Forestry is one of New Brunswick’s oldest industries. Through the efforts of a collaborative research centre in Edmundston, it has also become one of the most innovative.
Forestry is one of New Brunswick’s oldest industries. Through the efforts of a collaborative research centre in Edmundston, it has also become one of the most innovative.
The Northern Hardwoods Research Institute (NHRI) was founded in 2012 as a three-way partnership among the forest industry, governments, and the university research community. Gaetan Pelletier has been Executive Director since the beginning.
A former “boots on the ground” forester, Pelletier also brings to NHRI experience working as a manager in a forestry company and conducting forestry R&D. With a background that includes practical know-how and scientific understanding, he embodies the combined strengths that make NHRI a unique model of private-public collaboration.
A vulnerable resource
About a third of New Brunswick’s forests consist of hardwoods, and this natural resource requires specialized management.
“Softwoods tend to be a simpler group of species to manage,” says Pelletier. “The management of softwood stands is really mature.”
In contrast, hardwoods have been understudied, and “best practices” have been slower to emerge.
At the same time, climate change has increased the urgency of identifying forestry management strategies and solutions to protect precious hardwoods, today and through to the next century. In forestry, “long-range” planning doesn’t mean a 10- or 20-year plan (a period many businesses would consider an eternity). It means a 100-year plan.
Precise tools for forest management
By bringing together academic researchers, industry leaders, and civil servants, NHRI enables the NB forestry sector to make evidence-based decisions, implement them in private companies, and enshrine them in public policy.
Through this coordinated approach, NHRI is leading the way in addressing forest risks that have been exacerbated by rising temperatures, such as droughts, pests, and fires. A core concept that guides much of their activity is “adaptive silviculture.”
Silviculture, according to Pelletier, is “the art and the science of working with trees and stands to attain desired outcomes.” A veteran forester may operate as an artist, tapping into their instinct and experience to care for a tree or stand of trees. But in a rapidly changing environment, instinct is no longer enough, and science and technology are becoming more important.
One of the most obvious ways in which NHRI impacts everyday forestry operations in NB is by giving forestry professionals advanced tools. Thanks to NHRI innovation, the “boots on the ground” are now carrying electronic devices and their work is aided by drones in the sky, satellite imagery, advanced remote sensing and aquantum AI.
For example, NHRI has developed a mobile app that enables a forester to quickly diagnose stand and tree conditions and determine how to treat for optimal growth, health and resiliency.
While most research centres focus on producing research papers, NHRI embraces a much broader mandate. Besides publishing research and developing tools, it provides consulting services, hosts conferences, and delivers training.
“What makes us different,” explains Pelletier, “is that we interact very closely with the members of the forest products community and also the other users of the forest….We are in tune with the real issues.”
