A research lab at the University of New Brunswick has received federal funding for a study into the impact of spruce budworm outbreaks on the environment and climate change.
Dr. Stephen Heard, a professor of biology at UNB Fredericton, and his research lab have received more than $400,000 in funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada’s (NSERC) Advancing Climate Change Science in Canada initiative. The funding was announced on July 11 as one of nine climate change research projects receiving a total of $4.7 million.
The project will examine how the spruce budworm – a major forest pest that defoliates and kills conifer trees – affects the crucial role forests play in Earth’s carbon cycle. Trees remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in soil. Defoliated forests are less able to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and the thinner tree canopy means warmer soils, which may release stored carbon from the soil.
“We’re pleased to receive funding and recognition from NSERC to help us carry out vital research, revealing the many ways spruce budworm outbreaks change forest ecosystems and affect our climate,” says Dr. Heard.
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