Jen Baron
Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD)
A century of transformation: Fire regime transitions, drivers, and consequences in southeastern British Columbia
Applicants to Master’s and Doctoral degrees are not affected by the recently announced cap on study permits. Review more details
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.
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.
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.
Name | Academic Unit(s) | Research Interests |
---|---|---|
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 |
Grayston, Susan | Department of Forest & Conservation Sciences | Climate change, microbiology, soil science |
Grenz, Jennifer | Department of Forest Resources Management | |
Hagerman, Shannon Marie | Department of Forest Resources Management | biodiversity, climate change, communities and livelihoods, conservation, forest policy, social science |
Hamelin, Richard | Department of Forest & Conservation Sciences | |
Hinch, Scott | Department of Forest & Conservation Sciences | salmon migrations, salmon ecology, salmon fisheries, fish conservation, land use impacts (e.g. forestry) on fish and habitat, Salmon, conservation, ecology, fish ecology, fisheries management, stream, and riperian ecology |
Ignace, Danielle | Department of Forest & Conservation Sciences | Impacts of global change on transitioning ecosystems |
Innes, John | Department of Forest Resources Management | Other natural sciences; Forestry; Ecology |
Jiang, Feng | Department of Wood Science | bio-based nanomaterials, carbohydrate chemistry, chemistry, sustainability, wood science |
Joshi, Jaya | Department of Wood Science | Biofoundries; biomass; Carbon; Engineering; Enzyme Design; sustainability; Synthetic biology |
Kozak, Robert Antal | Department of Wood Science | Forest-dependent communities in transition, international development & poverty alleviation, value-added strategies, forest certification & corporate social responsibility, forest sector sustainability & competitiveness, marketing, management & consumer behaviour |
Lam, Tzeng Yih | Department of Forest Resources Management | Quantitiative methods in forestry; Forestry management and environment; Statistical theory and modeling; Survey methodology and analysis; Bayesian Filtering; Forest Inventory; Growth and Yield; Sampling Theory; silviculture; Timber; Tree Measurement |
Lam, Frank | Department of Wood Science | timber engineering; structural use of wood products, Engineered wood systems |
Li, Minghao | Department of Wood Science | Earthquake engineering; Structural engineering; Building construction engineering; Concrete, cementitious materials and other architectural and construction materials |
Loss, Cristiano | Department of Wood Science | Forestry sciences; Wood; Engineered Wood Solutions; Engineering Wood Design; Hybrid Wood-Based Systems; Industrialised Wood Systems; Seismic Design and Analysis of Timber Structures; Timber Engineering; Wood Building Systems; Wood as Structural Material |
LU, JULIET | Department of Forest Resources Management, School of Public Policy and Global Affairs | Forest ecology; Economic geography; Environmental sociology; conflicts and governance issues around resource extraction and intensive land use; transnational land investments; promotion of monoculture plantations at the expense of more biodiverse systems; private sector sustainable governance initiatives |
Mansfield, Shawn | Department of Wood Science, Department of Botany | plant metabolism, cellulose biosynthesis, lignin biosynthesis, wood formation, wood quality, cell wall biochemistry, tree biotechnology, transgenics, Tree biotechnology |
Martin, Tara | Department of Forest & Conservation Sciences | biodiversity, climate change, climate models, conservation, ecological monitoring, ecology, land-use change, landscape ecology, landscape planning, modelling |
Mchale, Melissa | Department of Forest Resources Management | Trans-disciplinary approaches to studying complex socio-ecological systems, social drivers of ecosystem processes, cities as sustainable ecosystems, carbon dynamics in urban systems, urbanization effects on nutrient cycling, ecosystem services and dis services, consumption culture, urban metabolism, urbanization in the developing world |
Meitner, Michael | Department of Forest Resources Management | forest aesthetics and scenic beauty, outdoor recreation, environmental visualization, geographic information systems, visual perception, agent-based modeling, Public involment in planning, sustainability leadership |
Mitchell, Matthew | Terrestrial ecology; Forest ecology; Agricultural ecology; Ecosystem services; urban ecology; Biodiversity conservation; social-ecological systems; Landscape ecology; Agroecosystems | |
