Restoration of industrial conifer plantations to recover ecosystem integrity

Project Title: Restoration of industrial conifer plantations to recover ecosystem integrity

Recipient: Malcolm Knapp Research Forest, University of British Columbia

Region: Cariboo and Mainland/Southwest

Theme(s): “Old-like in a new light”, “Thin it to win it”

Awarded Amount: $50,000

Project period: 2025-2027

Description: This project addresses restoration treatments in monotypic conifer plantations that are suffering from underperformance, low biodiversity, low carbon stocks, drought stress, and elevated fire risk. This project will complete post treatment assessments for two established field experiments in the Malcolm Knapp and Alex Fraser UBC research forests in 2023, where a range of novel variable thinning treatments were applied, where weaker trees were thinned from below, while protecting larger trees at different densities and patterns. These novel silviculture treatments will address a rapidly developing climate crisis in young planted forests and will provide early critical information on how to mitigate the losses while restoring carbon sinks, biodiversity, old-growth structure, and resilience.