Miguel Montoro Girona

Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue · Forest Research Institute (IRF)

Canada possesses the third largest forest cover in the world (347 MHA), and of the forest area that is harvested, 93% of logging is done by clear-cut methods. These cutting methods have serious impacts in terms of the simplification of stand structure, biodiversity, and the sustainability of forest ecosystems. Boreal forest ecosystem management pro...

In scenarios of future climate change, there is a projected increase in the occurrence and severity of natural disturbances inboreal forests. Spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana)(SBW) is the main defoliator of conifer trees in the North American boreal forests affecting large areas and causing marked losses of timber supplies. However, the imp...

Forest regeneration is a key element in achieving sustainable forest management. Partial harvest methods have been used extensively in temperate broadleaf and mixedwood ecosystems to promote regeneration on poorly stocked sites and to maintain forest composition and productivity. However, their effectiveness in promoting conifer establishment has y...

Natural disturbance is one of the major topics in forest ecology. However, most paleoecological studies have only considered the influence of wildfire as an agent of disturbance, with fire history based primarily on the use of charcoal as a proxy for fire events. The frequency and intensity of insect outbreaks and their effect on the forest landsca...

Forest ecosystem management heads towards the use of partial cuttings. However, the wide variation in growth response of residual trees remains unexplained, preventing a suitable prediction of forest productivity. The aim of the study was to assess individual growth and identify the driving factors involved in the responses of residual trees. Six s...

Ecosystem-based forest management associated with partial harvesting (PH) is intended to balance ecological and economic values of sustainable forest management. The potential for delayed growth response and elevated mortality of advance regeneration following PH remains a critical concern, and may present a barrier to more widespread implementatio...

Avec le titre de la plus grande défoliatrice de la forêt boréale d'Amérique du Nord, la tordeuse des bourgeons de l'épinette (TBE) fait couler beaucoup d'encre en raison des nombreux effets sur la productivité forestière. En 2021, la région de l'Abitibi-Témiscamingue est la deuxième région la plus affectée par la TBE avec plus de deux millions d'he...

Eskers are complex geological formation that provide crucial resources in northern countries such as drinking water, sand/gravel, outdoor recreational sites, and productive forests. However, there is a huge knowledge gap about the biodiversity and functioning of eskers. Esker lakes are different from other boreal lakes as they are mainly fed by gro...

Avec le déclin des peuplements de pin rouge (Pinus resinosa Ait.) et de pin blanc (Pinus strobus L.), il devient crucial de développer des pratiques forestières durables qui visent à rétablir leur dynamique naturelle en émulant les effets des perturbations naturelles. Dans cette optique, l'aménagement forestier écosystémique a été mis en place. Mal...

We present a broad class of semi-parametric models for time series of random sums of positive variables. Our methodology allows the number of terms inside the sum to be time-varying and is therefore well suited to many examples encountered in the natural sciences. We study the stability properties of the models and provide a valid statistical infer...

Forest harvesting and fire are major disturbances in boreal forests. Forest harvesting has modified stand successional pathways, which has led to compositional changes from the original conifer-dominated forests to predominantly mixed and hardwood forests. Boreal fire regimes are expected to change with future climate change. Using the LANDIS-II sp...

Eskers are complex geological formations formed by glaciers during the last ice age. Now, Eskers provide crucial resources in northern countries such as drinking water, sand/gravel, outdoor recreational sites, and productive forests. However, there is a huge knowledge gap about the biodiversity and functioning of eskers. Esker lakes are different f...

Background/Question/Methods/ Spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem)) is the main defoliator in the boreal forest of North America, and its outbreaks have major ecological and economic consequences and represent a challenge for forest management. Numerous studies have addressed the effects of this defoliator on mature trees, whereas the eff...

Sapwood characteristics, such as sapwood area as well as thermal and hydraulic conductivity, are linked to species-specific hydraulic function and resource allocation to water transport tissues (xylem). These characteristics are often unknown and thus a major source of uncertainty in sap flow data processing and transpiration estimates because bulk...

La forêt boréale joue un rôle économique, écologique et environnemental crucial, tout en étant soumise aux régimes de perturbations naturelles. Au cours du 20 e siècle, les épidémies de la tordeuse des bourgeons de l'épinette sont devenues plus fréquentes, plus sévères et synchronisées sur de vastes territoires forestiers. Elles ont également attei...

We present here the project and the experimental design in addition to presenting the first data from the dendrometers. An important drought in late summer 2021 caused a significant increase in tree water deficit and a premature cessation of growth in August 2021. The results of this project will help evaluate future boreal forest resilience to cli...

