Settling in a new country, city and workplace isn’t always easy, but I always find it exciting. Installing yourself and sorting out the personal and professional admin stuff is always a bit of a challenge when you move. But this time, the challenge was extended to adapting to a new work environment and to a different perspective on science and research. Not only have I moved from France to British Columbia, Canada, but I have also moved from several years working in a purely academic, university environment to working as a postdoctoral research fellow in a government institution - the Pacific Forestry Centre.
I now have to adapt my way of thinking and working to a reality that is “producing directly usable science”. This is neither better or worse than what I’ve done so far, which concerned a much more theoretically-grounded investigation of how ecosystems might change with climate forcing and land-use change. But it certainly requires that my objectives and methods become more driven by their influence on management, rather than my scientific curiosity! - although so far I feel that the two go hand-in-hand… lucky me! - I know that some researchers might find applied sciences less appealing. I find having management-driven expectations to be an added challenge that makes it all even more motivating. I’ve never considered myself a person whose research seeks to understand the unknown for the sake of increasing my knowledge, and the scientific community’s, about something. I’m usually drawn to problems that affect the “here and now” and that help us understand how our actions as humans can be beneficial, or detrimental, to ecosystems. So, naturally, working in an applied context is very attractive to me.
This is why I was happy to embrace the opportunity to become part of the Landscapes In Motion project. This project aims at understanding the dynamics of forest ecosystems in the southern Rockies of Alberta (note to Americans reading this: you’re likely to call these the Northern Rockies ;) ), by taking into account the interactions between fire, vegetation and climate. Ultimately, we will strive to understand both past and present dynamics to be able to predict how these might change in the future, under scenarios of climate warming and alternative land management practices.
Since my arrival to Victoria, BC, almost 4 weeks ago, I’ve plunged into the literature of modelling fire-dynamics forest ecosystems and found that (probably like in any other ecosystem) there is a multitude of drivers, biotic and abiotic that make studying these dynamics a complex, yet very interesting task. But I was already used to this reality. What is really new to me is that this time it’ll be impossible not to consider the economic and cultural aspects of these ecosystems - or should I say socio-ecosystems…?
Forests in the foothills of Alberta are a scene where climatic, ecological, economic, social and political actors all have leading roles. The spatio-temporal dynamics of fire are affected by ecosystem structure and composition, but also directly by climate conditions. In turn, ecosystem structure and composition will also change if both fire regimes and climate conditions are altered. Then, there’s the “human side” of things. Forests have high economic value, both in terms of exploitation and in terms of their intrinsic value (think about how a nice forest view can increase the value of real estate). They also have high social, cultural and conservation values, by providing a space for various recreational activities and habitat for numerous species of animals, plants, fungi, etc.
Finally, there are the political aspects that encompass all of the above. A particularly interesting one for me is the cultural and political interests linked to the indigenous peoples of Canada - First Nations. First Nations peoples are slowly regaining recognition and political power, and consequently reclaiming the rights to what were originally their lands. Being European, this brings me a whole new set of things to consider. Not only are the interests of these people often different from those of other stakeholders, but their knowledge of the land and its fire regimes has often been ignored, by scientists and by land managers, despite its enormous value. Indigenous communities are known to have used fire in the past for managing the landscape. With the arrival of the mid 20th century, forest management strove to suppress fire, and the “natural” fire regimes (AKA pre-industrial - that’s pre-1950s in this case) that had shaped forest dynamics thus far were also suppressed. As a consequence, forest structure and composition, and their dynamics are likely to have changed, and fuel accumulation increased. We now believe this may be one of the reasons why fires might be more severe lately - but do see this nice article for other reasons related with climate change.
Another interesting socio-ecological aspect is related to caribou conservation. Caribou populations in Canada have suffered major declines in the last few decades. Although many factors continue to contribute to this, habitat loss from forest fires is certainly one that might cause further decline in caribou numbers. Seeing that the Government of Canada is currently investing on the study and protection of this species (see for instance here and here), understanding fire dynamics and their consequences is of even greater immediate interest.
I’m sure that like me, you have already realized the dimensions and complexity of fire dynamics, and their consequences for Canadian forests. You probably also understand what is making me enthusiastic about this new project, but if not I’ll say it out loud. I feel that my research will not only quench my thirst for knowledge, but will also actively contribute to a sustainable management of these ecosystems - something that I’ve been wanting to do since I decided I wanted to be an ecologist, and I was probably 10 back then!
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