Volume 14
Issue 3
Fall 2007
RENEWABLE RESOURCES
Landmark News Killam Professorship Awarded to Ellen Macdonald Congratulations to Ellen Macdonald, Professor with the Department of Renewable Resources, who has been awarded one of the eight Killam Annual Professorship awards for 2007 – 2008. Since the awards establishment in July 1991, the primary criterion is a record of outstanding scholarship and teaching over three years or more as evidenced by any or all of research, publications, creative activities, presented papers, supervision of graduate students, and courses taught. A secondary criterion is a record of substantial contributions to the community outside the University, above and beyond what is usually expected of a professor, as evidenced by community involvement normally directly linked to the applicant's University responsibilities and activities. Ellen teaches our REN R 580 and REN R 601 classes and has supervised 10 PhD and 18 MSc students to completion during her 17.5 year career. Ellen has invested tremendous time and energy over the years in working to see that the results of her research are applied towards improved management of our natural ecosystems and landscapes. This has involved active engagement of the forest industry sector, oil sands industry, and relevant provincial government departments. Towards this end, her research results have been directly applied to development of provincial policy for management of riparian areas (forests next to bodies of water) and to policy and regulations for harvesting of forests after fire (salvage logging). Forestry companies are using results and data she has provided to improve efficiency in their reforestation activities. Knowledge and data are being used to improve models of forest succession and growth. These models help forest industry to develop both short-
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Administration Report
2
Bentley Lecture
3
Alumni News
6
Landmark Laurels
10
World Travels
11
Graduate Student News
15
term and long-term plans for sustainable management of the forest resource. She freely shares her knowledge of, and enthusiasm for forests and trees with school children, through on-campus activities and elementary classroom demonstrations. Out of the eight 07-08 Killam Annual Professorships awarded for the period July 1 through June 30 another Faculty member, Dr Norah Keating, Department of Human Ecology, was also awarded a Killam Professorship award. Our hats off to both of you!
Landmark News, Volume 14 Issue 3—Page 1
And something from the Chair…….
Dear Friends and Colleagues, You will note something new about this issue of Landmark. After discussions with our enthusiastic Editor, Rochelle Jackson, we’ve decided to turn our formerly internal newsletter into a document that might also be of interest to our wider RenR Nation. Thus, in the future, we intend that the three issues of Landmark, taken together, will constitute a sort of Annual Report for the Department. In addition to the usual bytes, we will compile information as follows: 1) in October you’ll be able to read about conference travel and fieldwork in unusual places; 2) in February we will list formal talks and publications from department members; and 3) in May each year we’ll provide a summary of grants and awards. In this issue, you will also note a feature story about Steve Luchkow (BSc. Forestry, 1977) presented as the first of a continuing series of Alumni Profiles. I hope that you will enjoy this new approach to spreading the word about the many exciting things happening in the Department of Renewable Resources. We’d appreciate hearing about any ideas that you might have about how we could make Landmark even more useful to you. John Spence, Professor & Chair
News Digest from the Assistant Chair The NSERC Salsa... Over the years, Tri-Council success has increasingly become a key performance measure of Faculties/Departments in determining the allocations of significant amounts of funding. A specific example of this is the University’s (and Faculty’s) method of distributing the Federal Government’s “Indirect Costs of Research” to academic units. Thanks, pardner… The nature of our staffing growth has changed significantly over the last few years. External funding, rather than increases to our base University funding, has brought to Renewable Resources positions associated with an NSERC Industrial Research Chair, a position in Environmentally Sustainable Agriculture, three Canada Research Chairs, support staffing, and other positions in partnership with external organizations. With growing opportunities for collaborations of this kind, motivated individuals and groups within the Department have helped in developing staffing initiatives. Recruitment... Unlike the cutback era of the mid 90’s, many people in the department are presently investing considerable energy into recruitment, selection, and orientation activities as we fill newly created positions and positions opened through retirements. With current demographics and continuing position transitions, we expect to be occupied with recruiting into the foreseeable future. With our two most recent Canada Research Chairs now in place (Uwe Hacke and Nadir Erbilgin), Gary Kachanoski coming on board full-time in soil physics, and Amanda Brown joining us as the new Financial and Grad Program assistant, our recruitment efforts are now focused on the positions in Environmentally Sustainable Agriculture and Soil Chemistry, and the Junior System Analyst information technology position. There is a role for all of us in supporting these critical renewal and growth activities and your participation is important in contributing to these long-term staffing decisions. Our investment in Sarah Gooding’s position has allowed us to take advantage of these opportunities, as well as develop additional research partnerships and collaborative grant proposals. (Continued on page 3)
Landmark News, Volume 14 Issue 3—Page 2
Bentley Lecture in Sustainable Agriculture #5 & Robertson Dinner Dr. Stuart B. Hill Foundation Chair of Social Ecology University of Western Sydney, NSW, Australia Underground Ecosystems and the Subconscious: Their Neglect and Potential to Save Us Date: Thursday, 18 October 2007 Time: 4:00 p.m. Location: 265 Central Academic Building (CAB) Professor Stuart B. Hill is Foundation Chair of Social Ecology at the University of Western Sydney. He has published over 350 papers and reports. His latest book (with Martin Mulligan) is Ecological Pioneers: A Social History of Australian Ecological Thought and Action, Cambridge UP, 2001. Prior to 1996 he was at McGill University, in Montreal, where he was responsible for the zoology degree and where in 1974 he established Ecological Agriculture Projects, Canada’s leading resource centre for sustainable agriculture. In Canada he was a member of over 30 regional, national and international boards and committees. He is currently on the editorial board of four refereed journals and until 2004 represented professional environmental educators on the NSW Council on Environmental Education. He has worked in agricultural and development projects in the West Indies, French West Africa, Indonesia, The Philippines, China, and the Seychelles, as well as in the UK, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. His background is in chemical engineering, ecology, soil biology, entomology, agriculture, psychotherapy, education, policy development and international development, and his experience of working with transformative change has enabled him to be an effective facilitator in complex situations that demand both collaboration across difference and a longterm co-evolutionary approach to situation improvement.
