Grants and Contributions:

Title:
1. Development of Climate Informed, ALS Derived, Growth and Yield Models 2. Mixed forests as an operational solution to increase resilience to climate change
Agreement Number:
CWFC2326-005
Agreement Value:
$222,000.00
Agreement Date:
Feb 9, 2024 - Mar 31, 2026
Description:
Project 1: This project will develop and apply new tools to construct growth and yield models using a time sequence of 3D remote sensing observations, specifically Airborne Laser Scanning (ALS)and information on climate. The modeling approach will be developed and applied in two forest areas in Canada, Petawawa Research Forest in Ontario, and the Cranbrook Timber Supply Area in British Columbia. Project 2:This project is dedicated to closing the knowledge gaps on mixed species plantations, by employing a multifaceted approach that involves the collection and analysis of novel data. This includes the use of tree cores, laser scanning, and computer simulation to link silvicultural practices with wood properties and lumber recovery. This project will make significant contributions to both the forest industry and the broader goals of promoting resilient forests that possess the capacity to withstand and recover from the growing array of environmental stressors.
Organization:
Natural Resources Canada
Expected Results:

Project 1: - Encouraging provinces and forest companies to continually invest in forest plot programs and to ensure that investment is done optimally; - Capitalise on the recent investments by a number of Provinces in ALS data and link these acquisitions with the growth and yield analysis to provide insights into forest growth under a changing climate; - Development of new open access, and peer reviewed methodologies to utilize time series of ALS and climate data to build growth and yield estimates for a range of forest conditions in BC and Ontario; - Development of harmonized ALS datasets for a range of forest attributes and how they change over time, to inform upon forest change, disturbance and other ecosystem goods and services in these focus sites in BC and Ontario; and - Spatially explicit characterizations of vegetation structure and terrain derived from ALS data at these sites to allow quantification and monitoring of a broad range of indicators in the context of sustainable forest management. Project 2: - Connect robust ecological research to forest management agencies and industry; - Help mitigate projected impacts on the timber supply and promote resilient livelihoods in the forest sector; - Optimal utilization of the forest resource requires connecting the effect of forest management practices to lumber manufacturing through development of prediction models to assist decision makers; - Introduce and advance models that establish connections between specific forest mixtures and the wood properties and lumber recovery of commercially valuable species, going beyond mere volume production; and - Contribute to our understanding of mixed forests but also provides valuable insights for practical forest management.

Location:
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, CA V6T 1Z3
Reference Number:
115-2024-2025-Q4-16228
Agreement Type:
Contribution
Report Type:
Grants and Contributions
Recipient Type:
Academia
Additional Information:

Amendment: Value / Award previously disclosed for the 4th Quarter of 2023-2024. Grant or contribution awarded and spanning more than one fiscal year.

Amendment Date
Feb 7, 2025
Recipient's Legal Name:
UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
Program:
Grants and Contributions in support of the Forest Innovation Program
Program Purpose:

The objective of the Forest Innovation Program (FIP) is to enable transformation in the Canadian forest industry. More specifically, the FIP will help drive forest sector transformation, sparking enterprises in their move beyond a dependence on commodity products toward value-added, high-value and specialty products – sustainably extracting the maximum value from the fibre resource. To achieve this, the FIP will facilitate and promote a value-chain approach that addresses innovation from the seed to the end markets and products in which the right fibre is matched to the right product.

Amendments: