Publications

Listed below publications of the last 8 years. For a complete list of all publications please visit: Google Scholar ID; ORCID iD

If you need access to one of these articles, please email treelab1@ualberta.ca with your request.

  1. Barb R. Thomas, Michael Stoehr, Stefan G. Schreiber, Andy Benowicz, William R. Schroeder, Raju Soolanayakanahally, Chris Stefner, Ken A. Elliott, Newton Philis, Ngaire Rubal, Pierre Périnet, Martin Perron, Dale Simpson, Michele Fullarton, Josh Sherrill, Mary Myers, David Steeves, Simon Bockstette, Basil English, and John Kort. 2024. Tree Improvement in Canada – past, present and future, 2023 and beyond. 2024. The Forestry Chronicle. 100(1): 59-87. https://doi.org/10.5558/tfc2024-004
  2. Bhandari, S.K., Pinno B.D., and Thomas, B.R. Tree Improvement increases the growth of white spruce (Picea glauca): Evidence from 15-year-old operational plantations in Alberta. Forest Ecology and Management.  2024.  Volume 561. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2024.121855
  3. Bhandari, S.K., Pinno B.D., Stadt, K.J., and Thomas, B.R. Growth response to pre-commercial thinning of lodgepole pine is short-term but the effects on size distribution persist for decades. The Forestry Chronicle. e-First  https://doi.org/10.5558/tfc2024-002
  4. Niemczyk, M., Thomas, B.R. & Jastrzębowski, S. Strategies for difficult times: physiological and morphological responses to drought stress in seedlings of Central European tree species. Trees 37, 1657–1669 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-023-02450-0
  5. Dawei Luo, Gregory A. O’Neill, Yuqing Yang et al. Climate-Sensitive Growth and Yield Models and Their Application to Assisted Migration, 21 November 2023, PREPRINT (Version 1) available at Research Square. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3627309/v1
  6. Galeano E, Cappa EP, Bousquet J, Thomas BR. Optimizing a Regional White Spruce Tree Improvement Program: SNP Genotyping for Enhanced Breeding Values, Genetic Diversity Assessment, and Estimation of Pollen Contamination. Forests. 2023; 14(11):2212. https://doi.org/10.3390/f14112212
  7. Xinli Chen, Barb R. Thomas, Sarah Pattison, Zhengfeng An, Scott X. Chang. 2023. Pulp mill biosolids mitigate soil greenhouse gas emissions from applied urea and improve soil fertility in a hybrid poplar plantation. Journal of Environmental Management, Volume 344, 2023, 118474, ISSN 0301-4797. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118474
  8. Galeano, E. and Thomas, B.R. 2023. Unraveling genetic variation among white spruce families generated through different breeding strategies: Heritability, growth, physiology, hormones and gene expression. Front. Plant Sci. 14:1052425. doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2023.1052425
  9. Esteban Galeano, Simon Bockstette, and Barb R. Thomas. 2023. An economic analysis and seed yield assessment of alternative breeding strategies in a white spruce tree improvement program. The Forestry Chronicle. 99(1): 52-66. https://doi.org/10.5558/tfc2023-001
  10. Stephanie B. Rudnew, Esteban Galeano, and Barb R. Thomas. 2023. Effect of soil warming on growth and physiology of aspen seedlings from Alberta, Canada. The Forestry Chronicle. 99(1): 67-79. https://doi.org/10.5558/tfc2023-002
  11. Yang Liu, Nadir Erbilgin, Eduardo Pablo Cappa, Charles Chen, Blaise Ratcliffe, Xiaojing Wei, Jennifer G Klutsch, Aziz Ullah, Jaime Sebastian Azcona, Barb R Thomas, Yousry A El-Kassaby, Decoupling of height growth and drought or pest resistance tradeoffs is revealed through multiple common-garden experiments of lodgepole pine, Evolution, Volume 77, Issue 3, 1 March 2023, Pages 893–906, https://doi.org/10.1093/evolut/qpad004
  12. Szyp-Borowska I, Ukalska J, Niemczyk M, Wojda T, Thomas BR. Effects of Water Deficit Stress on Growth Parameters of Robinia pseudoacacia L. Selected Clones under In Vitro Conditions. Forests. 2022; 13(12):1979. https://doi.org/10.3390/f13121979
