Université du Québec à Montréal
Ph.D. candidate
Supervisor: Dominique Gravel
Alain Paquette, Université du Québec à Montréal
Start: 2019-09-03
End: 2024-12-31
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Project

Using forest functional composition to predict the impacts of global changes on ecosystem services
By capturing and transforming resources, trees play an important role in the abundance and quality of habitats used by other organisms, while functional traits associated with each individual confer specific properties and functions to ecosystems. These traits and properties are crucial to the wellbeing of humans, since they are responsible for the provision of multiple ecosystem services. However, changes in habitat suitability are pushing trees to shift their distribution ranges towards colder climates, which will most likely have an effect on the abundance and distribution of services. Hence, this project aims to (1) evaluate which functional traits have affected the velocity of migration of trees in temperate and boreal forests of Eastern North America over the last 40 years, and how these traits respond to changes in temperature at their range limits. It will also (2) predict and map the future distribution of these species and their associated functional attributes for the year 2100 using a joint species distribution model, and (3) assess the expected changes in multiple ecosystem service provision.

Keywords

functional traits, climate change, ecosystem services, forests of Eastern North America