Research gives us tools to explore natural systems, understand what we see, and apply that knowledge to solving environmental challenges.

SNC works to better understand forests and their responses to invasive species, non-native species, and human activities. What we learn helps ensure that our forest management policies, planning, guides, and practices are firmly rooted in science. 

SNC’s black ash and medicinal plant studies include extensive inventories to capture how frequently these species occur on the landscape. This database provides strategic direction to forest managers. Our study of black ash logs demonstrates that the supply could not meet demand and makes recommendations to alleviate shortfalls in the future. Black Ash is an important element of lowland hardwood forests in eastern Ontario, and an important cultural and economic component of Mohawk communities.

Ecological Land Classification (ELC) inventories and collaboration between land use managers and land users allows a strategic approach for the protection of environmental and cultural values on a sustainable basis. ELC looks at the distribution and groupings of plant species and attempts to understand them according to ecosystem patterns and processes. SNC will use ELC inventories, and other information we collect, to facilitate planning and ecosystem management.