Bryophyte ecology in northern disturbed ecosystems

加拿大的人口正在缓慢而稳定地向北迁移，以勘探和开发自然资源。 例如，在魁北克省，泥炭开采正在向北转移，因为魁北克省南部的泥炭地越来越少。研究泥炭藓的可靠建立和定殖以及C固存功能对恢复的栖息地的回归（Rochefort 2001）将有助于减少CO2排放并在采矿后获得绿色景观。同样，了解控制泥炭藓生产力的因素可以帮助设计泥炭藓生物质的大规模生产并减轻对环境的压力。在安大略和阿尔伯塔，大型项目将收获分解的莎草泥炭用于燃料生产或焦油砂用于石油生产，这将需要恢复大沼泽地区。 这项研究计划的一部分将是了解棕色苔藓的再生生态位，以发展加拿大在沼泽恢复方面的专业知识，希望能够与更好地了解泥炭藓的再生生态位所获得的国际认可相媲美。随着北方经济活动的发展，交通网络往往是为建筑而开发的（例如，建造水坝），然后又被减少或放弃（例如，冬季道路、进出道路、临时飞机跑道、筑路取土坑）。这些建筑在景观中留下了一系列的伤疤，需要相当长的时间才能恢复。在这个项目中，我将研究在恶劣的环境中暴露的土壤和岩石表面的苔藓定殖动态的控制因素。

Slowly but steadily the human population of Canada is moving North for natural resource exploration and development. For example, in Québec, peat extraction is moving North as the availability of sites in southern Québec is becoming rare. Research on reliable establishment and colonisation of Sphagnum and the return of C sequestration function to the restored habitat (Rochefort 2001) will help to decrease CO2 emissions and get a green landscape after mining. Equally, understanding the factors controlling the productivity of Sphagnum could help in designing large scale production of Sphagnum biomass and alleviate pressure on the environment. In Ontario and Alberta, huge projects to harvest decomposed sedge peat for fuel production or tar sand for petrol production will necessitate the restoration of large fen areas. Part of this research program will be to understand the regeneration niche of brown mosses to develop an expertise in Canada on the restoration of fens that hopefully will become comparable to the international recognition gained with knowing better the regeneration niche of Sphagnum. With the development of economical activities in the North, a network of communication is often developed for construction (e.g. for building dams) and then reduced or abandoned (e.g. winter road, access road, temporary airstrips, borrow pits for road construction). These structures leave a series of scars in the landscape that take quite a long time to recover. In this program, I will study the factors controlling the dynamics of moss colonization of exposed soil and rock surfaces in harsh environments.