Network for the study and monitoring of forest ecosystems (RESEF)

Created in the late 1980s, the Network for the Study and Monitoring of Forest Ecosystems (RESEF) is a network for the long-term monitoring of natural forests, including more than forty stations spread across Quebec. It aims to characterize the main components of these forest ecosystems, to monitor their evolution and to study their functional interactions.

Each station consists of a sample plot of 0.5 hectares in deciduous stands and 0.25 hectares in coniferous stands. In order to carry out a detailed monitoring of the characteristics of the vegetation, these plots are subdivided into plots of 100 m2 (10 m × 10 m). Each tree with a diameter at chest height (DHP, measured 1.3 m from the ground) greater than or equal to 11 mm present in the plot is numbered and georeferenced, then its DHP and its height are measured. The dimensions of the crown are noted for trees whose DHP is greater than or equal to 91 mm, and the regeneration is inventoried. Each plot is surrounded by a 100 m protection zone, in which the physicochemical properties of soils and foliage are measured. Analysis of growth rings complete the follow-up. Since 1986, data has been collected at regular intervals of 5 or 10 years according to standardized protocols.

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