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The central goal of the Boreal Ecosystem Recovery and Assessment (BERA) program is to understand the effects of industrial disturbance on natural ecosystem dynamics, and to develop strategies for restoring disturbed landscapes.
Practitioners involved in boreal restoration are interested in maximizing effectiveness
and efficiency. BERA conducts research on every phase of restoration—planning,
implementation, and monitoring—to provide practitioners with the key knowledge,
tools, and techniques they need to enhance understanding and improve execution of restoration activities.
Topics include:
- Forest line mapper enables aerial detection of recovered lines during planning
- Accurate maps of coarse woody debris are improving restoration treatments and navigation while keeping fire risk low
- Natural regeneration of trees is more likely on seismic lines that have experienced wildfire, have a higher light intensity, or are in certain ecosite types
- Upright mounds and hummock transfers may be effective alternatives to conventional mounds
- Satellite imagery can monitor elements of forest harvest recovery, reducing the need for expensive ground-based surveys
- Drone use could enable efficient aerial monitoring of restoration programs
- New techniques are documenting noise impacts on birds and informing solutions
- More accurate habitat models and ARUs are improving understanding of bird behaviour in disturbed areas