SCIENCE
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Climate change project takes root in Plantagenet
These trees are all genetically adapted for a warmer climate compared to Eastern Ontario. The question the study will answer is whether or not their seedlings can adapt to the cooler spring and summer tempera- tures and colder winters of this region. These types of trees have very long lifes- pans so that if Eastern Ontario’s own gener- al climate continues to change and become warmer as a result of urban development and other causes, then these species may thrive and become a part of the new natu- ral environment and serve as both a habitat and food source for wildlife and birds and with time spread further throughout the re- gion and the province as part of Ontario’s forest profile. Acorns and seed from these trees may be harvested for future re-seed- ing or spread by natural means courtesy of animals and birds.
GREGGCHAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca
PLANTAGENET | From little acorns mighty oaks grow. Within the next decade or two Planta- genet residents will have a mighty big oak grove growing behind their municipal of- fice in the centre of the village. All courtesy of a partnership between the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) and the South Nation Conservation Authority (SNC) on a long-term study on climate change. MNR has four oak tree plantations grow- ing in other southern and eastern Ontario communities as part of its own research on climate change and control in Ontario. When the ministry approached SNC about partnering on a fifth such plantation in the South Nation River watershed, Josée Brizard, SNC forest resources technician, described it as a tailor-made idea for the re- gional conservation agency. “In our day-to-day activities and tasks, we’re always dealing with climate change,” Brizard said. “Our younger staff will be able to see the benefits and the impacts of this, and monitor everything.” During a three-day period in mid-May SNC staff, including interns and summer student workers, spent hours out in the sun and the rain, under the supervision of Briz- ard and MNR forester Gary Nielsen, planting
forest cover, reduced by logging and urban development, and counter the buildup of greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide. Trees and plants take in carbon dioxide as part of their life cycle and produce oxygen. MNR’s goal is to reduce Ontario’s green- house gas overload by 6.6 megatonnes by 2050. The aim of the CCAM trial, as part of the overall 50 Million Trees Project, is to test how well particular tree species like oak deal with or adapt to climate change. The seedlings planted in Plantagenet and the other four sites are all taken from acorns gathered from oaks in southern Ontario and from Tennessee and Pennsylvania in the southeastern United States.
about 3500 seedlings in a five-acre plot of municipal land located behind the village office and public works yard. Most of the seedlings planted at the Plan- tagenet site and others are a mix of white oak, red oak and burr oak with a smattering of shagbark and bitternut hickory for extra variety. They are provided courtesy of the Forest Gene Conservation Group, based in Peterborough, another partner with MNR in the climate change study. The official title for the project is Climate Change Assisted Migration Trial (CCAM). It is part and parcel of MNR’s 50 Million Trees program, which aims to have that many new trees planted throughout Ontario by 2025 in an effort to increase the province’s
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