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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.

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
2010 Cyanolichens are a symbiotic relationship that nutritionally benefits both fungal- and cyanobacterial-partners. Dr. Campbell's research suggests that exogenous-sugar, secreted by overstorey poplar trees, facilitates rare cyanolichen communities in interior BC. Her research on the ecological interaction between poplar and cyanolichens indicates that lichen-partners are not always faithful to their relationship. Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD)
2010 Dr. Hegde evaluated the contribution of the miombo woodlands to household economy in Mozambique. He investigated whether economic incentives to smallholder farmers, provided under a Payments-for-Ecosystem Services (PES) based model, result in improved ecosystem services provision and improved household welfare measured by household cash income earnings and consumption. Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD)
2010 Dr. Palma applied a new method of robust optimization to different problems in forest resources management characterized by high levels of uncertainty. He showed that this method can help decision-makers to make robust decisions and avoid irreversible consequences when facing uncertainties and long time horizons typical of forest resource management. Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD)
2010 Dr. Vidal studied how the processes of diffusion, adoption, and implementation of corporate responsibility practices occur in forest companies in Canada, Brazil, and the United States. Her research provides a framework for such processes and recommends how companies can better manage their portfolio of responsible activities. Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD)
2010 Dr. Tekleyohannes developed artificial neural networks and four physical models that use chemical and structural attributes for the prediction of water vapour uptake, loss and retention by wood. His models contribute to the creation of a decision support system that allows predicting wood properties and processing characteristics based on chemical and structural attributes. Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD)
2010 Dr. Sackey studied the strength properties of contemporary particleboard panels used for ready-to-assemble furniture components. He subsequently developed a novel particle mixture that increased the core bonding strength while reducing panel density to create a lighter, stronger panel. His results have the potential of reducing production cost for the particleboard industry. Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD)
2009 Dr. Zhao developed a high-level integration indicator of forest soil compaction and related it to height growth of lodgepole pine, spruce, and Douglas-fir in BC forests. Findings from his thesis have applications in predicting soil and tree growth responsesto timber harvesting and site rehabilitation. Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD)
2009 Dr. Wang examined aspects of watershed sustainability by using remote sensing technology integrated with social science and systematic model. This holistic watershed assessment approach opened a new door for watershed managers to assess human activities in a watershed, especially the interrelationships of stakeholders competing for the use of watershed resources. Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD)
2009 Dr. Dimitriu studied how microbes respond to the restoration of surface-mined boreal forest soil. His research highlighted that, in drastically-disturbed land, key biological components may take decades until they resemble those of natural forests. Information on microbial attributes in degraded soil will be useful for guiding future restoration strategies. Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD)
2009 Dr. Robinson studied the relationships between wood-forming metabolism and genetic and phenotypic traits in hardwood and softwood tree species. Variation in industrially relevant wood traits correlated strongly with that in metabolic trait subsets. The results support development of metabolism-based selection technology for tree breeding programs. Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD)

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