THE CENTER FOR FOREST RESEARCH (CFR) – IS A STRATEGIC CLUSTER THAT HAS BEEN FUNDEDBY THE FONDS DE RECHERCHE DU QUÉBEC-NATURE ET TECHNOLOGIES (FRQNT) SINCE 2006.
It is the only research group in Quebec whose central mission is advanced training in forest research. The scientific mission of the CFR is to understand the functioning and dynamics of forest ecosystems, both in the interactions between their biophysical components and in the study of their biology, in order to establish a basis for the development of innovative management strategies and silvicultural practices.
The CFR is recognized internationally for its contribution to sustainable forest management. Thanks to its research work in partnership with government and industry, the CFR has greatly contributed to the implementation of management based on natural disturbances and stand dynamics in the new provincial forest regime. This work has reverberated across Canada and internationally through more than a hundred scientific articles and presentations. Our researchers have also developed decision support tools.
Our group is a leader in forest genomics with two major pan-Canadian projects and the Canada Research Chair in Forest Genomics. It has led to the adoption of predictive genomics at the operational scale of conifer improvement programs for reforestation in the face of climate change, in six Canadian provinces and beyond.
The CFR is a world leader on the response of forests to climate change. Our researchers have published cutting edge articles in prestigious journals on the effect of climate change as well as a brief presented to the Government of Quebec in 2021 on the Strategy for adaptating forest management and development to climate change.
CFR researchers are essential references on the conservation of woodland caribou, including 24 scientific articles, several reports and a brief to the Commission indépendante sur les caribous forestiers et montagnards du Québec (Independent Commission on Woodland and Mountain Caribou in Quebec). In addition to participating on the woodland caribou recovery committee, CFR members have been very active in the media.
