Professor Alexis Achim receives $2.2M to strengthen the resilience of boreal forests against wildfires!
Professor Alexis Achim, from the Faculty of Forestry, Geography, and Geomatics at Laval University, has had his research project selected to receive a major investment announced by Natural Resources Canada. This initiative aims to support innovative projects that strengthen forest management and resilience in the face of wildfires—a critical issue in the context of climate change and the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires in Canada.
Entitled « Pyrosylviculture: Modeling, implementation, and monitoring of treatments for adaptive forest management in the face of fires », this project is receiving $2.2 million in funding. It proposes an innovative scientific approach combining silvicultural thinning and controlled burning to reduce the risk and spread of fires in boreal forests.
The project plans to test three types of treatments on one-hectare experimental plots in the Montmorency Forest:
- Control plot: no treatment, serving as a reference for evaluating the impact of the interventions.
- Thinning without residue management: where trees are thinned but branches and slash remain on site.
- Thinning with residue management: combining thinning with the removal or treatment of slash to limit available fuel.
These experiments will provide a better understanding of the combined effects of silvicultural practices and prescribed burning on wildfire risk, forest structure, and biodiversity. They will generate crucial data for adaptive and sustainable management of boreal forests.
The project is being carried out in collaboration with Nicholas Coops and Dominik Roeser from the University of British Columbia, as well as the Nazko First Nation and Green First. Several graduate students and research professionals will be actively involved in every stage of the project—from modeling to on-the-ground implementation—offering hands-on, specialized training for the next generation of forest management and wildfire prevention experts.
This federal investment demonstrates Canada’s commitment to proactive, science-based forest management aimed at protecting ecosystems, local communities, and natural resources, while supporting innovative research and training future scientists.