Christian Messier

Professor UQO-UQAM

Scientific Director of ISFORT
Member of Centre d'Étude de la Forêt
NSERC/Hydro-Quebec Chair on tree growth control - UQAM
Canada Chair on tree resilience to global changes

christian.messier@uqo.ca mail_outline
819-595-3900 poste 2903

Website

Interests and Expertise

Forest management; urban forestry; complex adaptive system; functional biodiversity-ecology relationship; multi-species plantation; adaptation forestry

Biography

• 1991-1992 : Postdoctorat en écologie forestière – University of Helsinki
• 1987-1991 : Doctorat en sciences forestières – University of British Colombia
• 1985-1986 : Maîtrise en Sciences forestières – Université Laval
• 1980-1984 : Baccalauréat en foresterie – Université Laval

Christian Messier defended his thesis on the dynamics of forest regeneration following the cutting of old forests on the west coast of Canada. After spending a year at the University of Helsinki in Finland as a postdoctoral researcher in forest ecology, he began his tenure as a professor at UQAM in 1992 in the Department of Biological Sciences. He was a member (and co-leader from 1996 to 1999) of the Sustainable Forest Management Network (RGDF) from 1995 to 2010. He was also a member of the board of directors of the Ligniculture-Québec integrated network, of which he is the co-founder, a large-scale project aimed at maximizing wood production on small areas. Dr. Messier participated in the creation of the CEF and was its director from 2006 to 2010. In 2013, he became a professor at UQO in the Department of Natural Sciences and also became director of the Institut des Sciences de temperate forest (ISFORT). Holder of the CRSNG / Hydro-Quebec Chair on tree growth control, his mission is to obtain rigorous scientific information on the biophysical factors affecting the growth and development of trees in urban and peri-urban areas in order to ” be able to optimize the methods of intervention on them and allow a more harmonious cohabitation between trees and Hydro-Québec infrastructures. He also holds the Canada Research Chair (level 1) on forest resilience in the face of global change, which aims to improve our ability to manage forests to effectively increase their resilience. His research interests are broad, ranging from fundamental understanding of tree growth and mortality, to the development of decision tools for better management of natural and urban forest harvesting. His research led him to study several biomes around the world. He has published over 280 articles in scientific journals and recently co-edited a book entitled “Managing forests as complex adaptive systems” and another for the general public on “Ecology in the city”.

Current Urban-Forest Projects and Initiatives

• NSERC / Hydro-Québec Research Chair in Tree Growth Control:
• IDENT/TreeDivNet: Réseau international de plantations de biodiversité
  
• Chaire de recherche du Canada sur la résilience des forêts face aux changements globaux