Montwe, David | Department of Forest Resources Management | Forestry sciences; climate change; Drought and climate change; Evaluating silvicultural treatments on timber quality and value; Forest management; Increasing forest resilience to climatic extremes using silvicultural interventions; Long-term resilience; Reducing impacts from forest disturbance agents under climate change; Regeneration; silviculture; Species selection |
Moore, Alex | Department of Forest & Conservation Sciences, Department of Botany | Community ecology (except invasive species ecology); Plant-animal interactions; Global change biology; Ecological restoration (except bioremediation); Applied community and ecosystem ecology; impact of predator-prey interactions on the health and functioning of coastal wetland ecosystems; role of cultural values and knowledge in ecosystem restoration conservation; Global change impacts on coastal environments |
Myers-Smith, Isla | Department of Forest & Conservation Sciences | Ecology (except applications); Arctic; biodiversity; climate change; Community Building; Ecosystems; Environmental communication; tundra ecosystems |
This is an incomplete sample of recent publications in chronological order by UBC faculty members with a primary appointment in the Faculty of Forestry.
Year | Citation | Program |
---|---|---|
2023 | Dr. Sutherland researched historical changes in the ecosystem services provided by forests of BC. His work advanced theory and methods for studying coupled social-ecological systems and moves forward an understanding of ecosystem services as part of dynamic systems. His work also leaves a legacy of data showing ecosystem services change in BC. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
2023 | Dr. Dickson-Hoyle examined how Secwépemc Nation communities and territories are recovering from recent megafires in British Columbia. She identifies key lessons from joint recovery efforts and describes Secwépemc Elder Ron Ignace's concept of walking on two legs to guide collaborative research and restoration in Indigenous territories. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
2023 | Dr. Chen examined where and how human activities affect mammals by using an extensive camera trap dataset comprising data from 8600 remote cameras. He found that mammal diversity is associated more with protected area coverage than with negative human influences globally, which provide insights into future biodiversity conservation. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
2023 | The ancestral territories of the Mapuche Nation were violently reduced to individual properties that today are in the hands of non-Mapuche people, including settlers and commercial companies. Dr. Arias-Bustamante's study showed how Mapuche communities navigate the system in their quest to land restitution in a constantly changing context. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
2023 | Dr. Reich used novel molecular methods to identify airborne fungi that cause diseases in agricultural crops. He found that the air contains many pathogenic and mutualistic fungi for plant health and showed that this information could help predict plant epidemics. His research will help farmers manage field diseases while reducing fungicide use. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
2023 | Dr. Todd studied Canadian municipal parks and their contribution to the urban forest canopy. She provides recommendations on how parks can continue to meet recreational and cultural demands while balancing those with urban forestry objectives for a more resilient city. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
2023 | Dr. Ye designed a series of nanocellulose-based gel conductors for a variety of sophisticated applications. His study would advance the creation of biodegradable electronics, relieving the environmental pollution caused by discarded electronics. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
2023 | Dr. Cheng examined the interactions between urban forest policies and climate change (and related urban planning) policies in Canadian cities. Her research revealed key conflicts and synergies among municipal policies and explored solutions to better integrate urban forests into building a compact, livable, and climate-resilient city | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
2023 | Dr. Queinnec examined the ability of novel airborne and spaceborne remote sensing technologies to characterize three-dimensional vegetation structure in boreal forests of Canada. His work provides enhanced knowledge about forest resources in both managed and unmanaged forested ecosystems. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |
2023 | Dr. Du Toit used Airborne Laser Scanning to model genetically improved Douglas-fir trees. Descriptors were used to assess tree performance, and predict genetic parameters. He found that ALS is capable of describing trees at multiple scales, and should be used in breeding programs due the cost savings and insights the technology provides. | Doctor of Philosophy in Forestry (PhD) |