Carbon science—an indispensable tool for conservation

Our natural environments are hugely important for climate regulation because they absorb and store massive amounts of carbon. If we want to protect these carbon-rich environments and fight the climate crisis, we must first properly understand them. To gain new knowledge on carbon dynamics, SNAP Québec, Nature Québec and partners of the Nature alliée project sought input from several research teams specialized in this area of study.

The project contributes not only to the collection of new carbon data, but also to the creation of numerous inter-university partnerships in collaboration with Indigenous communities, municipalities and citizen groups. By pooling their ideas and standardizing their methodologies, the teams from Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO), Université du Québec en Abitibi-Témiscamingue (UQAT), Université de Sherbrooke (UdS), Université Laval (UL) and the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS) have implemented protocols that measure the amount of carbon contained in temperate and boreal ecosystems, both in vegetation and underground, where the vast majority of forest carbon is found.

Here are some examples of their work as part of the Nature alliée project.

Measuring carbon in temperate forests

In order to better plan the protection of carbon-rich ecosystems, the UQO team plans to sample more than 150 plots of 400 m² across Quebec between May 2024 and October 2025. This network of plots covers different forest characteristics (e.g., drainage, type of deposit, presence of logging, age of the stand, etc.). Already, more than 80 plots were sampled in 2024.

The plots are spread across old-growth forests and nearby logging areas to compare carbon stocks on similar soils. In each plot, the carbon contained in the plant biomass of trees (bark, branches, foliage, wood, and roots) is estimated according to species. Small trees, shrubs, stumps and woody debris are also accounted for. Even the carbon in herbaceous plants is included in the calculation!

In addition to estimating carbon in vegetation cover, soil samples are taken and brought back to the laboratory for analysis. These samples include soil litter, organic horizon, and mineral soil up to 30 centimetres deep.

In total, about 1,500 samples will be taken throughout the temperate forest.

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“If we want to act to preserve and restore the integrity of nature around us, including its carbon and biodiversity, it’s important to try to understand it. To do this, we need to collect field data because this nature, resulting from billions of years of evolution, is highly complex.”

— Marie-Ève Roy, biologist and PhD graduate in the Department of Natural Sciences at UQO and member of the scientific committee of the Nature alliée project.

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Measuring the climate footprint of logging in the boreal forest

One visit to the boreal forest is enough to see the industry’s huge footprint on the forest. The only way to measure the climate footprint of these forestry operations is through in-depth studies on carbon dynamics. UQAT has long been working on characterizing the boreal forest, more specifically on its carbon content.

As part of the Nature alliée project, the teams of Nicole Fenton and Xavier Cavard were able to identify a large amount of carbon data measured in the past, as well as coordinate sampling in areas not yet studied such as the northern territory of the Abitibiwinni First Nation and the territory of the Cree Nation of Waswanipi. Work carried out in summer 2025 will involve the collection of as many forest soil samples as possible in collaboration with communities.

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“Conducting scientific projects with land guardians strengthens First Nations’ trust in our work and ensures that our research is conducted in a manner that respects the values and concerns of local communities. Our research is also becoming more relevant and attuned to the reality of the land that these groups know better than anyone else.”

— Sylvain Delagrange, Professor of Functional Ecology and Plant Ecophysiology at the UQO Institute of Temperate Forest Sciences

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Studying wetland carbon stocks

Among the most carbon-rich sites in Quebec, boreal peatlands, particularly in Abitibi and Nord-du-Québec, cover huge areas that are still intact and without land access. Reaching these areas for conservation research therefore requires the use of drones and a helicopter.

The Anishinaabek community of Abitibiwinni has made studying peatland carbon stocks one of its main tools for successfully protecting them. A methodology was developed in partnership with Université de Sherbrooke and the INRS to sample and measure peat depth in peatlands with a view to estimating the amount of organic carbon present.

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“Peatlands are among the world’s largest carbon sinks and pools. They cover barely 3% of the world’s surface, but their soils contain twice as much carbon as all the vegetation in all forests on the planet! Through our collaborative work, we will come up with a more accurate portrait of Quebec’s peatlands and, above all, their importance in carbon sequestration.”

— Julien Arsenault, postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Applied Geomatics at Université de Sherbrooke

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Analyzing samples in the laboratory

After sampling comes lab analysis at the Institute of Temperate Forest Sciences, where the amount of carbon in all of the soil and vegetation samples is measured. This is where all the samples are dried, a process that takes several weeks. The samples are then put into furnace at temperatures of up to 1400 °C, which enables a very precise measurement of the carbon contained.

Using technology and modelling

While field sampling is highly effective in determining the amount of carbon at a certain location, sometimes it is impossible to access a site. Fortunately, new imaging technologies make it possible to estimate the amount of carbon using drone images or satellite images. In addition to opening up inaccessible sites for research purposes, linking sampled sites and their characteristics with telemetry data will enable the Nature alliée project to build a model to estimate where carbon-rich environments are located in Quebec. This is where the INRS provides its expertise.

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“We use advanced AI and deep learning-based image analysis techniques for high-resolution mapping at two different scales: drone imaging with a resolution of a few centimetres and satellite imaging with a resolution of a few metres. Once we have these maps, the next step will be to estimate the carbon storage potential for each specific class of peatlands and forests using machine learning techniques.”

— Saeid Homayouni, Full Professor at the INRS Centre Eau Terre Environnement

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Understanding the impacts of natural environment degradation

The INRS team is interested in comparing different natural environments (forests, marshes, open peatlands, and wooded peatlands) and disturbed environments (those converted into grassland or agricultural plots) to understand how their degradation can lead to a reduction in carbon storage in a given territory. INRS research combines field and laboratory sampling to understand the different forms of carbon present with geomatics and remote sensing analyses to extrapolate carbon content at different scales across the territory.

“By comparing protected natural ecosystems with others disturbed by human activities, the information acquired by the team will help inform local and national decision-makers about the impact of conservation initiatives along the St. Lawrence axis in southern Quebec, an area heavily populated by humans,” says Louise Hénault-Ethier, Associate Professor at the INRS Centre Eau Terre Environnement.

“The knowledge acquired will support the development of ecofiscal tools and spatial-temporal modelling to strengthen the preservation of different environments,” says Maxime Fortin Faubert, Post-doctoral Fellow, Project Coordinator at INRS.

“This project is helping to train nearly a dozen highly qualified people in the climate change sector, which is a strategic area at the national level,” adds Anne Ola, Assistant Professor at the INRS Centre Eau Terre Environnement.

Studying ecological services associated with carbon storage

In addition to studying the benefits of protecting carbon-rich environments in urban and agricultural environments, Jérôme Cimon-Morin, a professor in the Department of Wood and Forest Sciences at the Faculty of Forestry, Geography and Geomatics at Université Laval, is currently looking into other benefits that local natural environments can bring to people’s quality of life. Ultimately, this study will not only provide a better understanding of the many benefits of nearby natural environments, but also the links between carbon-rich environments and other natural benefits such as water supply, freshness islands, and flood mitigation.

“The study will allow us to determine the co-benefits for society of conservation projects involving carbon-rich environments. The co-benefits of conservation are the ecological services generated by ecosystems that benefit human society by improving its quality of life,” he concludes.

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