Field Trip

June 19th, 2026

The field excursion will offer participants the opportunity to visit several operationally oriented experimental plantations managed by Québec’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests. The Ministry is responsible for issuing official recommendations regarding the selection of planting stock intended for reforestation. As part of this responsibility, the forest genetics team plays a key role as it must ensure that the right genotype is planted in the right place.

To support this mission, the Ministry relies on an extensive network of experimental plantations distributed across the province. The excursion will include several themed stops that will address different aspects of the team’s research and operational work, including:

Provenance–progeny trials and their central role in genetic selection and the implementation of assisted migration in the context of climate change
The challenges associated with establishing and maintaining new experimental plantations
Realized gain trials, which make it possible to assess the actual performance of seed orchard material while also evaluating the impacts of climate change on the performance and adaptation of forest tree species
The exploration of exotic species and their potential to support the supply of forest fibres.