ORCID number: 0000-0002-2918-8057

RESEARCH THEMES

• Forest carbon management
• Mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions
• Forest eco-physiology
• Eco-advising

AFFILIATION

• Regular member Centre de recherche sur la boréalie (CREB)
• Regular member Centre for Forest Research (CFR)
• Regular member Interdisciplinary Research Centre on the Operationalization of Sustainable Development (CIRODD)

BIOGRAPHY

White pine ecophysiology and silviculture

My research career began with the silviculture of eastern white pine (Pinus strobus L.), during both my M.Sc. and Ph.D., with Prof. Alison Munson (U. Laval) and Dr. Pierre Bernier (Canadian Forest Service (CFS)) as co-supervisors. My approach was to explain the growth and development of young trees through their ecophysiology, under greenhouse conditions, reforested site conditions, and understory conditions in a shelterwood system. The different results obtained found both fundamental and practical applications in the most important silvicultural systems for the regeneration of white pine, the reforestation of former white pine sites and the shelterwood system. My expertise in forest ecophysiology (along with my experience in lecturing plant physiology at the UQAC) brought me the opportunity of co-authoring a book-chapter on the Botany, forest physiology and ecophysiology in the 2nd edition of Québec’s Manual of Forestry.

Afforestation of boreal open woodlands

During my post-doc studies at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC), with Prof. Daniel Lord as my supervisor, I’ve been introduced to a new field of R&D of great industrial significance, the afforestation of boreal open woodlands, which are relatively abundant in the boreal forest of Québec. With the help of a NSERC Industrial research fellowship and an expertise in the reforestation of white pine sites, I began with testing basic hypotheses regarding the support capacity of these open woodlands to afforestation, in terms of woody growth, soil fertility and plant physiology, and ecological resilience. Innovative silvicultural approaches were also tested, in particular the plantation of very small seedlings and the natural seeding of scarified stands.

Mitigation of GHGs by the afforestation of boreal open woodlands

After three years of post-doc, I then took the leadership of the development of new R&D niche at the UQAC, which opened the door of the world of climate change mitigation to this idea of afforestation of boreal open woodlands. After I’ve presented, in a series of technical reports {e.g. Boucher et al. 2005}, the potential of the boreal afforestation to a large emitter that was interested in a new GHG offset method, I received (along with 3 colleagues from 3 Québec’s universities) an NSERC-CRD grant in 2009 on this theme, for which I was the principal investigator during a 3-year long research program. This mitigation potential is now the subject of the first published studies on the boreal forest afforestation as a mitigation method, and has been also presented internationally in conferences or in review papers. I have been also in charge of the research program of the Carbone boréal project, from 2008 to 2017. The Carbone boréal project tested all aspects and procedures of a GHG offset project – including the development of a quantification protocol – in accordance with the best guidelines and highest standards in the market, with the constant contribution of a research program to constantly lessen the level of uncertainty and optimize the offset potential of the boreal afforestation. Finally, my new expertise in climate change mitigation allowed me to develop, with UQAC’s collegues in 2010, a graduate level- short program on the Sustainable management of carbon. I am a full professor in eco-advising at UQAC’s Department des Sciences fondamentales since August 2014, and associate professor at University Laval’s department of wood and forest sciences. Since summer 2017, I’ve joined my expertise to that of colleagues from FPInnovations and Laval U., within the Working group on Forests and Climate change (funding from MFFP-MDDELCC).

 

EDUCATION

Post-doc, Forest biology Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC) Supervisor : Daniel Lord	2002-2007	Research topics :  Silviculture and ecophysiology of afforested boreal open woodlands / Carbon sequestration
Ph. D., Forest sciences Université Laval, Québec Directrice : Alison Munson Co-supervisor : Pierre Bernier (CFS)	2002	Thesis title : The acclimation of planted eastern white pine (Pinus strobus L.) seedlings to diverse light conditions, competition levels, and soil temperatures within a shelterwood system
M. Sc., Forest sciences Université Laval, Québec Supervisor : Alison Munson	1997	Thesis title : The ecophysiology of planted eastern white pine (Pinus strobus L.) trees submitted to intense silvicultural treatments
B. Sc., Biology UQAC, Chicoutimi	1993