Lakehead University researchers lead $1.67M global effort to help forests adapt to climate change

Amid a stark increase in forest fires in recent years, a global project led by Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ont., aims to determine how woodland areas can adapt to climate change. 

Natural resource management experts at Lakehead are leading the $1.67-million global research project, which includes other Canadian universities and one in Germany. The multi-year research is being funded by the Eva Mayr-Stihl Foundation in that western European country.

“The forest is made of wood, and the first thing wood is doing is burning,” lead researcher Brigitte Leblon of Lakehead told CBC News.

“Fires become more and more intense and huge because of climate change. More drought means more intense fires, and when the fire is more intense, automatically, large areas are burned.”

Leblon and a team of Lakehead University professors — Ashley Thomson, Brian McLaren, QingLai Dang, Michel Laforge, Seung-Il Lee and Dzhamal Amishev — will explore forest adaptation at many levels, in research called FORSCALE: Scale Effects in the Forest Adaptation to Climate Change.

They’ll be examining tree genetics, ecosystems, policy and land-use planning, as well as how biological, ecological and social systems interact to shape forest health in a changing climate.

Leblon said part of the FORSCALE research will involve “detecting the forest fuel moisture using radar satellite imagery.”

Over 8 million hectares have burned this year

Nearly 15 million hectares of Canadian forests burned in wildfires in 2023, the worst season in terms of area burned since 1995, according to Canadian Forest Service, Natural Resources Canada. The figures also show the following:

• 2020: 215,821 hectares burned.
• 2021: 3,918,426 hectares burned.
• 2022: 1,458,275 hectares burned.
• 2024: 4.16 million hectares burned.

As of Sept. 10, the area burned is 8.7 million hectares — the second highest total on record (outside of 2023). The number of fires to date (5,200), however, has been close to normal, indicating there have been many large fires, according to Liam Buchart, fire weather specialist at Canadian Forest Service, Natural Resources Canada.

Lightning fires ‘responsible for most of the burned area’

Overall, about 46 per cent of fires are caused by lightning, Buchart said. 

“Lightning-ignited fires are responsible for approximately 88 per cent of the burned area in Canada,” Buchart told CBC News.

“However, it should be noted that these averages vary quite significantly by region and during the year.” 

He said “human-caused fires” are more likely in the early spring and autumn. 

“Throughout the year though, most fires in northwest Canada are lightning-caused and most fires in Eastern Canada are human-caused. Though, again, lightning fires are responsible for most of the burned area.”

Lakehead is collaborating with leading institutions across Canada and Germany, including: Université TÉLUQ, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT), Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO), Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), University of British Columbia and the University of Freiburg (Germany). 

Over the next six years, 41 graduate students and post-doctoral researchers in Canada, along with 20 PhD students in Germany, will be co-supervised by professors in both countries to conduct the research.

According to Leblon, this collaborative model offers students immersive, hands-on research opportunities that span disciplines, borders and perspectives.

“At the heart of this project is the chance to empower the next generation of forest scientists to make a real difference,” said Leblon. “Our students will learn and contribute on a global scale, helping to shape climate solutions grounded in both science and collaboration.”

Leblon said an expected benefit of the research is “having trained master and PhD” scientists who will know both the Canadian and German context for helping forests adapt to climate change.

Indigenous perspectives in climate change

An Indigenous component is also included in the research and training, Leblon said.”Each student will be required to do a course on Indigenous perspectives in climate change, including the German ones.”

The course was organized by the University of British Columbia.

“Even if you are from Freiburg in Germany or from Lakehead, from Quebec — all the students participating in the program will be required to take this course,” Leblon said.

Buchart said “wildfire prevention is a society-wide undertaking.” 

“We all must be diligent and aware of the wildfire situation. This can be done by practising FireSmart at your homes and properties, especially rural ones,” he said. 

“Second is to listen to your local government restrictions of burning, fire bans and recreational activities. These are put in place when the fire danger is high and goes a long way to prevent new ignitions.”