2017

Prior to joining the Tree-Ring Lab, I worked for the Canadian Forest Service (CFS) and University of Alberta (UofA) in Edmonton and was involved in various climate change projects in the Northwest Territories (NWT) and land reclamation projects throughout Alberta. For the last five years, I was a research technician at CFS working with the reclamation group and co-led projects studying different reclamation treatments and techniques in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region of Alberta working in both field and greenhouse environments. Among all the valuable experiences I have gained over the years it was the work with tree rings fascinated me the most so here I am at the UBC tree ring lab! I am dedicated my career to understanding and finding ways to mitigate human and climate change impacts on forest ecosystems.

MSc Research

I am truly lucky to be able to return to the CFS’s NWT Mackenzie Valley permanent monitoring plot network for my MSc project. Climate warming and permafrost thawing are affecting the forest and peatland ecosystems in northern Canada. My research project collaborates with the UBC, CFS, and

Government of NWT to study changes in forest growth of these ecosystems. Using field measurement data and laboratory analysis of tree-rings, I will quantify the total aboveground biomass and change in biomass, examine the relationships between changes in biomass with climatic parameters and other biotic and abiotic attributes at the regional and plot levels, and develop plot- and site-level crossdated tree-ring chronologies to analyze growth trends and determine the climatic drivers of observed changes in growth. This research will strengthen our knowledge of northern ecosystems where climate change has obvious effects on the physical environment, as well as the socioeconomic and cultural environment of the local first nation communities.

Select Publications

Stefani, F., Isabel, N., Morency, M., Lamothe, M., Nadeau, S., Lachance, D., Li, E.H.Y., Greer, C., Yergeau, E., Pinno, B.D., Seguin, A. (Accepted 2018) Comparative genomic analysis of tree and soil microbiomes from naturally disturbed and reclaimed oil sands mining sites. Scientific Reports (#SREP-17-25419)

Pinno, B., Li, E.H.Y., Khadka, B., Schoonmaker, A. 2017. Germination and early growth of boreal understory plants on 3 reclamation soil types under simulated drought conditions. Native Plants Journal 18(2):92-104.

deBortoli, L., Pinno, B., MacKenzie, D., Li, E.H.Y. Plant community composition and trembling aspen establishment in response to seeding and weeding treatments on different reclamation coversoils (Submitted to Restoration Ecology #REC-17-331, November 2017)

Errington, R., Bhatti, J., Li, E.H.Y. 2018 Mackenzie Valley Permanent Monitoring Plot Network: site locations and descriptions. Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Northern Forestry Centre, Edmonton, AB. Information Report NOR-X-426.

Bohner, T., Currey, B., Duda, E., Holsclaw, T., Katz, G., Kaye, M., Li, E., Oelkers, R., Speer, J. 2017. Upward elevational expansion of whitebark pine at Bird Mountain, Wyoming. In: Speer, J.H. (ed.) Final Report for the 27th Annual North American Dendroecological Fieldweek, 27-37.

Weber, J., Das Gupta, S., Errington, R., Li, E., Pinno, B., Tremblay, P., Hammond, J., and deBortoli L. Trembling Aspen Seedling and Plant Community Development on Reclaimed Sites. Report to the Canadian Natural Resources Limited (Horizon Oil Sands), Fort McMurray, AB. February 2017. 40p.

Weber, J., Das Gupta, S., Errington, R., Isabel, N., Li, E., Pinno, B., Séguin, A., and Thompson, D. Trembling Aspen Seedling and Plant Community Development on Reclaimed Sites. Report to the Canadian Natural Resources Limited (Horizon Oil Sands), Fort McMurray, AB. February 2016. 32p.

Li, E., Pinno, B., Errington, R., Thompson, D., Séguin, A., and Isabel, N. Trembling Aspen Seedling and Plant Community Development on Reclaimed Sites. Report to the Canadian Natural Resources Limited (Horizon Oil Sands), Fort McMurray, AB. February 2015. 41p.

Li, E., Pinno, B., Errington, R., Krygier, R., and Startsev, N. Trembling Aspen Seedling and Plant Community Development on Reclaimed Sites. Report to the Canadian Natural Resources Limited (Horizon Oil Sands), Fort McMurray, AB. February 2014. 33p.