Boreal Ecosystem Recovery and Assessment (BERA)

Alberta's boreal region is under increasing pressure from natural resource extraction. The cumulative environmental effects of roads, well pads, seismic lines (petroleum-exploration corridors), forest-harvest areas, and other human elements influence vegetation communities, wildlife, hydrology, and carbon dynamics.

AU Hydrology is now part of the Boreal Ecosystem Recovery and Assessment (BERA) project: a not-for-profit multi-sectoral research partnership working to understand these effects and develop strategies for restoring disturbed landscapes. Our research focuses on the soils and ecohydrology of disturbed areas at SMHCO and nearby sites. Graduate students working on this project are co-supervised by either Dr Maria Strack (University of Waterloo) or Dr Greg McDermid (University of Calgary).

This work will contribute to future restoration efforts in system that is already under pressure from climate change.