Summary
Published in Simpson, J.D. (ed.). Proceedings of the Forum on the Conservation of Forest Genetic Resources: Challenges, Issues, and Solutions - Information Report M-X-220. July 28-29, 2006. Charlottetown, PEI. p. 48-54.
In 1996, the Québec government adopted a strategy and an action plan to meet its commitments with regard to the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Action took place in 2000 with the creation of protected areas, aimed at conserving species and ecosystems. Six years later, 4.79% of the land base has been designated as protected area, mainly located in northern Québec. In the future, new protected areas will be needed in southern Québec, where there is high human pressure on existing forest ecosystems and where species at risk are located. From a forest genetic resource point of view, it is not yet clear how many protected areas should be created to ensure that most of the genetic diversity of each species is maintained. Recently, Québec adopted a forest management strategy aimed at maintaining the biodiversity and viability of all of the forest ecosystems. Ecosystem-based management, as it is called, will help to maintain the genetic integrity of natural populations within a broader diversity of forest structural classes at the landscape level.
For now, Québec is relying on these conservation measures, which act as a coarse filter, to conserve the genetic diversity, but it has no strategy targeting the specific requirements of each species. Most current knowledge has been obtained through genetics and tree improvement programs and relates mainly to boreal forest conifer species. Genetic marker studies, which began toward the end of 1980s, show that most of these species have a high level of genetic diversity that is little impacted by forest practices. However, there is little or no basic knowledge about the genetic diversity of most of the deciduous hardwood species located in southern Québec. Promoting the work taking place in British Columbia and Alberta, and the creation of CONFORGEN, could be of great help in informing decision makers, and could lead to concrete action in Québec.
File
Sector(s):
Forests
Categorie(s):
Conference and Presentation
Theme(s):
Forestry Research
Departmental author(s):
Author(s)
RAINVILLE, André
Year of publication :
2007
Format :
ISBN
978-0-662-46716-8
ISSN
1195-3799
Keywords :
amélioration génétique des arbres, forest tree improvement, conservation strategy, forest genetic resources, biodiversity
