Projet de recherche : Characterization of mid-term changes of mixedwood forest mosaic in Abitibi northwestern, Quebec.

The mixedwood forest in Quebec plays a prominent environmental and economic role; it is the support of cycles of carbon and water. And, it is one of the main economic motors of Québec's regions, with forestry and wood processing industry. Despite its importance, during the last 7 decades in Abitibi northwest, Quebec, mixedwood forest landscape has changed from mature forest matrix to fragmented landscape with a growing quantity of young strands. Therefore, the proportion of hardwood forest communities has increased, with a diminution of conifer dominance. This landscape pattern is closely related with changes in natural and anthropogenic disturbances regimes, principally harvesting and likely climate change. Effects of these variations in disturbance regimes are reflected in forest processes in all scales, such as landscape diversity and complexity, forest distribution, composition and structure. Nevertheless, our understanding about the spatial and temporal variations of landscape and characteristic to the second growth mixedwood stands is still fragmentary. The principal objective is characterizing the mid-term changes of mixedwood forest mosaic in Abitibi northwest, and elucidating relationships between these changes and dynamics of natural and anthropogenic disturbance regimes. This objective is developed through hierarchical analyses (Regional landscape, Landscape and Stand) with emulation tools and remote sensing analysis.

Eliana successfully defended her doctoral thesis on October 30, 2019