The School of Environmental Science presents the latest installment of its Lunch and Learn speaker series with Robert Bradley, Soil Ecology Biology Department, University of Sherbrooke, Québec.

Bradley will speak on “Ericaceous shrubs and conifer growth check.”

In Boreal forests of Canada, the growth check of conifer regeneration is often coincident with the spread of ericaceous shrubs. Bradley will summarize 25 years of research findings on this phenomenon. These studies cover a range of related topics soil as nitrogen cycling, the biology and biochemistry of forest soils, plant nutrient uptake strategies, ecological disturbance and succession. He will conclude with a brief outline of silvicultural treatments that potentially mitigate or exacerbate the problem of conifer growth check.

Alexander Hall, Room 218