Impact of acute climatic events on tree growth

Predicting tree growth in a changing climate is a critical step towards adaptative forest management. However, adapting growth projections to future climate scenarios requires an in-depth knowledge of the climate-growth relationships for each of Canada’s major tree species. To date, most of the research has focused on forest climate sensitivity to average temperature and precipitation, but recent studies suggest that acute climatic events also affect tree growth. Using an unprecedented tree core database from across Canada, and long-term daily climatic series from Environment Canada, Sébastien will apply dendroecological methods to assess the growth vulnerability of eight economically important tree species to acute climatic events, including summer drought, spring late frost, and winter thaw. The main expected outcome of the project is to quantify the vulnerability of key forest species to acute climatic events, which are expected to increase in frequency and severity in the future. Secondly, we aim to identify site-level attributes that promote resistance and resilience to these events.

Sébastien Dumont, PhD at Université Laval
Main Partner: Ressources Naturelle de Canada
Professor: Alexis Achim