  13. Cappa, E.P., Chen, C., Klutsch, J.G. et al. Multiple-trait analyses improved the accuracy of genomic prediction and the power of genome-wide association of productivity and climate change-adaptive traits in lodgepole pine. BMC Genomics 23, 536 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-022-08747-7
  14. Liu, Y., Erbilgin, N., Ratcliffe, B., Klutsch, J. G., Wei, X., Ullah, A., Cappa, E. P., et al. Pest defenses under weak selection exert a limited influence on the evolution of height growth and drought avoidance in marginal pine populations. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.1034
  15. Cappa, E.P., Ratcliffe, B., Chen, C., Thomas, B.R., Liu, Y., Klustch, J., Wei, X., Azcona, J. S., Benowicz, A., Sadoway, S., Erbilgin, N., El-Kassaby, Y.A. 2022. Improving lodgepole pine genomic evaluation using spatial correlation structure and SNP selection with single-step GBLUP. Heredity (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41437-022-00508-2  Supplemental data: Heredity paper supplemental data Cappa et al. 2022
  16. Wei, X., Benowicz, A., Sebastian-Azcona, J., & Thomas, B. R. (2022). Genetic variation in leaf traits and gas exchange responses to vapour pressure deficit in contrasting conifer species. Functional Ecology, 00, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.14007
  17. Cappa EP, Klutsch JG, Sebastian-Azcona J, Ratcliffe B, Wei X, Da Ros L, Liu Y, Chen C, Benowicz A, Sadoway S, Mansfield SD, Erbilgin N, Thomas BR, El-Kassaby YA. (2022) Integrating genomic information and productivity and climate-adaptability traits into a regional white spruce breeding program. PLOS ONE 17(3): e0264549. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0264549
  18. Dawei Luo, Phil G. Comeau, and Barb R. Thomas. Effects of interspecific competition on early growth of genetically improved white spruce in mixedwood stands in northeastern Alberta. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 52(5): 819-833. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfr-2021-0300
  19. Luo, Dawei, and Barb R. Thomas. “An analysis of age-age correlations in white spruce and lodgepole pine and how it applies to the growth and yield projection system (GYPSY) in Alberta (vol 482, pg 1, 2021).” FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT 503 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2020.118865
  20. Pappas, C. et al. (2022). Smartforests Canada: A Network of Monitoring Plots for Forest Management Under Environmental Change. In: Tognetti, R., Smith, M., Panzacchi, P. (eds) Climate-Smart Forestry in Mountain Regions. Managing Forest Ecosystems, vol 40. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80767-2_16
  21. Niemczyk, M., Chmura, D.J., Socha, J. et al.  How geographic and climatic factors affect the adaptation of Douglas-fir provenances to the temperate continental climate zone in Europe. Eur J Forest Res (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10342-021-01398-5
  22. Letitia M. Da Ros, Barb R. Thomas, Shawn D. Mansfield. Wood quality trait associations with climate: Room for improvement in two northern commercial tree species?. Forest Ecology and Management. Volume 497, 2021, 119492, ISSN 0378-1127, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2021.119492
  23. Wang, S., An, H., Chang, W-Y., Gaston, C., Thomas, B.R. Economic potential of adopting genomic technology in Alberta’s tree improvement sector. The Forestry Chronicle. 97(3): 277-299. https://doi.org/10.5558/tfc2021-032
  24. Pinno, Bradley D., Thomas, Barb R. and Lieffers, Victor J. 2021. Wood supply challenges in Alberta – Growing more timber is the only sustainable solution. The Forestry Chronicle. e-First https://doi.org/10.5558/tfc2021-013
