This text is part of the special Research section: climate issues
Our forests play an essential role, as carbon sinks, in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG). But how do trees respond to extreme weather events and, on a larger scale, climate change? To answer to this question, a connected forest project at the University of Quebec in Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT) will make it possible to analyze valuable data in real time.
The study led by Fabio Gennaretti, professor at the UQAT Forest Research Institute, will evaluate the distribution and impacts of short-term weather events such as droughts and frosts on tree growth. In the Duparquet Lake Teaching and Research Forest (FERLD), located in the middle of the boreal forest of the Canadian Shield, sensors will record a lot of information continuously and transfer it in real time to an acquisition center, connected to the cellular network.
Ultimately, the information collected should be useful for thinking about better forest management in the context of climate change. Can we expect significant changes in carbon sequestration? What about biodiversity? Availability of wood? Fabio Gennaretti’s team is giving itself three years to identify elements of response on the resistance and resilience of forest ecosystems in the face of the greatest challenge of our century. The professor also holds the Canada Research Chair in dendroecology and dendroclimatology, whose mission is to improve knowledge of climate variability and the functioning of trees in the boreal region.
Valuable information
Among the data analyzed in this connected forest, particular attention will be paid to sap flow. “In trees, there is a very marked daily cycle, the movement of sap is faster during the day and almost absent during the night,” explains Fabio Gennaretti. This indicates the rate of transpiration, that is, the amount of water that passes per square centimeter of wood every second, a phenomenon necessary for temperature regulation and photosynthesis. »
The carbon flow will also be analyzed. “This ecosystem measurement is not associated with a specific tree, but represents an assessment of our forest, i.e. the balance between all the carbon atoms captured versus those which are released,” adds the professor. It tells us the net productivity of our ecosystem and the ability of the forest to sequester carbon depending on environmental variability. »
Thermal images will also allow the team to glean clues about the vulnerability of trees during periods of drought. A specific system will be put in place on certain selected trees, deprived of rainwater by a roof, to put them in a situation of simulated water stress. The results will indicate which species, conifers or deciduous trees, are more or less sensitive.
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