Research projects and publications

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.

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.

The SQI will adopt an action plan to correct the vulnerabilities identified by the project and to adapt its building stock. This plan will contain specific projects as well as changes to asset maintenance and preventive maintenance programs.

The cities will benefit from an improved process for the design and implementation of future GSI. The results of this project will enhance knowledge about the feasibility of installing GSI, as well as the performance of the pilot infrastructures.

The co-construction of a strategy for the management of climate change at the municipal services level will promote the development of climate change adaptation, the reduction of GHG emissions and the resilience of the communities concerned.

The results of this action research, together with innovation and political will, will help the MRC to effectively review its governance framework and thus be less affected by the impacts and consequences of climate change.

The descriptive and statistical tools available under IcePAC provide users with information on ice conditions and allow them to better understand the temporal and spatial evolution of sea ice. This information can help users to protect against risks to ships and maritime infrastructure.

The main impact of the Climate Lab is to question and integrate climate change adaptation into concrete urban planning and governance practices.

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.

The examples and lessons learned from the case studies will help local, provincial/state and federal policy makers in designing effective policy instruments and processes, and in improving existing ones, in such a way that they enable effective adaptation to climate change.

These documented case studies will help to disseminate and transfer information, engage decision makers and better recognize barriers to adaptation within the energy sector in order to overcome them.

This first Canadian portrait of the interactions between GHG mitigation and adaptation to climate change in the field of energy allows to educate policymakers and companies from the electricity sector about the complex interactions between mitigation efforts and adaptation to climate change

This study is particularly useful for energy policymakers concerned with energy production and distribution, including demand management, the upscaling of equipment, and energy efficiency programs allowing to reduce heat gain in buildings in order to mitigate the increase in air conditioning requirements.

The approaches developed will help guide strategy decisions made by industry partners (Hydro-Québec, Manitoba Hydro) and communities in sub-Arctic regions regarding wildfire risk management.

This project will help Canadian electricity providers such as Hydro-Québec, Manitoba Hydro and Ontario Power Generation to improve the long-term planning and reliability of wind power generation.

This approach will allow Canadian hydropower producers to better assess their exposure to persistent droughts while benefiting from a better understanding of the long-term hydrological variability in the production territory.

This project will provide hydropower producers with the robust scientific analyses to guide decision making in regards to climate change adaptations. The results will help determine whether the significance of recently observed floods is part of natural variability or if it is attributable to climate change, in which case, it may be relevant to adjust design criteria and management strategies accordingly.