Wed, March 4, 2015 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM PETER WALL INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDIES. About the speaker:
Sally Aitken is a professor in the Department of Forest and Conservation Sciences at the University of British Columbia (UBC) and a 2014-2015 Wall Scholar at the Peter Wall Institute. Her work is motivated by a need to understand the capacity of tree populations to adapt to or tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions. She is the Director of the Centre for Forest Conservation Genetics at UBC and Leader of the AdapTree Project, a large-scale multi-institutional research project investigating the genomic basis of genetic adaptation of tree populations to climate.
Abstract:
Scientists have studied the close relationships between trees and climate for nearly three centuries. Populations at different geographic locations within species ranges are adapted to their local climatic conditions. Experiments and experience led to a tradition of collecting seed locally for reforestation and restoration to avoid maladaptation. Climate change is creating a mismatch between local populations and their environments. Maladaptation of trees will have a negative effect on ecosystem services, creating a positive feedback on atmospheric carbon levels. Despite scientific evidence of benefits from new approaches, policies and institutions appear largely trapped in tradition. We need strategies that better match trees to new climates, increase diversity, and generate more resilient forests.
Date: Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Time: 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Location: Peter Wall Ideas Lunch & Wine Bar, University Centre, UBC Lower Level, Room 176, 6331 Crescent Road, Vancouver