9.00 am - Restaurer l'habitat de l'orignal à Waswanipi : La plantation de saule comme solution durable
- Eliane Grant (eliane.grant2@uqat.ca) - École d’études autochtone - UQAT
Face à la diminution inquiétante de la population d'orignaux au Québec, aggravée par les feux de forêt de 2023 ayant ravagé des habitats essentiels près de la communauté de Waswanipi, un projet novateur voit le jour. Cette conférence explore l'initiative de plantation de saule dans les zones touchées, visant à offrir une source de nourriture essentielle pour l'orignal, une espèce emblématique de la culture crie, tout en créant des barrières naturelles contre les futurs incendies. Découvrez comment cette démarche allie savoirs traditionnels, conservation de la faune et prévention des catastrophes environnementales.
9.50 am - Agroforestry projects in Canada’s Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Program (AGGP).
- John Kort (pwccpoplar@gmail.com) - Poplar and Willow Council of Canada / Conseil canadien des peupliers et des saules
- Raju Soolanayakanahally (raju.soolanayakanahally@agr.gc.ca) - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Agroforestry projects in Canada’s Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Program (AGGP).
John Kort and Raju Y. Soolanayakanahally
Abstract
Ten agroforestry projects were conducted across Canada from 2011 to 2021, funded by the Government of Canada, as a member of the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases. The projects, conducted by universities or other institutions, were in two cycles (2011-2016; 2016-2021). They occurred in six provinces and dealt with silvopasture, shelterbelts, alley-cropping, riparian buffers and bioenergy plantations. The projects studied aboveground and belowground carbon sequestration and net emissions of other greenhouse gases. Many projects included natural or planted willows (for example, in riparian buffers) or poplars (especially as fast-growing carbon sinks or sources of biomass). The projects made recommendations for the use of trees on agricultural land as Beneficial Management Practices (BMPs) to reduce greenhouse gases.
10.10 am - Pause santé
Jus, café, viennoiseries, muffins et fruits
Juice, coffee, pastries, muffins and fruit
10.40 am - The emerging threat of Aspen Running Canker: News from the western boreal forest
- Mackenzie Mihorean (miho0900@mylaurier.ca) - Wilfrid Laurier University
- Greg Thorn (rgthorn@uwo.ca) - University of Western Ontario
- Colin Bonner (cbonner@wlu.ca) - Wilfrid Laurier University
- Steven G. Cumming (stevec.boreal@gmail.com) - Laval University
- Jill Johnstone (jfjohnstone@alaska.edu) - Yukon University and University of Alaska Fairbanks
- Jennifer Baltzer (jbaltzer@wlu.ca) - Wilfrid Laurier University
Across the boreal biome, temperatures are increasing 3-4 times faster than the global average leading to an increase in wildfire activity. Frequent and high severity wildfire hinders spruce self-replacement making stand conversions to trembling aspen common, creating the expectation that broadleaf deciduous tree species in the boreal will increase in importance. However, aspen in central Yukon is now facing multiple threats including drought, insect outbreaks, and a novel pathogen, Aspen Running Canker (ARC, Neodothiora populina). ARC was detected in 2015 in Interior Boreal Alaska. It can kill aspen trees in 1-2 years. We have since found instances of ARC infection in Yukon (2023), and in Northwest Territories (2024). ARC could ultimately prove as destructive as historical pathogens like Dutch Elm Disease, Chestnut Blight, and White Pine Blister Rust. A pathogen-induced decline in aspen could shift the boreal forest back towards spruce dominance or could result in forest loss. Despite the widespread occurrence of ARC in western North America, its novelty means that there are many unknowns concerning the factors that facilitate or possibly limit its spread.
This talk will provide: (1) a background on the initial findings of ARC from Alaska; (2) an overview of where ARC has currently been identified in Northwestern North America; and (3) new insights into ARC epidemiology.
Findings come from extensive sampling conducted across multiple stand ages and forest types in central Yukon. Bark samples have been collected and analyzed to identify ARC infection and soon the presence of potentially related fungi. These data will help us evaluate which forests are most at risk of aspen decline through ARC infection. Uncovering the dynamics of this pathogen is crucial to anticipating future changes in the boreal forest as the disease spreads.
11.30 am - Tolerance of Hybrid Willow Clones to Aircraft De-icing Fluid
- Richard Krygier (richard.krygier@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca) - Natural Resources Canada- Canadian Forest Service
- Martin Blank (martin.blank@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca) - Natural Resources Canada- Canadian Forest Service
Around the world, glycol-based aircraft de-icing and anti-icing fluid (ADAF) is applied to remove snow and ice, and prevent ice from reforming. Some of the fluid is collected and recycled but a significant amount is collected in runoff and stored in ponds for treatment. Extensive research has been conducted on the effective degradation of ADAF in water and soil by micro-organisms under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Given how willows have been proven to effectively treat nutrients and other contaminants in wastewater, land application of ADAF containing water to willow plantations could be a good low-cost alternative treatment method for many airports, provided the willows are tolerant to ADAF.
The tolerance to ADAF of seven hybrid willow clones commonly used for biomass production in Western Canada (India, Tully, Tora, Bjorn, Owasco, Olof and Preble) was tested in a randomized complete block design (n=6) greenhouse trial. One rooted cutting of each clone was transplanted into a 7-litre pot containing orthic black chernozem topsoil. Starting 26 days after transplanting, the pots were irrigated approximately every three days with RO water containing either 0 (control), 200, 400 or 800 ppm of UCAR™ Deicing ADF Concentrate (92% ethylene glycol). Thirty days after irrigation began, the length and diameter of the tallest shoot on each cutting for all blocks was measured from where the shoot emerged from the cutting to the base of the growing tip (n=168). For half the blocks, the total shoot dry weight of each cutting was determined (n=84). Forty-two days later, for the remaining three blocks, the height, diameter, and total dry weight were measured as above (n=84). Plant Products™ 20-8-20 Starter Fertilizer was applied 25, 35 and 45 days after transplanting.
No mortality, little damage (leaf edge necrosis) or signs of plant stress was observed after 75 days of irrigation with ADAF affected water. For all except India, Tora and Tully, there was no significant difference for the response variables between the control and the 200 and 400 ppm ADAF treatments. Except for Prebble and Tully, there was a significant negative effect of the 800-ppm treatment for some of the response variables and clones. The study shows that young willow plants are tolerant to ADAF impacted water in a greenhouse setting, the tolerance is clone dependent, and that irrigation of ADAF impacted water on willows could an alternative treatment method. Longer term and field trials need to be conducted.