Stephen Johnston
Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD)
Post-release mortality of Chinook salmon in marine recreational fisheries
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Forests go far beyond British Columbia; they cover 1/3 of the Earth’s land surface. Forestry graduate students learn from a dynamic and diverse group of researchers who educate and communicate how forests and forest products contribute to the well-being of all living things. The health and sustainability of forests and the people who depend on them underlies everything we do.
The Faculty of Forestry is one of the top institutions globally in forest-related education and research. The unique breadth of expertise we possess allows us to integrate new knowledge across many disciplines. Offering both master’s and doctoral programs, our graduate students learn from a dynamic and diverse group of researchers from around the world.
Research Facilities
The Forest Sciences Centre is a showcase for construction using Canadian forest products, and was architecturally designed to mimic the landscape of British Columbia: towering trees, mountains, and blue-green waters. The 17,505-square-metre Forest Sciences complex has 11 classrooms, 2 lecture theatres, teaching laboratories, office space, computer labs, study areas, and a cafeteria, and houses the Faculty’s three departments.
Built alongside the Forest Sciences Centre is the 3,730-square-metre Centre for Advanced Wood Processing. It is Canada’s national centre of excellence for education and research related to wood products processing and advanced wood products manufacturing, and works to advance knowledge that fosters job creation, stabilizes forest-dependent communities, encourages increased value recovery, and ensures the sustainable management of Canada’s forests. This building includes two 25-seat classrooms, a machine lab, a simulator lab and a computer lab.
Within the Faculty of Forestry, there are also several research groups. Visit the website of each project to find out more.
Off-campus facilities include two Research Forests: the Malcolm Knapp Research Forest in Maple Ridge and the Alex Fraser Research Forest near Williams Lake. These are working forests located throughout the province where students and faculty can study in an outdoor setting. Fish and wildlife, silviculture, forest harvesting, forest ecology, forest management, and resources management figure prominently in these field studies.
Research Highlights
UBC Forestry is turning out a new generation of foresters, and faculty are committed to meeting future challenges in forestry through in-depth, cutting edge research. In fact, UBC Forestry receives the highest level of forestry research funding of any forestry faculty in Canada.
In the 2017/2018 fiscal year, members of the Faculty Forestry were awarded a total of over $12 million in research funding.
Our wide breadth of research includes topics such as tree rings, integrated remote sensing, bioenergy, forest conservation genetics, landscape visualizations, African forest conservation and development, alpine studies, climate change, and advanced wood processing.
Schools / Departments
Graduate Degree Programs
Research Supervisors in Faculty
or browse the list of faculty members in various academic units. You may click each unit to view faculty members appointed in that unit. View the full faculty member directory for more search and filter options.
| Name | Academic Unit(s) | Research Interests |
|---|---|---|
| Aitken, Sally | Department of Forest & Conservation Sciences | forest genetics, climate change, Climate change, conservation, ecology, genetics, genomics |
| Alila, Younes | Department of Forest Resources Management | Hydrology, Flood, Water Resources, Water Structures, Forest Hydrology, Forest management, hydrological engineering |
| Atleo, Tara | Department of Forest Resources Management | Indigenous economics; Indigenous peoples environmental knowledge; Sustainability management; Sustainable development and policy; Sustainability Management; Communities and Indigenous Knowledge; Stewardship Economics |
| Avramidis, Stavros | Department of Wood Science | Other natural sciences, n.e.c.; Wood-water relations and sorption thermodynamics.; Fluid flow, heat transfer, and molecular diffusion; Modeling steady-state and dynamic non-isothermal diffusion in wood.; Application of fractals and machine learning to modeling wood physical properties.; Molecular modeling of the wood nano-pore network in the cell wall.; Industrial wood kiln drying optimization and development of new drying strategies.; Radio frequency vacuum (RFV) heating and drying of wood and wood products.; Dielectric wood phytosanitation.; Wood thermal modification. |
| Barbeito Sanchez, Ignacio | Department of Forest Resources Management | refining novel silvicultural practices; establishment and management of forests under global change |
| Benson-Amram, Sarah | Department of Forest & Conservation Sciences, Department of Zoology | |
| Boedhihartono, Agni | Department of Forest & Conservation Sciences | Forestry sciences; Other studies in human society, n.e.c.; Visual arts and media arts, n.e.c.; Natural resource management; biodiversity; Communities and Livelihoods; conservation; Forest management; Land-use Change; social science; sustainability; Tropical Landscapes and Livelihoods; Arts and Conservaion; Landstewardship; Traditional Ecological Knowledge; Arts for Conservation; Visual anthropology; Forests and Societies |
| Booker, Thomas | Department of Forest & Conservation Sciences | population and quantitative genetics |
| Bulkan, Janette | Department of Forest Resources Management | aboriginal forestry, biodiversity, climate change, communities and livelihoods, conservation, corporate responsibility, forest management, forest policy, international trade, social impact, social science |
| Bunn, David | Department of Forest Resources Management | |
| Burton, Cole | Department of Forest Resources Management | Forestry sciences; Ecology and Quality of the Environment; Ecological Trends; Animal; Biodiversity and Biocomplexity; Landscape and Restoration; Environment Management and Protection; Biodiversity conservation; Ecological Monitoring; Landscape ecology; Mammal Ecology; Population and Community Ecology; Wildlife Management |
| Cardinal-McTeague, Warren | Department of Forest & Conservation Sciences | Earth and related environmental sciences; Forestry sciences; plant biodiversity; Indigenous environmental management and food systems; monitoring of ecosystem health and function |
| Carroll, Allan | Department of Forest & Conservation Sciences | climate change, mountain pine beetle, bark beetles, forest disturbance, integrated pest management, insect ecology, population dynamics, insect-plant interactions, Climate change, conservation, ecology, ecosystems, forest biology, forest management |
