TransX – A new network of provenance trials across eastern Canada and the US to test the warming vulnerability of northeastern tree species and their assisted migration potential.

Authors

  • Loic D'Orangeville University of New Brunswick

Keywords:

assisted migration, climate change, provenance trials, species vulnerability

Abstract

The Transborder climate gradient experiment is a network of 12+ tree common gardens (provenance trials) ranging from North Carolina to Quebec, where we will plant young trees composed of carefully selected natural and improved genotypes of key northeastern tree species including sugar maple, red maple, yellow birch, white birch and northern red oak. The main focus of TransX is on the response of trees to future warming, focusing on leaf and growth phenology, health and survival across species and populations. We have two specific objectives: 1) move local species and populations south to evaluate their response to warmer temperatures, and 2) move southern populations north to assess their potential for assisted migration. 

Author Biography

Loic D'Orangeville, University of New Brunswick

Loïc is an associate professor in the Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management at University of New Brunswick. He holds a MSc in Biology from the Université de Montréal, and a PhD in Renewable Resource Sciences from McGill University. Prior to moving to New Brunswick, Loïc completed postdoctoral internships at Indiana University (USA) and Université du Québec à Montréal, and was a visiting scholar at Harvard Forest.

His research program leverages different approaches to tackle the vast question of forest response to climate change. Climate change experiments (in situ or under controlled environments), high-precision monitoring of tree ecophysiology (radial growth, transpiration, respiration) and large-scale analyses of tree growth data collections are all used to assess climatic thresholds in the growth and health of Acadian tree species.

Published

2023-10-31