Study sites:

• Kangiqsrualujjuaq

Person in charge: Michelle Garneau (UQAM)

In collaboration with:

• Pascale Roy-Léveillée (ULaval)
• Nicole Sanderson (UQAM)
• Northern communities

Graduate students:

• Maxime Shaienks-Desrochers (Master's degree UQAM)
• Master's degree 2 to come
• Édith Auclair Fournier (Master's degree ULaval)

The Northern Action Plan 2020-2023 consolidates Québec's commitment to designate 50% of the territory north of the 49th parallel for conservation purposes by 2035.

The Direction des aires protégées (DAP) of the Ministère de l'Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs (MELCCFP) wishes to strengthen the synergies of the objectives of biodiversity and carbon conservation in northern environments with climate change mitigation efforts.

Objectives:

1. Develop partnerships with northern communities to conserve carbon stocks in Québec's northern ecosystems

2. Production of a cartography of carbon stocks at the scale of northern Quebec for the different types of natural environments encountered.

Mapping carbon reservoirs in the natural ecosystems of northern Québec in collaboration with MELCCFP.

3. Develop a decision-making tool to define the best indicators for prioritizing the conservation of carbon stocks and identifying their vulnerability in a context of land use.

Development of decision-making tools for selecting areas of conservation interest.

4. Assess the impact of recent changes in certain carbon sinks for the network of protected areas and conservation territories (increased accumulation, lateral expansion) in relation to global warming.

Assessment of recent changes in peatlands as a complement to the development of decision-support tools