| Cool, Julie | Department of Wood Science | modelling, wood products, wood science, wood |
| Coops, Nicholas Charles | Department of Forest Resources Management | Forestry sciences; Telemetry (Remote Sensing, Radar); Space Techniques; Forestry Technology and Equipment; Plants and Forests |
| Cranston, Emily | Department of Wood Science, Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering | Nanoparticle synthesis, properties and applications; Bio-based materials and nanocellulose; Atomic force microscopy (forces, adhesion, friction, imaging); Colloid and interface science; Polymer chemistry; Cellulose nanocrystals; Bioproducts; Foams, emulsions, aerogels |
| Dai, Chunping | Department of Wood Science | Forestry sciences; Bamboo; Bio-products; Wood Products; Wood Science; Wood Technology |
| Daniels, Lori | Department of Forest & Conservation Sciences | forest plants and trees; forest history; forest management; environmental protection and natural resource use, Climate change, ecology, fire regimes |
| Devisscher, Tahia | Department of Forest Resources Management | Forestry sciences; adaptation; climate change; Human Health; Human Well-being; Nature Recovery; Social-Ecological Resilience |
| El-Kassaby, Yousry | Department of Forest & Conservation Sciences | Forestry sciences; Applied Genetics; conservation; genomics; Seed orchards’ genetics; Tree breeding; Tree domestication |
| Eskelson, Bianca | Department of Forest Resources Management | Natural resource management; Forest Biometrics; Forest Modelling; Disturbance Effects; Management Effects; Climate Effects |
| Evans, Philip David | Department of Wood Science | Wood anatomy, wood durability, wood products, wood technology |
| Feng, Haibo | Department of Wood Science | Building construction engineering; Concrete, cementitious materials and other architectural and construction materials; BIM; Construction; LCA; sustainability; Wood Products; Zero energy / caron building |
| Gaston, Christopher | Department of Wood Science | Forestry sciences; markets and economics for Canadian wood products |
| Gergel, Sarah | Department of Forest & Conservation Sciences | Aboriginal forestry, biodiversity, climate change, communities and livelihoods, conservation, ecology, remote sensing, sustainability |
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Recent Publications
This is an incomplete sample of recent publications in chronological order by UBC faculty members with a primary appointment in the Faculty of Forestry.
Recent Thesis Submissions
Doctoral Citations
A doctoral citation summarizes the nature of the independent research, provides a high-level overview of the study, states the significance of the work and says who will benefit from the findings in clear, non-specialized language, so that members of a lay audience will understand it.
| Year | Citation | Program |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Dr. Brown compared health outcomes from guided and self-guided forest bathing in Metro Vancouver parks, measuring mood, nature connectedness, heart rate, and blood pressure. Plant diversity, sound, seasons, and individual traits influenced outcomes. Her research informs public health and park design addressing urban stress and nature disconnection. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
| 2025 | Dr. Zhu dedicated her research to developing smart materials by exploring cellulose-water interactions and uncovering their underlying mechanisms. She has engineered high-performance materials and successfully demonstrated their real-world applications. Her work with biopolymers advances sustainability and contributes to a greener future. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
| 2025 | Dr. Lahrsen’s research brings forestry into the digital age. By using smart technologies to track and improve how trees move through the forest supply chain, he’s helping us manage forests more efficiently and sustainably, preserving the vitality of today’s forests for the challenges of tomorrow. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
| 2025 | Dr. Baron explored how the legacies of forest management have disrupted fire regimes in interior British Columbia. She identified challenges in the ability of fuel and wildfire modelling systems to manage for departed forest conditions. Her findings are guiding changes to forest management and policy to restore fire-adapted landscapes. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
| 2025 | Dr. Zargar developed an integrated analytical platform to evaluate and optimize forest biorefineries for both environmental and economic performance. Her research identifies production pathways and strategies that balance emissions reduction and economic return, supporting industries and policymakers working toward a sustainable bioeconomy. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
| 2025 | Dr. Owolabi’s research focused on enhancing the comfort of building users with timber-based floors. He examined how the flooring system vibrates due to human activity and developed a method to mitigate annoying vibrations that occupants may feel in such buildings. Insights from the study promote the adoption of timber-based floors in practice. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
| 2025 | Dr. Gavilan-Acuña advanced Precision Forestry by integrating ALS and satellite data to optimize plantation management. His research developed models for soil mapping, tree growth, and volume monitoring, creating a framework that enhances sustainable, site-specific forest management practices. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
| 2025 | Dr. Mitchell researched bark beetle and woodborer outbreaks following wildfires in dry conifer forests. She discovered high levels of competition between insects postfire may prevent widespread bark beetle outbreaks, altering expected forest damage patterns as stands recover. Her work informs postfire forest management across western North America. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
| 2025 | Dr. Xu investigated how climate change influences tree species distributions and developed ecological niche models to support climate-smart forestry. His research provides insights into species selection in afforestation and conservation, helping mitigate climate change impacts on forests. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
| 2025 | Dr. Kanigan studied how bull trout maximize consumption of resource pulses provided by sockeye salmon. He found that bull trout migrate to areas of high salmon density, gorge on salmon juveniles and eggs, and regulate digestive capacity to match salmon availability. His work advances the fields of animal movement ecology and trophic ecology. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |