Forestry and insects

Recent visitors to the Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium in Montreal have been amazed by twenty photographs resulting from Canadian scientific research. One brightly coloured image in particular is attracting attention — a microscopic image taken by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) scientists showing a white walnut or butternut tree defending itself against an exotic pathogenic fungus.

Canada has the world’s largest stock of standing western redcedar, but this once-dominant species is showing disturbing signs of distress. After a few years of very dry conditions, trees on lower-elevation sites in eastern Vancouver Island are slowly dying. Scientists at the Pacific Forestry Centre are trying to get to the root of the problem.

The spruce budworm is a notorious forest pest that has been causing havoc in recent years in Eastern Canada. It feeds on new foliage from spruce and fir trees, often killing them in the process. Rob Johns from the Canadian Forest Service joins us to talk about the measures taken to slow down the spruce budworm outbreak.

Managing forest fires is all about balancing the good and the bad. Richard Carr from the Canadian Forest Service explains the type of research that Natural Resources Canada conducts to better understand forest fires and help manage both the risks and benefits.