Strong CRMR Community Participation at IBFRA 2026!
From August 24 to 28, 2026, the Québec City Convention Centre hosted the 2026 edition of the International Boreal Forest Research Association (IBFRA) Congress, a leading international scientific gathering dedicated to boreal forest research. Founded in 1991, the association aims to promote and coordinate research efforts to better understand boreal ecosystems and the impacts of global change on their role in the global environment.
Organized under the auspices of Université Laval, the official host institution for this edition, the congress brought together 286 participants from 15 countries, primarily located within the circumboreal biome. The event gathered researchers, professionals, and students to share the latest scientific advances in boreal forest research.
The organizing committee was led by Professor Alexis Achim and his team (Catherine Chagnon and Emmanuelle Baby-Bouchard), in collaboration with partners from Natural Resources Canada and the University of British Columbia. Thanks to their dedication, participants benefited from a rich and diverse program featuring 158 oral presentations, 95 scientific posters, nine workshops, and three field trips, fostering knowledge exchange, networking, and the development of new international collaborations.
The Centre for Research on Renewable Materials (CRMR) was strongly represented at the congress. Members of its community made an active contribution to the scientific program through numerous oral presentations and posters, highlighting the diversity of expertise and research projects carried out within the Centre.
A Particularly Active Student Community
CRMR students stood out for their strong participation in the oral presentation sessions. Among the doctoral students who presented their research were:
- Antoine Harel, Higher Aboveground Carbon Stocks in Edge Forests;
- Catherine Beaulieu, Quantifying Annual Changes in the Volume of Lichens Intended for Woodland Caribou in Newfoundland Using Landsat Time Series;
- Helin Dura, Assessing Economic Vulnerability in Quebec Boreal Forest Under Climate and Market Pressures;
- João Paulo Czarnecki de Liz, Abiotic and Biotic Drivers of the Shifting Boreal-Temperate Forest Boundary under Climate Change;
- Maimoona Birjees, Beyond Establishment: Growth Trajectories and Changes in Chlorosis in Planted White Spruce;
- Véronique Rouleau, The Role of Ectomycorrhizal and Ericoid Fungi in Soil Carbon Dynamics in a Managed Boreal Forest;
- Sébastien Dumont, From East to West: Canadian Boreal Forest Growth in a Drying Climate;
- Sanjoy Roy, Modeling Regeneration and Mortality Using the HETEROFOR Model under Different Silvicultural Regimes in Quebec: Implications for Boreal Forest Resilience to Climate Change and Multiple Stressors.
Master’s students were also well represented. Thomas Bouffard, Lena Mazuryk, and Marie-Anne Michaud-Valcourt presented research on the biological control of the spruce budworm, the use of remote sensing to assess aquatic habitat health, and the impacts of partial disturbances on Quebec’s boreal forest, respectively.
CRMR participants also included postdoctoral fellows Hamid Ghambari and David Voyer. Hamid Ghambari presented his research on characterizing forest roads using airborne laser scanning and deep learning, while David Voyer examined the influence of climate warming on the expansion and growth of sugar maple in the boreal forest despite an increasing frequency of extreme weather events.
In addition, Professor Evelyne Thiffault delivered a presentation on integrating forestry into Quebec’s climate policy, as well as the opportunities and challenges associated with this approach.
A Strong Presence in the Poster Session
Several members of the CRMR student community also presented their research during the poster session. Florence Leduc presented her research on monitoring forest growth through the integration of remote sensing and dendrochronology. Claudie-Maude Canuel addressed silvicultural challenges and available tools for reforestation following wildfires in boreal forest landscapes. Adrien Debas, meanwhile, presented his work on the impacts of assisted migration of forest species on the carbon cycle.
This strong participation by CRMR members reflects the quality, diversity, and multidisciplinary nature of the research conducted within the Centre on boreal forest ecosystems. IBFRA 2026 provided students, postdoctoral fellows, and professors with a valuable opportunity to showcase their work on the international stage while fostering the development of new scientific collaborations.
Congratulations to the entire CRMR community for this remarkable contribution to boreal forest research, and congratulations to Alexis Achim and his team for organizing this major international scientific gathering!