Considering that the beavers are a natural disturbance of the northern Quebec boreal forest, and that their constructions cause a lot of conflicts with forest, mining, road building industries and private owners alike, it becomes important to further develop their territorial occupation over a spatial and temporal scale, both in the boreal and the...

Eskers are fluvioglacial geological formations providing many natural resources important for the economy and the population. These ecosystems, and the associated fungi, seem unique in the world and have never been investigated to date. They also remain vulnerable as they are highly sought over for wood, sand, and gravel. Our study aims to characte...

Eskers are fluvioglacial geological formations providing natural resources important for the economy and the population. The associated fungal communities have barely been investigated to date. These ecosystems are vulnerable as they are highly sought over for water, wood, sand and gravel. As a result, fungal communities of esker forests might be t...

Published in the "Le Mésangeai". https://www.sloat.org/messangeai

Research in boreal ecology is essential for the development of sustainable forestry and practices adapted to climate change. It is in this perspective that the MRC Abitibi and UQAT have joined forces to create the Groupe de recherche en écologie de la MRC Abitibi (GREMA). GREMA's research program is structured around three themes: the silviculture...

Les eskers sont des formations géologiques fluvioglaciaires fournissant des ressources naturelles importantes pour l'économie et la population. Caractérisés par des peuplements de Pinus banksiana Lamb., les podzols d’eskers représentent des environnements stressants car présentant des faibles teneurs en nutriments, un pH acide et des conditions xér...

The boreal forest is the second largest terrestrial biome in the world, covering 14 million km2 spread over a circumboreal forest belt that represents about 25% of the world's forest. Currently, two-thirds of this area is managed for timber production and produces 37% of the world's timber, making logging a central economic driver for boreal countr...

Partial harvest is considered as a promising alternative to clearcutting system to integrate ecological, economical, and social objectives into silvicultural planning. Logging activity alters habitat conditions for plant and microbial communities in the understory and consequently influences ecosystem processes such as nutrient cycling. Even with t...

Boreal forest is facing a major crisis to sustain its ecosystem. The structure is becoming homogenized and simplified because of intensive forest management and the boreal forest is one of the ecosystems most affected by climate change. Natural disturbance-based management is considered as a promising alternative to clearcutting system to integrate...

Published in the "Couvert Boréal". https://couvertboreal.com/publications/printemps-2022/

Changing climates are altering the structural and functional components of forest ecosystems at an unprecedented rate. Simultaneously, we are seeing a diversification of public expectations on the broader sustainable use of forest resources beyond timber production. As a result, the science and art of silviculture needs to adapt to these changing r...

Published in the "Couvert Boréal". https://couvertboreal.com/publications/printemps-2022/

1. Even‐aged silviculture based on short‐rotation clearcuts had severely altered boreal forests. Silvicultural alternatives (e.g., continuous cover or retention forestry) has the potential to restore and protect the habitats and functions of boreal forests. These alternatives are however often restricted to structurally complex old‐growth forest, w...

Affiche de ma recherche pour le colloque de la chaire en aménagement forestier durable qui s'est tenu à Amos le 7 décembre 2021. Cette affiche a co-gagnée le 1er prix du public. Poster of my research for the Sustainable Forest Management Conference which took place in Amos on December 7, 2021. This poster co-win 1st prize for Public's choice.

Popularizing research works and science is a crucial part of scientific activities. As a researcher, we need to communicate and make accessible our research to non-specialized interlocutors. It is within this perspective that I participated in a science communication event called "My thesis in 180 secondes", created by ACFAS and hosted at the Unive...

Eskers are complex geological formation that provide crucial resources in northern countries such as drinking water, sand/gravel, outdoor recreational sites, and productive forests. However, there is a huge knowledge gap about the biodiversity and functioning of eskers. Esker lakes are different from other boreal lakes as they are mainly fed by gro...

We present a broad class of semi-parametric models for time series of random sums of positive variables. Our methodology allows the number of terms inside the sum to be time-varying and is therefore well suited to many examples encountered in the natural sciences. We study the stability properties of the models and provide a valid statistical infer...

Within the first edition of the DRYADES Conference Series hosted online, I presented the beginning of my M.Sc thesis project at the recently created Ecology Research Group of MRC Abitibi. As the main audience was composed of university students, it was also the opportunity to have a few words about perseverance, audacity and passion during academic...

