Researchers at the University of Northern British Columbia recently received funding from the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions (PICS) for a collaborative study on the long-term health of interior cedar-hemlock forests in east-central BC.

"While timber salvaging activities related to the mountain pine beetle outbreak in BC are continuing, forest companies are also investigating other harvesting and management options," says Dr. Phil Burton, Adjunct Professor at UNBC and researcher with Natural Resources Canada’s Canadian Forest Service.  "These wet-belt forests are dominated by western red cedar and hemlock trees, which went through their own insect outbreak of western hemlock looper in the 1990's.  In response to opportunities identified by the province and industry, we are working with our partners to assess the recovery of these stands and options for their long-term sustainable management."

“The results of the study will help a range of stakeholders identify the conditions under which this old-growth forest, primarily located between Prince George and McBride, has recovered from defoliation,” said Dr. Kathy Lewis, head of UNBC’s Ecosystem Science and Management Program.  “The study will examine where old-growth values (including carbon sequestration) can be maintained, where the forest is renewing itself through natural processes, and where recovery is hindered by dense shrub growth. These latter areas might benefit from rehabilitation activities such as some level of salvage logging and silvicultural treatment to regenerate the stand.”

"After the forest canopy opens, one typically expects to see improved growth of existing tree seedlings, or to find new tree seedlings establishing from seeds,” says Dr. Burton.  “But this isn’t happening everywhere, because  shrub growth exploded after the hemlock looper outbreak, and tree establishment in some areas appears to be impeded by thickets of wild raspberry, elderberry, devil's club, and thimbleberry," he explains.  This research will examine where and how a sample of these forests is recovering and regenerating.

The $50,000 research funding over two years from PICS will primarily support the work of incoming UNBC M.Sc. student, Michelle Connolly, who starts work on the project this summer under Dr. Burton's supervision. Other partner organizations providing data and support services include McBride Community Forest, the University of British Columbia, and the BC Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations.

The Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions recently announced $1.8 million in new funding for British Columbia-led projects aimed at finding solutions to the environmental, social and economic challenges - and opportunities - brought about by climate change. PICS is a collaboration of BC's four-research intensive universities, and is hosted and led by the University of Victoria.