Forests and tree species are under increasingly complex threats to their long-term viability. Understanding both the ecological and social complexity inherent in these wicked problems requires research across disciplines and scales to integrate knowledge and find appropriate management strategies. Our cross-scale, interdisciplinary approach to understand how species respond to these complex threats will allow for more informed land management. Climate change and an invasive tree disease, white pine blister rust (caused by the fungal pathogen Cronartium ribicola), threaten the viability of our model species, Pinus strobiformis.  Our research goal is to provide a cross-scale view of the interactions in this system and ultimately, provide management recommendations based on the best available science. We are developing tools to help forecast and manage the future of the species, including genomics, common gardens, tree disease resistance testing, engineering and technology innovation to measure drought tolerance, and computer modeling in landscape ecology and genomics. For example, understanding how adaptive traits (growth, phenology, disease resistance) vary by population source location and environmental stressors such as drought will yield insight into management prioritization. Similarly, understanding how disease influences plant physiology or understanding the spatial pattern of disease resistance in the landscape may also lead to improved management strategies, as managers select trees to remove or retain. We aim to provide managers with the tools they need to make decisions about species management while incorporating cutting-edge research.

The Natural Resources & Environmental Studies Institute (NRESi) at UNBC hosts a weekly lecture series at the Prince George campus. Anyone from the university or wider community with interest in the topic area is welcome to attend. Presentations are also made available to remote participants through Livestream (Channel 1). Go to http://www.unbc.ca/nres-institute/colloquium-webcasts to view the presentation remotely.

Past NRESi colloquium presentations and special lectures can be viewed on our video archive, available here.