13 juin 2024
A New Research Chair to Better Restore Degraded Ecosystems
This new chair will help re-establish a healthier relationship between nature and development.
— Peatland Ecology Research Group
Université Laval today announced the creation of the Partnership Research Chair in Ecosystem Restoration. This new Chair will aim to advance practices for the ecological restoration of disturbed environments in order to sustain biodiversity, improve resilience and re-establish a healthier relationship between nature and development.
The Chair will be headed by Line Rochefort, professor at Université Laval's Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences and internationally known pioneer in the field of wetland restoration. “The years 2021-2030 have been proclaimed the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration by the United Nations in order to encourage intensified efforts to repair human-caused disturbances,” noted Prof. Rochefort. The work we'll be carrying out with the Chair dovetails perfectly with this initiative and will help Canada achieve the goals it has set for itself on the international stage in terms of preserving biodiversity and restoring long-term carbon sequestration functions.”
The Chair's research activities will focus on four areas:
The restoration of peatlands and other wetlands, such as large fens in the prairie provinces, agricultural peatlands and peat swamps in cultivated ecosystems.
The restoration of northern sites disturbed by human activity, including mines, access roads and borrow pits, using biological soil crusts composed of mosses, lichens and cyanobacteria.
The propagation and multiplication of native plants such as lichens and herbaceous plants for the ecological restoration of peatlands.
The propagation and multiplication of northern berries for the restoration of disturbed sites in Northern Québec.
The creation of this Chair is made possible by a $1.3 million contribution over 5 years from the Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association (CSPMA) and its producer members: Premier Horticulture Ltd, Sun Gro Horticulture Ltd, Berger Peat Moss Ltd, Profile Products LLC, Lambert Peat Moss Inc., Theriault and Hachey Peat Moss Ltd, ASB Greenworld Ltd, Aurora Peat Products ULC, Yves Malboeuf Custom Work Inc., Jiffy Products (NB) Ltd, Juniper Organics Ltd, Hi-Point Industries Ltd, and Nirom Peat Moss Inc.
“The creation of the Partnership Research Chair in Ecosystem Restoration marks another milestone and significant step in the Canadian horticultural peat industry’s 30+ year journey of academic collaboration, said CSPMA President Asha Hingorani. The collaboration we’ve fostered is a national and international example of leadership and demonstrates that the industry continues to be at the forefront of responsible and sustainable management of peatland ecosystems.”
“The Chair we are launching today will help promote, both nationally and internationally, the exceptional expertise of Professor Rochefort and her interdisciplinary team in the restoration of degraded ecosystems. I would like to extend my warmest thanks to the partners who made it possible to create this Chair, whose work will contribute to the well-being of ecosystems and the populations that depend on them,” concluded Université Laval’s Deputy Vice Rector, Executive and Administrative Affairs, Jean-François Forgues.
Source:
Communications Department
Université Laval
418-656-3355
