New technology helping plan the forests of the future in Sudbury
Sudbury's celebrated re-greening efforts are continuing to inspire Canadian researchers.
Scientists are using new technology to help plan forests, including a pilot project going on in Sudbury.
PlantR is an interactive tool created by Isabelle Aubin and her team at Great Lakes Forestry Centre in Sault Ste. Marie. Aubin said it’s a way to ensure new forests thrive by including the right plant species for that specific area.
“When we select species to plant, you know, it's an important ecological question but it's also an important question to make sure that we get the maximum of what we want from those trees we plant," she said.
"This tool (is) a virtual thinking tool that helps the forest managers to select the species to plant to get more of their restoration goals."
The interactive platform uses a data-rich algorithm to generate solutions for forest managers. Although still in the early stages, the initial response to its potential as a modelling tool has been promising.
“Personally I have played with it somewhat to try it out and see what kind of plants it might tell me to use," said Peter Beckett, chair of VETAC, Sudbury's regreening advisory panel.
"There are some we haven’t considered before and … some that might be adapted to ones we might have to use due to climate change in Sudbury because we know it's going to get warmer and perhaps more dry on the landscapes during the summer."
Despite making great strides in ecological recovery, Sudbury still has challenges when it comes to elevated water quality and the lack of organic soil matter.
That makes it the perfect place to test out the new technology.
“When the program first started way back in 1978, there were just a few grasses that could be used," said Beckett.
"But we used about 75 other species in the regreening effort in Sudbury based upon the characteristics of those species and the great thing about the app is that all of these characteristics are now in one place."
PlantR is already being put to good use through a joint project between Laurentian and College Boreal that has researchers looking at how abandoned gravel pits may be restored.
The hope is that eventually PlantR will be able to be used not only across northern Ontario, but Canada and beyond.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
Two killed after collision with truck on Hwy. 417 near Limoges, Ont.
Ontario Provincial Police say two people were killed after a car and a transport truck collided in the westbound lanes of Highway 417 near Limoges, Ont. on Tuesday afternoon.
Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
A candidate for Germany's key party was beaten up while campaigning for European elections
A candidate for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left party in next month's election for the European Parliament was beaten up and seriously injured while campaigning in an eastern city, the party said Saturday.
Explosion at train station leads to discovery of stolen car on Montreal's South Shore: police
Police are investigating after a BMW exploded in the St-Lambert Exo train station parking lot on Montreal's South Shore.
The pros and cons of discussing mental health issues in the workplace
A group of lawyers has written what they call a groundbreaking book about how mental health is perceived in the legal profession.