Please contact Darlene Saunders 492-3242 for tickets to the Robertson Dinner—Faculty Club, 5:30 cocktails (Continued from page 2)
Administration Report
Space Squeeze… We continue to strain at the seams, while simultaneously enjoying the successes of bringing on new staff and their growing teams. The Faculty’s space program document was just approved by GFC, marking another milestone on the way to continued planning for new facilities. Meanwhile, we continue to live with the need to fully utilize our existing space and, accordingly, renovate our facilities to keep up with evolving needs.
versity’s increasing priority on expanding the number and proportion of our graduate student population. This is certainly not without its challenges. Those are a few examples of the high-altitude trends evident on the radar screen at this point. Meanwhile, if you have any comments, observations, concerns or ideas about administrative matters in Renewable Resources, please drop by.
Growing Grads... Another consistent development has been the UniLandmark News, Volume 14 Issue 3—Page 3
Bob Longworth
Nadir Erbilgin—Canada Research Chair in Natural Disturbances joins Renewable Resources Welcome to Nadir Erbilgin, his wife Pei-yu Chen and son, Ethan, who are joining our Renewable Resources family from San Leandro, California. As Canada Research Chair in Forest Entomology, Dr. Erbilgin’s research will closely examine the relationship between the Mountain Pine Beetle and jack pine trees of the boreal forest. Dr. Chen, a GIS specialist, will be working with Alex Drummond this term as a coinstructor in REN R 201. Dr. Erbilgin grew up in Turkey, where he obtained his BSc from the forestry school at Istanbul University. His undergraduate studies in forestry focused on entomology, silviculture, forest engineering, and botany. His success in qualifying exams after his BSc garnered Nadir a prestigious US scholarship and a move to the Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas to continue his studies in forest entomology in the laboratory of Dr. David L. Kulhavy. Nadir’s MS thesis emphasized the role of forest disturbances, namely wind, lightning, insects and pathogens, on the survival of the Ethan Erbilgin
FOIPP Permission Received
endangered Woodpecker.
Red-cockaded
After his MS, he continued graduate training with Dr. Kenneth F. Raffa, a world-renowned forest entomologist and ecologist, at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. cians has provided him with a Under Dr. Raffa’s tutelage, Nadir broad perspective about forests in North America and Europe. was provided with training in forest entomology and he gained Nadir is one of only a few scienvaluable experience in the field of tists in the US who is trained and chemical ecology and plant- experienced with both insect and pathogen-insect interactions. microbial pests of forests. He feels this rare combination of Dr. Erbilgin published nine peerreviewed papers from his PhD skills is essential to current efstudies. Nadir worked one year forts in North America aimed at as a post-doctoral associate with addressing emerging, invasive the late Dr. Donald L. Dahlsten, a threats (for example, sudden oak well known authority in biological death) where insects and pathogens mutually contribute to virucontrol of forest insects at the lence. University of California, Berkeley. While his previous work in Texas He hopes that this research will and Wisconsin focused on in- be crucial for predicting the short- and long-term impact of sect/tree/pathogen interactions in forests, he was now working more Mountain Pine Beetle in the Cain the area of biological control of nadian boreal forest and will contribute to the knowledge base pest problems in urban forests. He continued his post-doctoral required for sustainable managetraining at the University of Cali- ment of forested lands against devastating insect epidemics fornia, Berkeley with Dr. David L. Wood, a pioneer in the work of such as the Mountain Pine Beeidentification of pheromones of tle. several economically important Pei-yu & Ethan bark beetle species occurring in the western United States. Dr. Erbilgin has expanded his skills in forest entomology and has included pathology, ecology, and chemical ecology at many levels. He enjoys using novel methods if they are the best approach to answer a particular research question. His graduate and postgraduate training and interaction with researchers in The Erbilgin family enjoys long road trips and have covered different fields, such as ecolonearly every corner of the United gists, biochemists, entomoloStates. The next plan is to drive gists, pathologists, and statistifrom Texas-Florida-New York. Landmark News, Volume 14 Issue 3—Page 4
The Nature of Things Featuring John Spence and the Mountain Pine Beetle Alberta’s actions against mountain pine beetle in the province were recently studied by Dr. David Suzuki for his CBC-TV program, The Nature of Things. Dr. John Spence, Professor and Chair of the University of Alberta’s Department of Renewable Resources and a member of the Alberta Government’s Mountain Pine Beetle Advisory Committee, was interviewed for the Nature of Things segment. Dr. Spence reviewed the causes and impacts of Alberta’s mountain pine beetle infestation and said the Alberta government is taking the right approaches to managing the challenge.
Spence speaking with David Suzuki
Dr. Suzuki and his three-person production team visited SRD staff working in forests near High Prairie on June 25 to see first-hand the single-tree cut-and-burn tactics being used to remove infested pine from the landscape. The CBC production team filmed a four-person SRD crew cutting and burning individually-attacked trees at the site near High Prairie, which is in the leading edge of the pine beetle infestation in Alberta. The area includes both lodgepole pine and jack pine, both of which have been attacked by beetles.
