10:00 am - 11:00 am
150 South Academic Building (SAB), University of Alberta, Edmonton AB
Event details: A graduate exam seminar is a presentation of the student’s final research project for their degree.
This is an ALES MSc Final Exam Seminar by Surabhi Lukose. This seminar is open to the general public to attend.
MSc with Drs. Brad Pinno and Kwadwo Omari.
Thesis Topic: Mixing tree species and density management to reduce drought susceptibility in coastal plantation forests of British Columbia
Abstract:
The coastal forests of British Columbia have been experiencing longer and more intense droughts in recent years. Toevaluate the effect of species composition and density to drought, a study was conducted in a 1992 established Douglas-fir:Western redcedar mixed plantation in Vancouver Island. In summer 2022, measurements were taken, to evaluate soilmoisture, drought tolerance and water use efficiency of these stands. Results revealed that soil moisture decreased withincreasing stand density except for pure Douglas-fir stands. Drought resistance, resilience and recovery increased withdecreasing stand basal area. Western redcedar trees at lower basal areas showed higher water use efficiency. Douglas-firbenefitted on mixing with Western redcedar as it showed higher drought resistance and water use efficiency in mixedstands. In conclusion, reducing stand basal area, which can be achieved by mixing tree species and controlling standdensity, can help reduce the drought susceptibility of these forests to long-term drought.
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