Eskers are fluvio-glacial geological formations resulting from the deposition of sediment in subglacial or ice-walled channels during the retreat of glaciers 10,000 years ago. They provide a large quantity of natural resources crucial for the economy and the population, including, among others, high quality drinking water, forests of Jack pine Pinu...

Changing one's living environment and knowing how to take risks, as well as important decisions, is the very essence of scientific research. This presentation attempts to explain simply how I started out in a t-shirt drinking wine, to being dressed as I'm going for a polar expedition. All this through a retrospection of the year 2021, as well as a...

Monitoring of forest response to gradual environmental changes or abrupt disturbances provides insights into how forested ecosystems operate and allows for quantification of forest health. In this chapter, we provide an overview of Smartforests Canada, a national-scale research network consisting of regional investigators who support a wealth of ex...

The production of forest seedlings with adequate morphological and physiological characteristics is essential for the success of plantations. Substrates and irrigation are the major factors determining seedlings’ growth. Substrates made of urban and agricultural residues are a sustainable alternative to peat-based substrates. In this study, we eval...

Voici mon affiche présentée lors du Colloque du CAFD montrant un résumé de mon projet de recherche ainsi que des résultats préliminaires concernant l'étape de la germination de ma méthodologie.

Les Eskers sont des formations géologiques fluvio-glaciaires résultant du dépôt de sédiments dans des canaux sous-glaciaires ou à parois de glace pendant le retrait des glaciers il y a 10 000 ans. Ils fournissent une grande quantité de ressources naturelles cruciaux pour l’économie et la population, incluant entre autres une eau potable de grande q...

Les coupes forestières peuvent avoir des impacts majeurs sur le fonctionnement et la santé des écosystème aquatiques. Cependant, le seul outil sylvicole présentement utilisé pour réduire les effets des coupes sur la ressource hydrique est la bande riveraine de 20m de largeur (art 27 du RADF). En dépit de son utilisation partout au Québec, aucune ét...

23e colloque annuel de la Chaire AFD

Eskers are complex geological formation formed by glaciers during the last ice age. Eskers provide now crucial resources in all northern countries such as drinking water, sand/gravel, outdoor recreational sites and productive forests. However, there is a huge knowledge gap about the biodiversity and functioning of eskers, and baseline ecological in...

Dans un contexte où les besoins en bois ne cessent d’augmenter sur la planète, il devient nécessaire pour le Canada de se doter de nouvelles techniques de sylviculture afin de limiter les impacts sur la forêt boréale. Cela passe notamment par l’expérimentation de nouvelles méthodes d’exploitation de la forêt, comme les coupes partielles. L’objectif...

Le climat est un facteur déterminant des régimes de perturbations naturelles dans les écosystèmes forestiers. Un exemple de cette influence sont les épidémies de la tordeuse des bourgeons de l'épinette (Choristoneura fumiferana) (TBE) dans l'est du Canada. La défoliation persistante par la TBE au fil des ans a considérablement modifié la croissance...

Les forêts boréales occupent 30% de la surface forestière globale et fournissent de nombreux services écosystémiques essentiels au développement des sociétés. Leurs fonctionnement, structure et dynamique sont intrinsèquement liés aux régimes de perturbations naturelles, particulièrement aux épidémies d’insectes et aux feux. La dynamique future de c...

Cyanobacteria are the Earth’s oldest photoautotrophs and provided the level of oxygen we currently have today. However, when they overgrow and form a bloom, they cause ecological degradation and sometimes they produce toxins that become life threatening. This phenomenon is “harmful algal blooms” and is linked with eutrophication, and water temperat...

Purpose of Review Carbon sequestration and storage in forest ecosystems is often promoted as a solution for reducing CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere. Yet, our understanding is lacking regarding how forest management strategies affect the net removal of greenhouse gases and contribute to climate change mitigation. Here, we present a review of c...

The production of forest seedlings with adequate morphological and physiological characteristics is essential for the success of plantations. Substrates and irrigation are the major factors determining seedlings’ growth. Substrates made of urban and agricultural residues are a sustainable alternative to peat-based substrates. In this study, we eval...

Beavers are a type of natural disturbance in the boreal forest, just like fires, ice storms, and windthrows. They have a big impact of their surrounding environment, on the economy and on the impacts of climate change. We want to look at the dynamics of their territorial occupation in order to better understand their habitat selection in ways that...

