Research on Aspen Ecology From a Canadian Perspective

Trembling aspen has its core distribution in the boreal mixedwood region of Canada, where it also achieves its highest productivity. As a result there has been significant interest and research activity in Canada focusing on aspen in the past and present. While early on, most aspen research dealt with basic ecology and mostly with the management of aspen as an undesirable species, the direction of aspen research has undergone a significant change since the mid and late eighties. At that time research on aspen gained significant momentum, as technological advances allowed for the processing of aspen fiber for pulp and engineered wood products. In the mid-nineties, the increasing impact of harvesting in the boreal forest and public pressure to develop sustainable forest management practices resulted in a further shift of aspen research to include areas such as aspen regeneration, mixedwood management, and the exploration of the role of aspen in boreal forest biodiversity. In the last 10 years, there has been an increase in research on the use of aspen as a plantation species. Overall, significant advances have been made in a broad range of areas such as aspen ecology and physiology, population ecology, stand dynamics, and genetics in order to address issues applicable to silviculture, mixedwood management, and forest reclamation and restoration in the boreal forest zone. This presentation will give a brief overview over recent research directions in aspen ecology and management and will explore research needs particular to aspen throughout its range in Canada.