A Revolutionary Paleoindicator: Lepidoptera Scales

Moth scales, preserved in the mud of a coniferous forest lake, have been used to identify outbreaks of these insects over the past 10,000 years. This groundbreaking new technique, reported in the open-access journal Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, can tell us more about the frequency and intensity of past and future insect epidemics, their impact on the … Read more

Insect pests on conifers in Eastern Canadian forests are moving north

The spruce budworm, the main defoliator of conifer trees in Eastern North American boreal forests, is spreading northwards, and climatic factors seem to trigger and synchronize major outbreaks. These results are revealed in a recent reconstruction of the outbreak history of this species in Quebec during the last century, based on a dendroecological approach, i.e. … Read more

Looking for promising silvicultural treatments to regenerate boreal forests

Experimental silvicultural treatments

Clearcutting is the dominant harvesting method in boreal forests of North America and Scandinavia, but today there is a growing interest in silvicultural alternatives that offer a more sustainable forest management. A new study of black spruce regeneration under different experimental harvest treatments suggests that shelterwood is an efficient option to regenerate Canadian forests. Harvesting … Read more

New Silvicultural Treatments to Achieve Sustainable Management of Canadian Boreal Forest

Canada has the third largest area of forest in the world, covering 402 million ha. The country thus plays an important role in timber production and in the global carbon cycle. Until now, 93% of the harvested area in Canadian boreal forests has been cut by clearcutting, due to economic considerations: cheaper operational cost and … Read more