Traditional silviculture, such as clear cut has major impacts on the ecosystems. With a worldwide increase in wood demand, it is necessary to develop new silvicultural techniques to mitigate the impacts on boreal biodiversity. Partial harvests are thus explored as new silvicultural treatments to achieve sustainable forest management. Our goal is to...

Climate is the main driver of natural disturbance regimes in forest ecosystems. One example of this influence is the current spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana) (SBW) outbreak in eastern Canada. The persistent defoliation by SBW over years has altered the growth and survival of the host trees greatly. Even though black spruce (Picea mariana)...

Impact of forest harvesting on the functioning of lakes in the boreal forest

This poster shows some details about my master’s project, which focuses on the relationship between germination and establishment of boreal trees in the context of climate change.

As the main defoliator in North American boreal forest, spruce budworm has major ecological and economic implications in forest management. For this reason, many researches studied the effects of this insect on mature stands were performed, while seedling defoliation continue being an understudied subject. Therefore, a large area of Canadian boreal...

Eskers are complex geological formation formed by glaciers during the last ice age. Eskers provide now crucial resources in all northern countries and are considered as an important formation providing drinking water, sand/gravel, outdoor recreational sites and productive Jack pine (Pinus banksiana) forests. However, there is a huge knowledge gap a...

The spatial configuration of individual trees can affect their growth and survival at a fine scale and change the forest composition and structure at the landscape scale. Thus, understanding the stand spatial dynamics is crucial for forest management. The use of SORTIE-ND, a spatially explicit individual-based forest simulator, allows predictions o...

The 1st Prize Winning Poster (12th May, 2021)

Current models predict profound effects of global change on forest ecosystems; in particular, natural disturbances will increase in frequency and severity. Recognized as the most important defoliator of North America, spruce budworm (SBW) (Choristoneura fumiferana) has a major impact on the boreal forest dynamic. Compared with historical outbreaks,...

Spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana (Clem)) is the main defoliator in the boreal forest of North America, and its outbreaks have major ecological and economic consequences and represent a challenge for forest management. Numerous studies have addressed the effects of this defoliator on mature trees, whereas the effects of spruce budworm on reg...

Forestry harvesting represents an important economic activity around the world. Habitat degradation due to forest harvesting contributes to biodiversity loss; therefore, it is necessary to implement logging management aimed at reducing its impact. Forest management by reduce-impact logging (RIL) involves cutting trees following regulations focused...

Traditional clear-fell forestry greatly alters community structure and ecosystem function within boreal forests and alternative management practices may reduce these impacts. Continuous-cover forestry can maintain similar invertebrate and plant communities to unmanaged forest, but whether this extends to soil fungal communities remains unclear. Wit...

Warmer and drier conditions in temperate regions are increasing the length of the wildfire season. Given the greater fire frequency and extent of burned areas under climate warming, greater focus has been placed on predicting post-fire tree mortality as a crucial component of sustainable forest management. This study evaluates the potential of logi...

La yerba mate est une espèce emblématique de la Forêt Ombrophile Mixte d’Amérique du Sud avec une importance majeure au niveau écologique et économique. Cependant, les plantations de ces espèces sont très vulnérables aux effets de la sécheresse et au gel dans un contexte de changements climatiques. L’objectif principal sera d’évaluer la vulnérabili...

Eskers are one of the most singular ecosystems in the World with important implications at the ecological and economical level providing crucial natural resources for Quebec. However, those ecosystems are vulnerable to human pressure such as mining and logging being thus a priority to conserve and manage this important ecosystem. This is a big chal...

Traditional clear-fell forestry greatly alters community structure and ecosystem functions within boreal forests and alternative management practices may reduce these impacts. Continuous-cover forestry can maintain similar invertebrate and plant communities to unmanaged forest, but whether this extends to soil fungal communities remains unclear. Wi...

With the rapid trend in the climate shift, the spruce budworm (SBW) (Choristoneura fumiferana), is increasing its damage and distribution area making forests more vulnerable. Despite its major ecological implications, challenges remain in understanding the historical impact of climate on defoliation caused by the SBW, the severity of its impact on...

Over the past two decades, partial harvesting has been increasingly used in boreal forests as an alternative to clearcutting to promote irregular stand structures and maintain a balance between biodiversity preservation and continued timber production. However, relatively little is still known about the silvicultural potential of partial harvesting...

Natural disturbances bear significant importance in modifying the structure of forests, associated ecosystems, and initiating the natural succession process. Global change predictions indicate that effects on the boreal ecosystem will be profound and natural disturbance cycles (fire insect outbreaks and windthrow) will generally increase in number...