Research projects and publications

The profitability of the sector and regional economic activity related to ski stations depend on the industry's response to climate change challenges. Ski stations are at the heart of a tightly knit economic ecosystem. These challenges represent an opportunity for them to explore new business models.

Chronic multiple repeat events of low amplitude may cause more long-term losses than punctual severe disturbances yet are easier to ignore.  Forest industry and governments must prepare for the combined effects of long term effects.  

The approach developed provides decision-makers with a decision-making aid process that summarizes the results of the model. 

The results will enable forest managers to assess the extent to which forestry can be developed in these northern areas and using which practices, taking into account natural disturbances influenced by climate change. In addition, better anticipation of the consequences of climate change will improve the ability to manage the forest in such a way as to maintain productive stands and thereby achieve sustainable forest management.

The project will increase awareness among local forest managers, advisors and owners of current and future global changes and the management of uncertainty in the planning of their forested land.

The project made municipalities and MRCs more aware of the impacts of certain land use planning and water management decisions. Each participating community has increased its autonomy in dealing with the impacts of the issues to which they are exposed.

The projections from the project serve to identify plausible risks and protect human health and the shellfish industry in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence.

The main results of this project will be presented to the elected officials and population of the Québec City region to raise awareness about the issue of drinking water availability in a changing climate.

This project produced results that can be used by actors in each sector, as well as by economic, regional, national and international development stakeholders, to inform adaptation efforts.

The results will help guide a sustainable approach to water management that takes into account the effects of climate change. It will also provide water supply managers in participating municipalities with tools for assessing vulnerabilities related to climate change, whether these are due to changes to their surface water withdrawal capacity or to changes in water needs during certain critical periods.

The research results will help to lay the foundations of a new culture of mitigation, adaptation and maritime and port innovation in Québec in the face of climate change by intensifying collaborations with the maritime and port industry.

The project has provided a better understanding of current and future spatial and temporal variability of salinity in the transition zone to help guide stakeholders in making sound decisions.

The knowledge developed by the project has provided riverside municipalities with a better understanding of the processes related to riverbank erosion, allowed them to identify areas that are vulnerable to this hazard, and provided a portrait of the possible evolution of flooding and erosion under climate change.

The exchanges and comparisons between Québec and Mexico will make it possible to conduct a comparative analysis in order to enrich the practices and tools for integrated water management adaptation available to Québec users.

Knowledge of changes in groundwater recharge will enable users to anticipate problems that could have a long-term effect on their water supply (quantity, quality, seasonal forecasts).

The project will make it possible to adapt dam management to climate change and the water needs of local communities.

This project improved adaptive capacity by developing expertise to mitigate permafrost instability under transportation infrastructure.

The availability of more reliable extreme water level statistics will enable designers and engineers to better assess the risks associated with extreme water levels for present and future infrastructure.

The results of preliminary simulations and theory support the idea that forest management could accelerate the response of forest stands to climate change. Opening the forest canopy accelerates succession by modifying competition interactions within the stand.

Accounting and evaluating diverse interests can be formally integrated in decision aid processes such as MCDA and can be used to help structure and make more informed decisions, especially in the context of limited resources.

Québec’s municipal managers, professionals and planners have a new tool oriented to their needs at their disposal for assessing and mapping population vulnerability to heat waves and hydrometeorological hazards.

Among many economic activities, the production of Maple syrup is one of the most directly related to the climate and particularly to the spring climate. 

The preliminary results of the CBA have supported the adoption of wetlands and water bodies conservation objectives in the COBARIC water master plan update and the development of the Chaudière-Appalaches regional wetlands and water bodies plan (PRMHH).

The methods developed can be applied in other major cities in Québec to support climate change adaptation and health-focused land use planning.

Update of useful resources for characterizing and analyzing communities from the point of view of vulnerabilities to the psychosocial impacts of extreme weather events.

The project raised awareness among water managers about the problem of ice jam flood risk. This initial analysis helped better define the issues and guide the search for relevant adaptation measures.

This project led to a better understanding of different target audiences and their interest in content relating to the fight against climate change.

The project identified concrete legal mechanisms for dealing with exceptional hydrological variations as well as their benefits and limitations in the context of climate change.

This project will provide the project's partners, responsible for managing and conserving the Lake Papineau area and its ecosystems, with recommendations to implement long-term management plans by taking into consideration climate change and cumulative impacts on lakes and wetlands.

This project helped maintain and increase the connectivity of natural infrastructures in the greater Montreal area is an important adaptation strategy to facilitate species movement over the next 100 years.

The results of this project will enable decision-makers, ecological planners and mining companies to develop adaptation strategies and industrial development and biodiversity conservation measures based on robust scientific data that takes into account the effects of climate change on the wetlands of Eeyou Istchee James Bay.

The adaptation strategies proposed upon completion of the project will allow governments and the various organizations concerned to better determine habitats of interest to waterfowl, with regard to land use planning, networks of conservation areas and forestry and agricultural practices.

The project enable Québec City to plan a long-term conservation network that takes climate change into account, and integrate this network into its planning management while contributing to the Ministère des Affaires Municipales et de l’Habitation’s Strategy to ensure the occupation and vitality of the territories.

This research project is designed to better understand the dynamics of cyanobacterial blooms and cyanotoxins under climate change. The results will provide a solid foundation for biodiversity conservation through adaptation measures.

The economic quantification of ES generated by natural capital can be used to develop new indicators for land-use planning. It can also serve to inform decision making and can be integrated with other decision support tools such as cost-benefit and multi-criteria analyses.

The knowledge gained from this project will allow the development or revision of planning and action tools for decision makers in order to promote the adaptation of the crop protection sector to climate change.

The results of this study provided producers and agricultural advisors with information about the benefits and limitations of controlled drainage as an adaptation measure against expected climate change.

This project  helped facilitate consultation between actors from the different sectors concerned and helped increase awareness of climate change and adaptation.

The project will provide rural Québec MRCs with greater autonomy in their actions to create knowledge and combat climate change.

This project changed the perception of climate change among farmers and agricultural advisors following discussion meetings and various local, regional and provincial presentations. It also increased the resilience of Québec farms to climate change and made this resilience accessible through information sheets and regional climate change adaptation plans.

The results obtained make it possible to provide dairy farm managers with concrete recommendations for choosing forage mixes adapted to current and future climate conditions and solutions to reduce the risk of heat stress in barns during hot summer weather.

Street repairs are now done in a more integrated manner within the Québec City municipal administration. The greening experiments in Saint-Roch continue to mobilize residents and have led to the adoption of a broader approach, including a community garden, workshops, etc.

The literature analysis helps to explain a certain propensity to focus on technological solutions such as the electrification of individual transportation and residential solar energy conversion to mitigate the impacts of urban sprawl.

This project will improve the dissemination of available climate change adaptation resources for the municipal sector. It will also help guide efforts for the development of resources relating to issues that are less well addressed by existing resources.

Adaptation organizations now have an up-to-date portrait of the links between them, ready to be used to further their understanding of each other’s activities, to clarify their position for strategic planning purposes, and to identify allies and competitors as part of their regular activities.

AQUARISC provides the research community; climate change stakeholders working in the fields of land use planning, natural disaster management and insurance; and municipal, provincial and federal authorities with access to a comprehensive data collection on flood and low-flow events that took place in the watersheds of a pilot area.

The approach adopted, namely the co-construction of an adaptation strategy at the regional level and the uptake of vulnerability analysis tools by stakeholders, will foster the development of adaptation to climate change and the resilience of the communities concerned.