GIRARDIN Martin

Bio

Professional address

Laboratory/Institution: Service canadien des forêts/Canadian Forest Service
Centre de Foresterie des Laurentides/Laurentian Forestry Centre
1055, rue du P.E.P.S.
Case postale 10380 Succ Sainte-Foy, Québec, Qc
G1V 4C7
E-mail : martin.girardin@canada.ca
Phone : (418) 648-5826

Academic background

B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Biology, Université du Québec à Montréal, 1999 and 2001.
Ph.D. in Botany, University of Manitoba, 2005.
Postdoctorate Fellow, Université Laval, 2005.

I enrolled in a Bachelor of Science degree program in biology. As part of a special project, I carried out a study on the impact of climate variability and larch sawfly outbreaks on the growth of tamarack trees. From 1999 to 2001, I did graduate-level studies, during which I did research to determine the dynamics of tamarack bogs. My goal was to determine the main ecological factors associated with vegetation distribution and the factors controlling tamarack radial growth. From 2001 to 2005, I continued my studies towards a PhD degree. In particular, I worked on the reconstitution of fire danger over the past three centuries in Canada’s boreal forests by studying the growth rings of trees. Fire activity in boreal forests is a major process that has repercussions on the global carbon cycle and atmospheric chemistry. This process also contributes considerably to the functioning of the terrestrial ecosystem and to the maintenance of biodiversity. Since I was hired at the Canadian Forest Service as a research scientist in 2005, I have done a vast amount of work on climate change and fire danger. My work focuses primarily on the reconstitution of past variability of fire danger using paleo-ecological data and simulations from climate models. Another major component of my work consists of studying the impact of climate change on forest productivity and carbon fluxes. The 20th century was a pivotal period for North America’s northern environments. In fact, this period saw the beginning of rapid climate warming caused by changes in the composition of the atmosphere resulting from greenhouse gas emissions. Accelerated melting of the Arctic ice pack is one of the effects of this climate change. But what about boreal forests farther south? Are they in better or worse condition than before? This is a core issue in the work that I am currently doing.

Professionnal experience

Research scientist, Canadian Forest Service, 2005 to present
Adjunct professor, Université du Québec à Montréal
Adjunct professor, Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue
Associate editor of the International Journal of Wildland Fire.

Area of expertise :Current Research Projects

Meta-syntheses of forest growth data: mapping of species-specific trends in forest growth across Canada’s forests based on tree-ring records collected through the Canadian National Forest Inventory (NFI) program and other sources;
Projection of climate change impacts on forests: application of bioclimate model projections for understanding of processes (climate, CO2 fertilization, demographics) regulating carbon assimilation by forests;
Metadata synthesis of climate, fire and vegetation interactions in North American boreal forests during past millenniums: assessment of trends in past wildfires and vegetation changes in boreal North America documented by multiple high resolution lacustrine charcoal records, global climate model simulations and pollen records;
National Tree Ring Data from common garden experiments and linkage with genomics to help assisted migration research: assess how the tree genotype can contribute to mitigate or alter the response of the forest productivity to climate variability in different common garden experiments.