Base de données de recherche des TNO

Régions: Dehcho Region

étiquettes: physical sciences, permafrost, forestry, wildfire

Objectif(s): To better understand the impact of disturbance on forest regeneration in the NWT.

Description du projet: This licence has been issued for the scientific research application No.4838. The primary objective is to better understand the impact of disturbance on forest regeneration in the NWT. To this end, the research team aim to evaluate the direct impacts of both forest harvesting and wildfire on tree regeneration the interaction of these two disturbances with permafrost thaw. Forest management: The research team will establish new monitoring sites in the proposed Forest Management Areas and adjacent unharvested catchments. Permafrost and vegetation sampling and hydrological characterization will be carried out in two areas in each catchment: upland sites (i.e. where harvesting will occur) and downslope sites (i.e. wetter, less productive areas underlain by permafrost unsuitable for harvesting). Sampling will be conducted prior to the proposed harvest date of Winter 2019/20 and in the years following harvest, thereby providing a powerful approach for understanding harvest impacts (Before-After-Control-Impact; BACI). Wildfire impacts: The research team will revisit sites with and without permafrost that were otherwise comparable to evaluate differences in regeneration outcomes associated with changing permafrost conditions. At each permafrost impacted site, the will evaluate the permafrost conditions through maximum thaw depth measurements and existing surveys. The team will also remeasure the vegetation composition and seedling counts at both permafrost and permafrost-free sites. Further, approximately 10 % of sites experienced regeneration failure. To better understand what will replace forest in these sites where regeneration failed, the team will revisit the vegetation plots and measure the vegetation cover and composition. The research team will continue to communicate the results to communities using a variety of methods. Knowledge sharing will be done via on-the-land events. The team have collaborated on these activities for the past several summers. This will unfortunately not be possible this summer due to COVID but the team look forward to bringing the knowledge we gain here to future on the land events, hopefully in 2021 conditions permitting. Plain language communication methods will be sent to communities. The team work with the students and partners to develop a range of plain language materials including videos, short written documents, and web based resources. This will continue as part of this project. The research team will give presentations to communities and governments about the research. The team are frequently asked to share the results in public fora, to communities and to governments. This provides a tremendous face-to-face opportunity to discuss the work the team are doing and what different stakeholders consider to be important next steps. The team are looking forward to doing this when the COVID situation has improved. In the past few summers, the teams have been active in engaging the communities through educational activities at Territorial parks. This will not be possible this year due to COVID but the team look forward to undertaking these activities when the situation improves. The research team work directly with the GNWT on this project meaning that there are direct links to government stakeholders regarding the design, implementation, and results from this project The fieldwork for this study will be conducted from October 8, 2020 to December 31, 2020.