Boreal Ecosystem Recovery and Assessment (BERA) Project, Phase 2

阿尔伯塔北部地区正面临着越来越大的自然资源开采压力。道路、井台、地震线（石油勘探走廊）、森林采伐区和人类足迹的其他元素对环境产生累积影响，影响植被群落、野生动物、水文和碳动态。北方生态系统恢复和评估（BERA）项目（www.beraproject.org）是一个多部门的研究伙伴关系，包括学术机构（卡尔加里大学、阿尔伯塔大学、滑铁卢大学）、私营公司（阿尔伯塔-太平洋森林工业公司、加拿大自然资源有限公司、Cenovus能源公司、康菲石油加拿大资源公司、帝国石油资源有限公司）、公共部门（加拿大林业局北方林业中心）、和一个非营利组织（阿尔伯塔生物多样性监测研究所）。我们的中心目标是了解工业干扰对北方森林自然生态系统动态的影响，并制定在气候变化压力下恢复系统中受干扰景观的策略。我们的工作将针对与四个具体管理目标相关的知识差距：(i)促进受干扰地区恢复木质森林覆盖，（ii）恢复受干扰泥炭地的自然碳动态，（iii）确保野生动物种群和行为在自然变化范围内，以及（iv）加强林地驯鹿栖息地。该研究旨在为从事北方森林恢复的研究人员和资源管理人员提供知识和规划工具，并培养在该领域工作的下一代高素质人才。

The boreal region of Alberta is under increasing pressure from natural resource extraction. Roads, well pads, seismic lines (petroleum-exploration corridors), forest-harvest areas, and other elements of human footprint exert cumulative environmental effects that influence vegetation communities, wildlife, hydrology, and carbon dynamics. The Boreal Ecosystem Recovery and Assessment (BERA) project (www.beraproject.org) is a multi-sectoral research partnership of academic institutions (University of Calgary, University of Alberta, University of Waterloo), private-sector companies (Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries Inc., Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., Cenovus Energy, ConocoPhillips Canada Resources Corp., Imperial Oil Resources Ltd.), a public-sector division (Canadian Forest Service's Northern Forestry Centre), and a not-for-profit organization (Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute). Our central goal is to understand the effects of industrial disturbance on natural ecosystem dynamics in the boreal forest, and to develop strategies for restoring disturbed landscapes in a system that is under pressure from climate change. Our work will target knowledge gaps relevant to four specific management goals: (i) promoting a return to woody forest cover in disturbed areas, (ii) restoring natural carbon dynamics in disturbed peatlands, (iii) ensuring that wildlife populations and behaviour are within the natural range of variability, and (iv) enhancing woodland caribou habitat. The research is designed to provide knowledge and planning tools for researchers and resource managers engaged in boreal restoration, and to train the next generation of highly qualified personnel working in this space.