Scientists say pine beetles can survive in jack pine, whose stands stretch across Canada’s boreal forest to Labrador. Alberta is the front line of the battle to protect this national resource. Along with single-tree cut-and-burn work, Alberta is managing infestations by directing forest companies to alter their harvesting plans to focus on infested and at-risk pine stands, and by harvest planning to reduce the overabundance of mature pine trees in the province’s forests. Prior to visiting with SRD in High Prairie, the Nature of Things production team filmed beetlerelated segments in B.C., Saskatchewan and Grande Prairie, Alberta. Dr. Allan Carroll (former REN R Adjunct Professor) of the Canadian Forestry Service in Victoria, B.C., who is among the leading pine beetle scientists advising Alberta’s action plan to manage infestations in the province, was interviewed for the program. Of the estimated three million beetle-attacked trees in Alberta, about 2.7 million are in the Grande Prairie and Peace regions of the province. There were 19,000 beetle-attacked trees in Alberta one year ago. Each beetle-attacked tree contains enough insects to infest an additional five to 10 trees. Trees killed by beetles will fade and turn red beginning about one year after the initial attack. Alberta has six million hectares of pine trees, approximately 15 per cent of the province’s forested land base.
Interviews and filming conducted that day will be included in a two-part feature story exploring climate change. The program, expected to air this November 8, will include mountain pine beetle infestations in a broad examination of the effects and implications of global warming. Also interviewed was SRD Provincial Mountain Pine Beetle Specialist Erica Lee, who discussed pine beetle life cycles and signs of infestations, as well as the operational tactics used to remove beetle-killed pine trees.
Landmark News, Volume 14 Issue 3—Page 5
Article courtesy of Alberta Sustainable Resources Website ( http:// www.srd.gov.ab.ca/ whatsnew/ natureofthings.aspx )
Suzuki and Erica Lee
Steve Luchkow—Alumni—Class of ‘77 We are pleased to present this feature as the first in what we expect to be a continuing series about our alumni. In addition to having had a large and positive impact on forestry in Alberta, Steve has assisted his home department and alma mater with development of a number of useful projects. The former head of the Canadian national Networks of Centres of Excellence program once referred to Steve as ‘a true prince of industry’ and we concur. The worth of any institution is best judged by its products and we are very proud to number Steve among the products of our Forestry Program. – J. Spence Steve graduated from the U of A in 1977 with a BSc in Forestry and has spent the last 30 years working in Northern Alberta 11 years with Alberta Forest Service at a variety of locations and 19 with Daishowa-Marubeni International Ltd. (previously Daishowa Canada Company Ltd.), located north of the town of Peace River. Steve graduated in a time when the forest sector in Alberta started to flourish. This growth brought with it many opportunities and challenges. He had great fortune to be exposed to all aspects of Forest Management and Operations during his career. Steve has also had the opportunity to influence many projects and programs. The success of projects like Sustainable Forest Management Network Centre of Excellence (SFM NCE), Forest Resource Improvement Program, Mixedwood Management Association, Western Boreal Aspen Corporation and Ecosystem Management by Emulating Natural Disturbance, to name a few, far outweighs the failures he has experienced. When Steve reflects back, he sees in every case they were team efforts. Working in a team was something he learned at an early age through sports and exposure to some really good mentors of the team approach. He continues to be amazed by what can be accomplished when InFOIPP Permission Received
dustry, Government and Academia are pulling in the same direction. Steve enjoyed the Operations end of the business but finds that it’s the Forest Management work really gets his juices flowing. He has always liked the challenge of managing without complete knowledge and the intrigue involved in seeing whether things turned out the way they were envisioned. One of the highlights for Steve was involvement in Daishowa Canada’s green field pulp mill at Peace River. This was the first hardwood pulp mill in the province. He found the building, the staff, plans and programs associated with the company’s Forest Management Agreement exciting and rewarding. It was a unique opportunity to start with a clean slate and to apply the knowledge and experience gained to that point in his career. Steve has had opportunity to work with some good people in industry, government and academia; people who are open minded, committed and truly interested in doing good forest management. He has always viewed the practice of forestry as the application of art and science. Even though Steve says he would have preferred clear, scientifically defensible direction and practices, forestry is a complex system, one that may never be understood completely; this is what makes the work of a Forester so interesting, challenging and rewarding. Steve laments the current downturn in the lumber and panel board sectors of the forestry industry and the trend that sees support for programs developed in the good years decline drastically during the bad times. This can be very frustrating for a Forester and he hopes that something can be done in the future to ensure that these long term programs can be sustained in both good and bad times. However, he has thoroughly enjoyed the last 30 years in forestry and would not hesitate to encourage others to take up the profession – there will be many new challenges and opportunities as this sector and forest management evolves and as society’s needs change in Alberta.
Logo courtesy of Diashowa Marubeni—website:
http://www.dmi.ca/prpd/index.html
Landmark News, Volume 14 Issue 3—Page 6
Teaching Wall of Fame 2007 With input from the departments, the list of people selected to the Teaching Wall of Fame are: From Renewable Resources Glen Armstrong Peter Blenis Marvin Dudas Lee Foote Vic Lieffers Anne Naeth From our Sister Departments: Heidi Bates Vladislava Blinova Sean Cash Kathryn Chandler Grant Clark Nat Kav
Naomi Krogman Susan Novak Masahito Oba Erasmus Okine Mick Price Frank Robinson Dean Spaner Feral Temelli Jim Untershultz Deanna Williamson Wendy Wismer We are a faculty with very high demonstrated success in undergraduate teaching and to those on the list and to many who were very close to making the list, sincere thanks for your teaching and learning efforts. Submitted by Frank Robinson
Forest Industry Lecture Series
# 58
“Forest Regeneration Trends in Canada: The Role of Dinosaurs, Political Correctness, and Emerging Pressures”
Date: November 8, 2007 Lecture: 3:00 pm
Location: Myer Horowitz Theatre Robert G. Wagner is the Henry W. Saunders Distinguished Professor in Forestry at the University of Maine. His fields of research include silviculture and forest ecology. Dr. Wagner is Director of the Cooperative Forestry Research Unit (CFRU) and leader of the Acadian Forest Ecosystem Research Program (AFERP). In addition to his silviculture research in New England since 1998, Dr. Wagner has experience as a forest researcher in the U.S. Pacific Northwest and Canadian boreal forest. He has authored numerous publications in the areas of silviculture, forest ecology, and vegetation management. He also is lead editor of the book “Regenerating the Canadian Forest” that was published in 2001. Dr. Wagner has a Ph.D. in silviculture from Oregon State University, a M.S. in forest ecology from the University of Washington, and a B.S. in forest management from Utah State University.