  25. Hu, Y.; Kamelchuk, D., Krygier, R., Thomas, B.R. Field Testing of Selected Salt-Tolerant Screened Balsam Poplar (Populus balsamifera L.) Clones for Use in Reclamation around End-Pit Lakes Associated with Bitumen Extraction in Northern Alberta. Forests 2021, 12, 572. https://doi.org/10.3390/f12050572
  26. Galeano, E., Bousquet, J. & Thomas, B.R. 2021. SNP-based analysis reveals unexpected features of genetic diversity, parental contributions and pollen contamination in a white spruce breeding program. Sci Rep 11, 4990. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-84566-2
  27. Galeano, E., Thomas, B.R. 2020 Effect of elevated gibberellic acid application on growth and gene expression patterns in white spruce families from a tree improvement program in Alberta, Canada. Tree Physiology. https://doi.org/10.1093/treephys/tpaa133
  28. Luo, D., Thomas, B.R. 2021. An analysis of age-age correlations in white spruce and lodgepole pine and how it applies to the growth and yield projection system (GYPSY) in Alberta. Forest Ecology and Management. 482. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2020.118865 
  29. Bockstette, S., de la Mata, R., Thomas, B.R. 2021. Best of both worlds: hybrids of two commercially important pines (Pinus contorta × P. banksiana) combine increased growth potential and high drought tolerance. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 51 (10) https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfr-2020-0420
  30. Chang, S.X., Zheng, S., Thomas, B.R. 2020 Soil respiration and net ecosystem productivity in a chronosequence of hybrid poplar plantations. Canadian Journal of Soil Science. 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjss-2020-0006
  31. Niemczyk, M., Thomas, B.R. 2020 Growth parameters and resistance to Sphaerulina musiva-induced canker are more important than wood density for increasing genetic gain from selection of Populus spp. hybrids … Annals of Forest Science 77 (2), 1-14 https://doi.org/10.1007/s13595-020-0931-y
  32. Lieffers, V.J., Pinno, B.D., Beverly, J.L., Thomas, B.R., Nock, C. 2020 Reforestation policy has constrained options for managing risks on public forests. Canadian Journal of Forest Research.https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfr-2019-0422
  33. Klutsch, J., Kee, C., Cappa, E., Ratcliffe, B., Thomas, B.R., & Erbilgin, N. 2020 Increment coring induced traumatic resin ducts in white spruce but not in lodgepole pine. Tree-Ring Research: January 2020, Vol. 76, No. 1, pp. 54-58. https://doi.org/10.3959/TRR2019-5
  34. Niemczyk, M., Hu, Y. & Thomas, B.R. 2019. Selection of poplar genotypes for adapting to climate change. Forests 10(11), 1041. https://doi.org/10.3390/f10111041
  35. Bockstette, S. & Thomas, B.R. 2019. Impact of genotype and parent origin on the efficacy and optimal timingof GA4/7 stem injections in a lodgepole pine seed orchard. New For. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11056-019-09733-w
  36. Arshad, M., Biswas, K., Bisgrove, S., Schroeder, W., Thomas, B.R., Mansfield, S., Mattson, J. & Plant, A. 2019. Differences in drought tolerance revealed in nine North American hybrid poplars. Trees – Struct. Funct. Pp. 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-019-01846-1
  37. Chang, W-Y, Gaston, C. Cool, J., & Thomas, B.R. A financial analysis of using improved planting stock or white spruce and lodgepole pine in Alberta, Canada: Genomic selection versus traditional breeding. Forestry: An International J of For Res. 92(3), 297-310. 
  38. Hu, Y. & Thomas, B.R. 2019. Hormones and heterosis in hybrid balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera L.). Forests 10(2): 143. https://doi.org/10.3390/f10020143 OA (featured manuscript).
  39. Chang, W-Y., Wang, S., Gaston, C., Cool, J., An, H., & Thomas, B.R. 2019. Economic evaluations of tree improvement for planted forests: a systematic review. BioProducts Business 4(1),  1-14. 
