Forestry Technician/Technologist

What does a forestry technician/technologist do? Forestry technicians/technologist s work closely with other forestry professionals to manage, conserve, and harvest forests. Forestry technicians/technologists play a key role in the management of Canada’s forest resources, contributing to the balance of sustainability and demand for wood products.

At a Glance

Imagine that it's a hot, dry summer day, the sun beating down on the scarred land you're standing on. You've come to this site to evaluate the blackened trees, victims of last summer's massive forest fire that burned more than 2,000 hectares of boreal forest.

You are a forestry technician, and you work as part of a team that monitors forest regrowth following blazes such as this one. Today, you are looking for regeneration among the charred remains, a sign that plant life is recovering.

Given that fire is a natural process in the boreal forest, in most cases, your team will not actively treat this burn by reseeding or replanting saplings, but rather let nature take its course.

But, before that decision is made, you need to know that the area will recover on its own.

As a forestry technician, you function as the team's eyes and ears, gathering data that will be used to make forest management decisions.

As the team's eyes, you first photograph the area as a qualitative measure of recovery. These photos can be compared to photos taken right after the fire swept through to demonstrate the amount of regeneration in the area over the last 12 months.

Once this is complete, you will gather quantitative evidence, for example, soil samples. You will take several soil cores that will be analyzed in the lab for indicators such as organic content and evidence of germination.

These cores will also measure how deeply into the ground the fire burned. In addition to soil samples, you will examine the new green growth, recording the colonizing species and looking for new shoots or runners from tree roots that survived the fire.

You will record all this data and bring it to your team members, who will analyze the different indicators of growth and revival and decide if the area needs their assistance for recovery.

Forestry Technician/Technologist

At a Glance

Job Duties

Work Environment

Where to Work

Education and Skills

Skills

Role Models

David Caldwell

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