Landmark News, Volume 14 Issue 3—Page 7
Off- site Teaching Adventures with Alex… Once again Alex Drummond was involved in running both our Field Schools (Spring and Fall) and the annual TRANSFOR tour. Spring Field School was three weeks in duration and was the largest field school ever offered in the Faculty. With 96 students and 9 full time staff, the logistics and operation of the field school were challenging at times (8 vans and 2 trucks …try turning all of those around on a bush road!). Over 30 instructors from The UofA (profs, emeritus profs and grad students), industry, government and consultancy, came and went over the period of the field school. SFS was again based in Lac La Biche Alberta and Portage College provided residences and food service on contract. This is a unique field school in that two programs (Forestry and ENCS) share the same curriculum. This allows both groups of students to interact and share ideas and perspectives. Fall Field School is offered to Forestry students that are new to the program. FFS is offered the last 6 days of summer. Peter Blenis assisted in the academic component of the course and 2 TAs accompanied the 15 students. Many UofA alumni assisted in the delivery of the course.
AFHE
The group visited Drayton Valley, Rocky Mountain House, Shunda (near Nordegg), Hinton, and Swan Hills. The Government of Alberta: SRD, West Fraser (Sundre and Hinton), Weyerhaeuser (Drayton Valley), and the Hinton Training Centre all assisted with sponsorship of the Field School. Again this summer, the UofA along with UBC, U of Toronto and UNB hosted students from Germany, Finland and Sweden for a 3 week Forestry tour in Canada. Simon Landhausser and Alex Drummond hosted the European students as they visited, Jasper, Hinton, Whitecourt and Swan Hills. On the tour the students saw active harvesting in Whitecourt, burned areas in Jasper, mixedwood management in the Edson area, Bison and other fire management in Elk Island National Park and (the highlight for many) a tanker drop from a Lockheed Electra in Swan Hills. Now we rev up to do it all again in 2008!
Associate Dean—International
Bob Hudson has been appointed Associate Dean (International), effective immediately. The University of Alberta has placed a high priority on expanding our international programs in both research and teaching. The university is targeting specific countries, so Bob will be working closely with University of Alberta International and other groups to ensure that our international activities are aligned with the priorities of the university. Bob is committed to working closely with department Chairs to ensure that his efforts build on current activities at the department level. With Bob’s mentoring and leadership skills, it is expected that we can transform our international activities so that more of our students have the opportunity to spend time abroad and our Faculty will have a more prominent role in the international community. Submitted by John Kennelly
Landmark News, Volume 14 Issue 3—Page 8
Breton Plots Tours — June 30, 2007
New Faces in the Department
Amanda Brown
Saturday, June 30 dawned bright and sunny, and provided the perfect environment for a spectacular day at the Breton Plots. Jim Robertson, along with volunteer Shirley Ross and graduate student Sarabpreet Singh, played host to approximately 50 people. Jim described the public relations exercise ‘exciting and exhilarating’. In combination with the perfect weather, it rained the previous evening, so farmers, who could not be in their own fields came to spend time in ours. It seemed that about 50% of those in attendance had never been to the Plots before and knew nothing of their significance. Several people expressed surprise and awe about this gem in their County. The Plots were in excellent shape that day. Dick Purveen and his crew did an excellent job with the plots, and Dick has been very proactive in the maintenance of the plots and in initiating new projects. Conny Kappler, the field person for Brazeau County, was extremely helpful with the Tour and was involved in the planning of the village celebrations , as well as all other details such as the handouts, bussing, the wagon for guests to ride around the plots, and refreshments after the Plot tour. Clearly we made a major impression with our audience!! Submitted by Jim Robertson
Amanda joined our main office team July 25 in the capacity of Financial & Graduate Program Assistant. Amanda has been on campus since early 2006 as a Research and Trust Accounting Assistant in the Department of Pediatrics. Amanda is currently an undergraduate in the department of Rural Economy and continues with her studies part time while working for Renewable Resources. Amanda is also an avid horsewoman and loves to share stories about her four horses. Welcome on board Amanda! FOIPP Permission Received
Dr. Cia Jing—Dr. Mel Tyree—PDF—ESB 444 Dr. Kevin Bladon—Dr. Uldis Silins—PDF— HEB 211 Chris Williams—Dr. Uldis Silins—Research Technician— HEB 211 Dr. Xiao Dong Yu—Dr. John Spence— PDF—ESB 230B Gu Feng—Dr. Fangliang He—Visiting Scholar—GSB 713A Guo Chun—Dr. Fangliang He—Visiting Scholar—GSB 713A Jun Zhang - Dr. Scott Chang—Visiting Scholar - ESB 430.
Shelley Pruss has joined the Department of Renewable Resources as an Adjunct Professor, effective July 1, 2007—June 30, 2010. Welcome Back Shelley!