  40. Goehing, J., Henkel-Johnson, D., Macdonald, E.S., Bork, E.W., & Thomas, B.R. 2019. Spatial partitioning of competitive effects from neighbouring herbaceous vegetation on establishing hybrid poplars in plantations. Can J For Res. doi:10.1139/cjfr-2018-0410 OA
  41. Khan, S., Thomas, B.R., de la Mata, R., Randall, M.J., Zhang, W. & Zwiazek, J.J. 2019. Variation in aquaporin and physiological responses among Pinus contorta families under different moisture conditions. Plants 8, 13. doi:10.3390/plants8010013 OA
  42. Mamashita, T., Larocque, G. R., DesRochers, A., Beaulieu, J., Thomas, B. R., Mosseler, A., Major, J. and Sidders, D. 2017. Accelerating the selection process for Populus and Salix clones using short-term photosynthetic acclimation responses under greenhouse conditions. Écoscience, 24(1-2), 59-73. DOI: 10.1080/11956860.2017.1361508
  43. Schreiber, S. G., & Thomas, B. R. 2017. Forest industry investment in tree improvement–a wise business decision or a bottomless pit? Answers from a new tree improvement valuation model for Alberta, Canada. The Forestry Chronicle, 93(1), 38-43. https://doi.org/10.5558/tfc2017-009
  44. Goehing, J., Thomas, B.R., Macdonald, and S.E., Bork, E.W. 2017. Effects of alternative establishment systems on resource availability, understorey, composition, and tree performance in juvenile hybrid poplar plantations. Forestry, 90(4), 515-529. https://doi.org/10.1093/forestry/cpx005
  45. Lupi, C., Larocque, G. R., DesRochers, A., Labrecque, M., Mosseler, A., Major, J., Beaulieu, J., Tremblay, F., Gordon, A. M., Thomas, B. R. 2017. Biomass from young hardwood stands on marginal lands: Allometric equations and sampling methods. Biomass and Bioenergy, 98, 172-181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2017.01.023
  46. Thomas, B. R., Schreiber, S. G., & Kamelchuk, D. P. 2016. Impact of planting container type on growth and survival of three hybrid poplar clones in central Alberta, Canada. New Forests, 47(6), 815-827. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11056-016-9546-4
  47. Henkel-Johnson, D., Macdonald, S. E., Bork, E. W., & Thomas, B. R. 2016. Influence of weed composition, abundance, and spatial proximity on growth in young hybrid poplar plantations. Forest Ecology and Management, 362, 55-68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2015.11.010
  48. Grenke, J. S., Macdonald, S. E., Thomas, B. R., Moore, C. A., & Bork, E. W. 2016. Relationships between understory vegetation and hybrid poplar growth and size in an operational plantation. The Forestry Chronicle, 92(4), 469-476. https://doi.org/10.5558/tfc2016-083
  49. Gray, L. K., Rweyongeza, D., Hamann, A., John, S., & Thomas, B. R. 2016. Developing management strategies for tree improvement programs under climate change: Insights gained from long-term field trials with lodgepole pine. Forest Ecology and Management, 377, 128-138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2016.06.041
  50. Gray, L. K., Hamann, A., John, S., Rweyongeza, D., Barnhardt, L., & Thomas, B. R. 2016. Climate change risk management in tree improvement programs: selection and movement of genotypes. Tree Genetics & Genomes, 12(2), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11295-016-0983-1
  51. Chang, S. X., Shi, Z., & Thomas, B. R. 2016. Soil respiration and its temperature sensitivity in agricultural and afforested poplar plantation systems in northern Alberta. Biology and Fertility of Soils, 52(5), 629-641. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00374-016-1104-x
  52. Adonsou, K. E., DesRochers, A., Tremblay, F., Thomas, B. R., & Isabel, N. 2016. The clonal root system of balsam poplar in upland sites of Quebec and Alberta. Ecology and Evolution, 6(19), 6846-6854. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.2441
  53. Lupi, C., Larocque, G., DesRochers, A., Labrecque, M., Mosseler, A., Major, J., Beaulieu, J., Tremblay, F., Gordon, A. M., Thomas, B. R. 2015. Evaluating sampling designs and deriving biomass equations for young plantations of poplar and willow clones. Biomass and Bioenergy, 83, 196-205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2015.09.019
  54. Mamashita, T., Larocque, G. R., DesRochers, A., Beaulieu, J., Thomas, B. R., Mosseler, A., Major, J., Sidders, D. 2015. Short-term growth and morphological responses to nitrogen availability and plant density in hybrid poplars and willows. Biomass and Bioenergy, 81, 88-97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2015.06.003
  55. Schreiber, S. G., Hacke, U. G., Chamberland, S., Lowe, C. W., Kamelchuk, D., Bräutigam, K., Campbell, M., Thomas, B. R. 2015. Leaf size serves as a proxy for xylem vulnerability to cavitation in plantation trees. Plant, cell & environment, 39(2), 272-281. https://doi.org/10.1111/pce.12611