OFRI Research

OFRI researchers are dedicated to learning more about how our forests function, change over time, and respond to human activities. For more than 60 years, their research results have been helping to ensure that forest management in Ontario is based on the best available scientific information.

This work would not be possible without the help of many partners, including MNR science, policy, planning, and district staff across the province; university, college, and federal government researchers; and those with other research organizations such as the Canadian Ecology Centre-Forestry Research Partnership. By working together, researchers are able to share resources, risks, rewards, and results.

Following is a list of the research areas in which OFRI staff are now working. Under each area, you will find brief descriptions of and contact names for OFRI research projects.

For details about any of these research areas or projects, e-mail information.ofri@ontario.ca. For recent research results, visit the OFRI Publications page.

Climate Change

Determining the effects of human-induced changes in global climate on Ontario's trees and forests.

Ontario's Large-Scale Forest Carbon Project

Carbon Sink and Source Functions of Two Contrasting Boreal Mixedwood Watersheds

Forest Growth and Yield/Modelling

Developing and using computer models to simulate how trees and forests grow and change under various conditions. 

NEW: Evaluating the Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Storage Profile of Wood Products Relative to Alternative Materials
NEW: Predictive Model for Growth and Yield in a Changing Climate

Developing and Evaluating Taper Equations for Plantation-Grown Jack Pine and Black Spruce Trees at Varying Stand Density

Forest Health and Pathology

Developing strategies for improving tree and ecosystem health through managing pathogens and other tree stressors.

NEW: Butternut Canker Research

Dynamics of Northeastern Ontario Aspen Stands Following Forest Tent Caterpillar-Related Decline
Distribution, Hosts, and Site Relationships of Resident Pathogens in Northern Ontario
 

Forest Landscape Ecology

Understanding and modelling forest patterns, dynamics, and ecology over large areas and long time frames.

Developing the Boreal Forest Landscape Dynamics Simulator (BFOLDS) 

Forest Management and Ecology – Boreal

Investigating new approaches to harvesting, regenerating, and tending Ontario's boreal forests.

NEW: The Influence of Post-Harvest Residual Stand Structure on Understory Light Environment and Regeneration Potential

Intensive Forest Management: NEBIE Plot Network
Old Trial Remeasurement for Intensive Forest Management

Developing Sustainable Mixedwood Practices in a Stand-Level Adaptive Management (SLAM) Framework 

Forest Management and Ecology – Great Lakes-St. Lawrence

Investigating new approaches to harvesting, regenerating, and tending the forests of central Ontario, including determining the effects of riparian forest disturbance on lakes.

NEW:  Seedling Bank Autecology and Distribution in South and Central Ontario - a Meta-Analysis of Local and Regional Knowledge

NEW: Increased Biomass Utilization During Partial Harvests in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Forest

Improving Eastern White Pine Management in Ontario

Riparian Zone Tree Mortality and Coarse Wood Ecology Project 

Canada Yew Sustainable Harvest Project

Genetics

Providing scientific support to Ontario's gene conservation and tree improvement programs.

NEW: Tree Genecology and Adaptive Capacity of Selected Tree Species in a Changing Climate 

NEW: Use of Somatic Embryogenesis in Mass Propagation of White Pine and White Spruce

White Pine Blister Rust Studies

Tree Improvement Data Analysis Support to Forest Genetics Ontario

Soils and Hydrology

Understanding the relationships among forest management, soil nutrient and water cycles, water quality, and forest productivity.

NEW: Unlocking the Secrets of Peatlands in Ontario’s Far North