Landmark News, Volume 14 Issue 3—Page 9
Welcome to our new and returning Fall term Teaching staff members: Pei-yu Chen—REN R 201 (with Alex Drummond) Miles Dyck—SOILS 440 Alastair Franke—ENCS 464 Len Leskiw—SOILS 420 Andrea McGregor—ENCS 474 On Sabbatical: Scott Chang—July 1– December 31, 2007 Phil Comeau—Jan 1—Dec 31, 2008 Lee Foote—July 1—June 30, 2008 Rick Pelletier—Sept 1—Aug 30, 2008 Debra Davidson—Oct 16, 2007—Oct 15, 2008
Landmark Laurels
Movin’ On—Brett Purdy, who has been a Research Associate in the department for the past 8 years, is moving on to greener pastures. Brett has accepted a position as the Reclamation Research Specialist for the newly formed Strategic Policy and Innovation Branch within the Oil Sands Environmental Management Division of Alberta Environment. In this position he will be working with Preston McEachern, who is an Adjunct Professor in the department, in the Research, Science and Innovation Section. The role of this section is to "influence and support innovative and targeted research to achieve environmental outcomes for the Alberta oil sands." Best of luck Brett, and we hope to still see you around frequently in the future. Submitted by Ellen Macdonald
………
Bob Longworth
It is my pleasure to name Bob Longworth as the Fall 2007 Landmark Laureate. Bob is the Assistant Chair (Administration) for the Department of Renewable Resources He is trained in both human and physical geography, with experience in biogeography, heritage interpretation, and administration. Bob works closely with the Chair and is accountable for the direction of efficient and effective administrative systems and structures within the Department. He oversees the administration unit and assists in the planning, implementation and management of strategic initiatives. In this capacity, Bob plays a key role in the management of fall departmental resources including budget, facilities, and personnel. He is a smiling face during the interview process for new personnel, making them feel comfortable and relaxed, as this is something he has a knack for. Bob always has a ready smile for everyone, whether they are fellow academic staff, support staff or students. Should you need someone to talk to, or are a newcomer to Edmonton looking for information, you will always find he has an open door, a friendly ear and sage advice. Bob and his wife Linda have two children, Jackson and Brianna. As a family, they love to travel and have had recent trips to Greece and Victoria. Like the postman, through wind, rain, sleet or snow, he can be seen riding his bike to/ from work. Bob, in his spare time, is also a talented musician and will usually bring his guitar to department functions for an impromptu jam with all the other musically talented people… ask him about his CD. Please join me this month in saying “Thank you, Bob, for all you do”. Your hard work and kind attitude do not go unnoticed. FOIPP Permission Received
Submitted by Sarah Gooding
Landmark News, Volume 14 Issue 3—Page 10
Around the World with Renewable Resources North American Forest Ecology Workshop
Vancouver
June 18-20, 2007
RENEWABLE RESOURCES was well represented and made an impressive showing at the 6 th North American Forest Ecology Workshop (NAFEW) held in Vancouver (at UBC) in June. Phil Comeau assumed the duties of Program Committee Chair and Ellen Macdonald and Vic Lieffers provided valuable input as members of the program committee. John Spence, Ken Stadt and Susan Humphries also attended. REN R students attending NAFEW helped out at the conference and several also brought presentations or posters. Thanks to the following students who attended Comeau with Peter Attiwill NAFEW 2007: Colin Bergeron, Elizabeth Boschma, Richard Caners, Sophan Chhin, Erica Close, Francesco Cortini, Ashley Craig, Ian Curran, Andria Dawson, Evan Esch, Cosmin Filipescu, Sheelah Griffith, Kazi Hossain, Alison Lennie, Jaime Lypowy, Chris MacQuarrie, Eckehart Marenholtz, Jonathan Martin-DeMoor, Matthew Pyper, Valentin Reyes-Hernandez, Hongan Yan, Fang Ye. Paper Presentations: • Colin Bergeron, John Spence, Jan Volney. Fire history, insect outbreaks and tree rings in north western Alberta
• Richard Caners, René Belland, Ellen Macdonald - Regulation of bryophyte diaspore bank composition in mixedwood boreal forests
• Sophan Chhin, Shongming Huang, Ted Hogg, Vic Lieffers - Impact of competition and elevational gradients on the dendroclimatic response of lodgepole pine in Alberta, Canada
• Erica Close, Scott Chang, Ellen Macdonald, Brett G Purdy - Growth and Nutritional Status of Aspen and White Spruce on Naturally Saline Sites in the Boreal Forest
• Phil Comeau - Dynamics of aspen and Calamagrostis competition and its implications to mixedwood management
• Cosmin Filipescu, Phil Comeau - Competitive interactions between aspen and white spruce vary with site and age in boreal mixedwoods
• Sheelah Griffith, Phil Comeau, Ellen Macdonald - Response of understory vegetation to pre-commercial thinning in boreal mixedwood forests
• Kazi Hossain - Cropland Agroforestry –A Sustainable Agricultural System Practiced by farmers of Bangladesh
• Joshua Jacobs, John Spence, David Langor - Decaying wood: the rise and fall of beetle empires • Vic Lieffers, Glen Armstrong, Ken Stadt, Eckehart Marenholtz - If we meet provincial regeneration standards, will we sustain the composition and structure of boreal mixedwood forest?
• Chris MacQuarrie, David Langor, John Spence - Alien species in the last frontier: Invasion history, oviposition behaviour, and mortality factors of Ambermarked birch leafminer.
• Kenneth J Stadt, Mike Bokalo, Stephen Titus and Phil Comeau - The Mixedwood Growth Model: modeling species interactions in the mixedwood boreal.
Poster Displays: • Sophan Chhin, Geoff Wang - Climatic response of white spruce seedlings in a forest-prairie ecotone of southwestern Manitoba, Canada
• Francesco Cortini, Phil Comeau – Effects of red alder and paper birch competition on growth of young conifers in southern British Columbia.
• Ashley Craig, Ellen Macdonald - Effects of varying intensities of green tree retention harvesting on understory plant communities in the boreal mixedwood.
Landmark News, Volume 14 Issue 3—Page 11
World
• Jonathan Martin-DeMoor, Vic Lieffers, Ellen
(cont’d)
Macdonald - Do we always need to plant to regenerate white spruce in boreal mixedwood forests?
