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Laurentian Forestry Centre

The Laurentian Forestry Centre (LFC) is one of five research centres within the Canadian Forest Service. Our research strengths lie in the following four areas:

Forest pests

Developing and improving control and mitigation methods for insects and diseases that threaten Canada’s forests, to mitigate their impacts. Understanding these forest pests allows for an integrated and more effective approach to  pest management, and optimizes forest value. At the LFC, priority species under research include the spruce budworm, emerald ash borer, mountain pine beetle and hemlock looper. The diseases of greatest interest under research include white pine blister rust, butternut canker, sudden oak death, annosus root rot and butt rot.

Ecosystem dynamics

Advancing our understanding of forest ecosystem dynamics to develop forest management practices that take natural disturbances into account. This knowledge will help to advance Canada's role as an environmental leader. Priority areas of focus include the effects of climate change on the frequency and severity of forest fires, biodiversity and carbon cycling, and the adaptation of trees to changing environmental conditions. Integrating these data into forest management practices contributes to the development of risk mitigation strategies.

Forest productivity

Gaining a better understanding of forest productivity and the dynamics of forest regeneration to support sustainable forest management policies and contribute to the transformation of the forest sector. For example, LFC researchers support innovation by looking at the bioenergy value chain and determining the amount of biomass that can be harvested without hindering the long-term productivity of forest ecosystems, thus helping to lay the foundations for a bioeconomy.

Ecogenomics

Increasing our understanding of the genetics of forest pests and the genetic diversity of commercial tree species to maintain the health of our forests and support the Canadian forest sector in terms of climate change and Canada's competitiveness in the global market.

LFC researchers are working to find ways to readily detect:

  • diseases that affect trees with desirable wood traits
  • the level of tree resistance to pests or environmental stressors
  • the presence of native or exotic pests, in order to minimize their impacts
  • tree species that are better adapted to climate change

These activities support optimization of the entire forest value chain.

In addition to these four lines of research, the LFC contributes to:

  • harmonizing scientific excellence with relevant public policies
  • maintaining and increasing CFS partnerships with other federal departments, provinces, FPInnovations, research organizations, universities, Indigenous communities and forest communities
  • ensuring the knowledge generated by LFC research is accessible to businesses and forest users

Address

1055 du P.E.P.S.,
P.O. Box 10380, Stn. Sainte-Foy
Québec, QC, Canada
G1V 4C7

Find out more
Canadian Forest Service publications

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