. Partnerships in research provide: 1) an important way to conduct applied research and arrive at solutions that work for all stakeholders, and, 2) provide a high quality training environment to students. In our group we think it is very important for researchers, the private sector, and government to work together to find resource management solutions that both have a sound scientific and practical foundation. By developing research questions and projects as a group of stakeholders we hope to develop sound solutions that can influence practice.