NAFEW (cont’d from Page 9) • Ian Curran, Vic Lieffers, Ellen Macdonald Natural regeneration of white spruce following mast years
• Andria Dawson, Ken Stadt- Retrospective Forest Mortality Sampling and Modeling
• Evan Esch, Joshua Jacobs, John Spence - Es-
• Eckehart Marenholtz, Vic Lieffers, Uldis Silins - Using evaporimeters to measure atmospheric moisture stress in spruce understory protection harvests
More information is available at the workshop website: http://www.nafew2007.org/index.html
timating ground beetle (Coleoptera: Carabidae) population densities from pitfall trap samples
• Alison Lennie, Simon Landhausser, Vic Lief-
fers - Aspen regeneration in response to shelterwood harvest systems, proximity to residual aspen trees and vehicular traffic.
• Jaime Lypowy, Ellen Macdonald - The effect of forest fire on understory composition and structure: a comparison of pre- and post-fire vegetation in boreal forests
Ellen Macdonald with colleagues at NAFEW
Dr. Grant was invited as an external reviewer for a grant selection committee for the Autonomous Province of Trento in Italy. The Committee met in July 2007 in northern Italy to make funding decisions for large network grant proposals to study climate change impacts on terrestrial ecosystems.
Robert Grant……...
This gave Robert a chance to do some hiking in the south Tirolean Alps and enjoy the stunning mountain scenery. Southern Europe was in the middle of a heat wave (the North Atlantic Oscillation is in a positive phase), so he found that reading and research was best done in the alpine beer gardens.
Scott Chang ……... In March, Scott was one of the three committee members selected by Agriculture Institute of Canada to travel to the University of Saskatchewan to evaluate the degree programs offered by the College of Agriculture and Bioresources. In early May, Dr. Chang was part of the team sent by AFHE to visit the Inner Mongolia Agricultural University and Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University. Research
Dr. Grant has joined the Science Steering Committee of an IPY project “Climate Impacts on Canadian Arctic Tundra”, which met in Vancouver in May ‘07. This project has about 50 PI’ s with research sites all over the arctic studying changes in vegetation and ecosystem productivity. Robert continues his work on the Executive Science Committee of the Canada Carbon Project studying climate and disturbance effects on Canadian forests. The AGM will be held in Calgary in March ‘08.
and teaching seminars were given at both universities as part of the Faculty mission to broaden academic exchange with those universities. In late May, he went back to Inner Mongolia to give an invited presentation at the 4th International Symposium on Modern Ecology. As part of Scott’s sabbatical leave, he spent July and August in China and had the opportunity to visit the Institutes of Soil Science (Nanjing), Geography and Botany (Beijing), and Soil and Water Conservation (Yangling), and the Research Station for Grassland Ecosystems (Inner Mongolia), all part of the Chinese Academy of Science. Scott also visited Nanjing Forestry University and College of Resources and the Environment, Zhejinag University (along with Dr. Charlie Arshad). He spent most of the two months working with Prof. Jie Chang in the College of Life Science at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou.
Landmark News, Volume 14 Issue 3—Page 12
• Dr. Doug Clark, a recent graduate from Wilfrid Laurier University is a SSHRCsponsored PDF in Lee Foote's Lab. Doug is working with Lee and Dr. Milton Freeman on Arctic Net issues concerning policy surrounding the United States government listing of Polar Bears as an endangered species. Doug is operating out of Whitehorse, YK.
World (cont’d) Lee Foote…….
Lee Foote, who is currently on sabbatical, has taken some time from his motorcycle travels to various work venues to report on his spring and summer months’ productivity. • presented a plenary on "Advocacy and Science" to the Alberta Chapter of the Wildlife Society meetings in Medicine Hat, AB. Kathryn Martell and Lee Foote presented a poster on Beaver impacts at the Management of aquatic landscapes in forested systems, March 2007, Winnipeg, MB.
• held an IUCN-sponsored workshop on sustainable use of wildlife at the Society for Conservation Biology meetings in Port Elizabeth, South Africa on 30 June 2007. It was attended by 71 people and hosted 7 speakers. His daughter Eva travelled with Lee throughout South Africa for several weeks. FOIPP Permission Received
• travelled with previous PDF Jon Hornung to Halifax, NS to present their oil sands carbon accumulation research at the Aquatic Toxicity Workshop on October 1-3, 2007. On February 14, 2007 Phil Comeau attended the Coastal Silviculture Committee Workshop in Victoria. Phil gave a talk entitled: "There goes the neighbourhood: Thoughts on mixedwood management in coastal forests."
…….Phil Comeau
Phil Comeau, Susan Humphries, Cosmin Filipescu, Sheelah Griffith, Francesco Cortini, Valentin Reyes-Hernandez, Kazi Hossain and Hongan Yan attended the Coastal Silviculture Committee Summer Workshop, in Courtenay, B.C. June 21 and 22, 2007. At the workshop, Phil and Francesco presented information on effects of red alder density on mixed stand development at a research site that Phil established in 1992. Landmark News, Volume 14 Issue 3—Page 13
John Spence…... John Spence, Colin Bergeron, Josh Jacobs and Evan Esch, participated in the 13th European Carabidologists Meeting held in the historic city of Blavoevgrad, Bulgaria 20 - 24 August 2008.
Jari Niemelä, Spence, George Ball
The conference keynote speaker, Professor Emeritus George Ball of the Faculty’s former Department of Entomology accompanied them on the trip. They were especially delighted to have a reunion with Dr. Matti Koivula a recent postdoctoral fellow in the Spence lab, who is now a Professor of Ecology at the University of Jyväskyla in Finland.
....Bruce Dancik roots or back to the future? Towards a new synthesis among taxonomic, ecological and biogeographical approaches in carabidology”. John, Colin and Josh all gave formal talks about the responses of carabids to forest cover-type and forest management activities drawn from the EMEND experiment located NW of Peace River, and Evan spoke about how carabids respond to food limitation and density based on work done at the department’s George Lake Field Site. They report that the weather was hot, people were extremely hospitable, the food was unusual and highly palatable, the drink was cheap but tasty and the meeting was highly stimulating.
The meeting featured wideranging contributions from more than 150 ground-beetle experts from all over the world addressing the general theme of the meetings: ‘Back to the
In late August, Bruce Dancik was the guest of CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organization) Publishing in Melbourne, where he met with the Board of Standards for their annual meeting and gave a presentation on “Editorial Model at the NRC Research Press”. While in Australia, he also visited the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney and the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne, where he presented seminars, “-43ºC at 53ºN: The challenges and joys of a northern botanic garden”, and led a discussion on publishing in scientific journals and impact factors. He wished he could have stayed longer, but had to return to attend meetings of the Editorial Board of the CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) in Ottawa, where he made a presentation on the role of the Ombudsman at the Journal, and the Canadian Forestry Accreditation Board in Rocky Harbour, Newfoundland, where he represents the CIF.
Matti, Evan, Colin, Josh, John
Ellen MacDonald……. Ellen Macdonald travelled to Fairbanks, Alaska May 30 – June 2, 2007 for the 6th International Conference on Disturbance Dynamics in Boreal Forests, where she presented a talk entitled: "Comparison of edge influence on vegetation structure and composition at fire-, clear-cut, and partial-cut edges in the mixedwood boreal forest."
……..David Chanasyk In mid-July David Chanasyk visited the Potato Research Centre of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Fredericton, New Brunswick to discuss potato fertilization regimes and how they might impact water quality on Prince Edward Island. Nutrient management plans target maximum production but increased fertilization often increases potto tuber size, highly desired by the potato processing plants. This can lead to environmental concerns through leaching of nutrients to groundwater.
Landmark News, Volume 14 Issue 3—Page 14
Graduate Student News China Scholarship Congratulations on successful defenses: Francesco Cortini, MSc and Cosmin Tansanu, MSc
Congratulations to all students who received the following awards and scholarships: Department awards:
• • • • • •
Linjun Yao
2007 ACA Biodiversity grant awardees: Suzanne Abele, MSc, Macdonald/Spence, “Gastropod diversity on boreal mixedwood forest after partial harvest”
Graduate Awards
•
•
Richard Caners, John & Patricia Schlosser Environment Scholarship and Herbert and Jeannette Hall Graduate Scholarship in Forestry Jaime Pinzon, Wm H McCardell Memorial Scholarship in Forest Science Sarah Pattison, Dr. Ian GW Corns Memorial Graduate Scholarship Kazi Hossain, Desmond I Crossley Memorial Scholarship Suzanne Card, WorleyParsons Komex Int’l Ltd Graduate Scholarship in Soil Science Jane Wolken, Max MacLaggan Scholarship Jocelyn Howery, Al Brennan Memorial Graduate Scholarship in Forestry
Irma Diaz, PhD, Quideau, “Harvesting & climate change effects on forest floor mesofauna in mixedwood forest” Andrea McGregor, PhD, Foote, “Foraging efficacy and replacement of piscivorous predators in AB’s aquatic food webs” Jaime Pinzon, PhD, Spence, “Epigeaic, understory and canopy spiders in mixedwood forest after harvest” Matthew Pyper, MSc, Spence, “Biodiversity conservation in fragmented landscapes”
New Students
West Fraser Timber Graduate Scholarship:
Please welcome new graduate students admitted for Fall term:
• • •
Damian Cirelli, PhD, Dr. Tyree
Damian Cirelli Jared LeBoldus Hongan Yan
Guillaume Blanchet, PhD, Dr. He Shari Clare, MSc, Dr. Foote
NSERC scholarships:
Paul Clyburn, MSc, Dr. Hudson
• • • • • •
Francesco Cortini, returning for PhD, Dr. Hamann
Suzanne Abele, NSERC-IPS (CanFor) Derek Keeping, NSERC-CGSM (renewal) Dominique Deshaies, NSERC-CGSM Matthew Pyper, NSERC-IPS (CanFor) renewal Jared LeBoldus, NSERC-IPS (Al Pac) renewal Dean Mackenzie NSERC IPS (Syncrude), retroactive to May 2007
Provost Doctoral Entrance Award: • • •
Damian Cirelli Kangho Jung Zheng Shi
David Galvez, MSc, Dr. Tyree Jocelyn Howery, MSc, Dr. Silins Mallory Jackson, MSc, Dr. Naeth (Mr) Kangho Jung, PhD, Dr. Chang (Mr )Yang Lin, MSc, Dr. Chang Pablo Pina, PhD, Dr. Silins Kevin Renkema, MSc, Dr. Lieffers David Roberts, MSc, Dr. Hamann Brenda Shaughnessy, MSc, Dr. Naeth
CONACYT scholarships: • • • •
Dominique Deshaies, MSc, Dr. Lieffers / Dr. Landhausser
Irma Diaz renewal Pablo Pina Valentin Reyes-Hernandez renewal Anayansi Cohen renewal
(Mr) Zheng Shi, PhD, Dr. Chang Simon Slater, MSc, Dr. Spence Michael Wagner, MSc, Dr. Silins Charlene Wood, MSc, Dr. Spence (Ms) Linjun Yao, PhD, Dr. He
Landmark News, Volume 14 Issue 3—Page 15
Graduate Student News
(cont’d)
Andrea McGregor attended 3 conferences this summer. •
Presented a poster at the International Association for Great Lakes Research conference in State College, Pennsylvania in May
•
Presented a poster at the World Conference for Ecological Modelling In Cape Cod, Massachusets in June
•
Presented at the joint conference of the Ecological Society of America/Society for Ecological Restoration conference in San Jose, California in August
Goodbye— Johnny Montenegro, Robert Grant’s Grad student, has returned to Costa Rica where he is writing up his thesis while working as an agronomist with the CR govt.
Fall Convocation List (tentative) Barkway, Michelle
MSc
Bresnahan, Connie Close, Erica
PhD MSc
Cortini, Francesco
MSc
Krawchuk, Meg
PhD
Mundell, Theresa
MSc
Tansanu, Cosmin
MSc
Forest Harvesting Effects on Benthic Macroinvertebrate Abundance in the Boreal Foothills of Alberta John Muir in Canada Growth and Nutritional Status of Aspen and White Spruce on Naturally Saline Sites in the Boreal Forest Competition effects on growth of five conifer species in southwestern BC and northern Alberta Biophysical regulation of wildfire in the mixedwood boreal forest in the context of climate change and forest management Influences of season of harvest, machine traffic and competition on root suckering of trembling aspen Evaluating predictive performance of 3 growth models calibrated for use in SK
Silent Auction Social Fundraiser Friday, October 19th 760 GSB Donations of auction items accepted Contact Christie Nohos 492-4413 Landmark News, Volume 14 Issue 3—Page 16
J Spence
B Dancik/N Krogman E Macdonald/B Purdy
P Comeau
F Schmiegelow/S Cumming
VJ Lieffers/ S Landhaeusser P Comeau/M Bokalo
Meet
MSc Student ……. Leslie Yasul
Leslie has been employed with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (AAFC-PFRA) since 2001 in various positions and locations in Calgary, AB; Hanna, AB; and Swift Current, SK. Currently, she works as a Land Resource Specialist within the Soil Resource Division, working on applied research projects that are related to soil such as the environmental effects of winter grazing systems of cattle and the management of nutrients originating from cattle manure. Leslie seized the opportunity to do an MSc at the University of Alberta when she heard about a project that was looking at gaps in knowledge in nutrient cycling in riparian areas with agricultural landscape. AAFC was one of the partners involved and she wanted to be a part of it. The opportunity and support from AAFC was there to pursue an MSc and she took an Education Leave and moved to Edmonton in January 2005.
land uses and landscape positions within riparian-agricultural ecosystem on a site just south of Edmonton along Whitemud Creek. She has completed 2 field seasons and is currently writing her thesis. Leslie has won awards during her time with us, including Best Poster Award at the 2006 Canadian Society of Soil Science Meeting, an Alberta Learning Graduate Student Scholarships for 2006-2007 and the 2006 WorleyParsons Komex Graduate Scholarship in Soil Science. As her Education Leave ended on March 31, 2007, she has returned to work full-time for AAFC-PFRA in Swift Current, SK. Working fulltime, writing a thesis and until recently, planning a wedding from 3 provinces away, it has been very hectic! Leslie is confident that her experience with our MSc program will further her career in soil science and it is something that she will never forget! FOIPP Permission Received
Her MSc project is studying net N mineralization, net P mineralization and denitrification on different
Wedding Announcements
Leslie Yasul & Michael Parry Married: September 8, 2007 in Campbell River, BC. Leslie and Michael honeymooned in Hawaii.
Richard Caners was married to Lisa Matthias on May 19, 2007, at the Benmiller Inn in the town of Goderich, Ontario. The ceremony took place outdoors on a beautiful spring day on the bank of the Maitland River. Richard is a PhD student in the Department of Renewable Resources and Lisa is a Species At Risk Biologist with the Fish and Wildlife Division of Alberta Sustainable Resource Development.
FOIPP Permission Received
FOIPP Permission Received
Landmark News, Volume 14 Issue 3—Page 17
Meet Ph D Student Student— — Aurea Siemens at the University of Alberta, and is currently in the process of finishing her PhD.
Aurea Siemens grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where she completed her BSc degree in biology at the University of Winnipeg. It was during her undergraduate studies that Aurea developed an interest in forest ecology and tree stress physiology. In 1999, she came to the University of Alberta to begin her MSc degree in forest biology and management. During her MSc degree, which was completed in 2001, Aurea examined the effects of water deficit stress on root water relations in trembling aspen seedlings. Aurea wanted to continue her studies of root water relations and root physiology of aspen, so she stayed
For her doctoral research, she turned to the study of ectomycorrhizal fungi and how they may assist their tree hosts in dealing with the effects with environmental stresses. As part of her research, she examined how mycorrhizal fungi affect the growth and root water relations of trembling aspen and balsam poplar. She also examined how ectomycorrhizal fungi may help aspen cope with
changes in soil pH and inorganic nitrogen fertilization, and
Congratulations to the 2007 Spring RENEWABLE RESOURCES convocants 82 ENCS grads
18 Forestry grads
Fall 2007 Convocation Ceremonies— Mark your Calendars!!!! Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry & Home Economics – Wed, November 21 3 p.m. Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research — Thurs, November 22 3 p.m.
Landmark News, Volume 14 Issue 3—Page 18
would be interested in continuing her research on mycorrhizal-tree interactions after her PhD is complete. Throughout her grad studies, Aurea has been actively involved in organizing and assisting with science outreach education and activities in Edmonton Public Schools classrooms through the FGSR outreach program, and through the graduate studentorganized “Let’s Talk Science Partnership Program” at the University of Alberta. Currently, she is a “Planting Science” online mentor for high school plant science projects. Aurea has also previously served as a GSA department representative, and has been a member of several administrative academic committees at this university. In her spare time, Aurea enjoys hiking and sports.
Renewable Resources Social Events Renewable Resources Family Holiday Party -
Halloween Potluck Noon Wednesday, Oct 31
Sunday, December 9th , 2007 Held on campus this year Watch for ticket sales in November
Sign up at GSB front desk
We’re on the Web! http://www.rr.ualberta.ca
Excellence in the discovery, dissemination and application of knowledge about natural and managed ecosystems
Department of Renewable Resources University of Alberta 751 General Services Building Edmonton, AB T6G 2H1 This newsletter is published quarterly & distributed to staff and students within the Department of Renewable Resources. For copies and/or contributions, please contact the Editor, Rochelle Jackson at rochelle.jackson@afhe.ualberta.ca; phone 492-3554. Submissions for the next issue of Landmark should be sent in by January 15, 2008 Landmark News, Volume 14 Issue 3—Page 19