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Research Assistants

Project Leads

Dr. Danijela Puric-Mladenovic is an Assistant professor at Daniels Faculty, University of Toronto. She is also works as a Senior Analyst, Settled Landscapes, Science and Research Branch, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (OMNRF). Danijela's  applied science and research work is focused on developing innovative methods and tools that inform strategic conservation, management, spatial planning, rehabilitation and restoration of forests in Ontario’s settled and urban landscapes.  Danijela co-developer and co co-author of Neighbourwoods, a single tree inventory, monitoring and stewardship program and fixed area based Vegetation Sampling Protocol (VSP). (CV and more..)

Dr. Andy Kenney is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Forestry and a Registered Professional Forester (RPF) with the Ontario Professional Foresters Association (OPFA). He has been engaged in diverse aspects of urban forest research, practice and application. Andy has been active in the development of Tree Canada's Canadian Urban Forest Strategy and Network and is a member of the CUFN National Steering Committee. Andy is a co-developer of Neighbourwoods and a co-author of the VSP.

Research Associates & Collaborators

Post-Doctoral Fellows

Dr. Yikalo Araya (2015 - 2018) was a postdoctoral researcher at the Faculty of Forestry, University of Torontofrom 2015 to 2018. As a Post-Doctoral Fellow he worked on quantifying and analyzing vegetation change for the Niagara Escarpment region and modeling forest biomass and forest carbon stock across an urban-rural landscape using field plots, spatial information, and remotely sensed images. He received his PhD from the Department of Geography at York University in June 2015. His PhD research focused on characterizing the spatial patterns and spatially explicit probabilities of post-fire vegetation patches in the boreal wildfires of northern Ontario. His work included the development of predictive model that identifies the likely occurrence of residual patches within a burned landscape.

Dr. Adam Martin (2013 - 2014) was involved in research related to natural cover monitoring for the Lake Simcoe Watershed Natural Vegetation Cover Monitoring project in 2013 - 2014. Adam Martin is currently an assistant professor of Environmental Science and an ecologist in the Centre for Critical Development Studies and the Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences at University of Toronto Scarborough Campus.

Research Stream Graduate Students

Ongoing
	María Manuela Toledo-Garibaldi, Ph.D. Candidate Thesis co-supervisors: Dr. Danijela Puric-Mladenovic and Dr. Sandy Smith Maria's Ph.D. research focuses on urban biotope analysis and planning of green systems in Mexico City. The research has two main objectives: 1) Define, model, and map the different urban biotopes present in Mexico City by combining spatial and field data on vegetation structure, tree composition, diversity, biotope extent and spatial distribution, and 2) Demonstrate how urban biotopes can be incorporated into conservation, management, or green infrastructure planning. The results of this research aim to help determine how and where urban forests can be enhanced to improve the environmental quality of the city and the quality of life of city dwellers.
	Shannon MacDonald, MScF Student Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Danijela Puric-Mladenovic Over the next year Shannon will be using VSP plot data that she helped collect from the City of Kitchener’s forested natural areas to calculate urban forest biomass.  She will look at four different sets of allometric formulas used to derive biomass estimates and to determine which set of formula’s provide the most accurate results when used to interpolate biomass across all of the forested natural areas. The interpolation surface will be derived using a co-kriging model which will also use a LiDAR point cloud in combination with the plot based biomass data to help predict biomass for areas where no field data is available.  Accurate urban biomass calculations are an important factor when trying to understand the role urban forests play in the process of capturing and storing carbon. Personal web page.
	Ian Blainey, MES Student Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Stephen Murphy Ian Blainey is a Master of Environmental Studies student at the University of Waterloo. He used VSP in an effort to inventory the property where the Cheltenham Badlands are located in Caledon, ON. Ian's research focuses on understanding the successional trajectory of the vegetation communities on and surrounding the badlands features. The vegetation inventory data collected will aid in creating recommendations for management of invasive species on the property. Restoration recommendations will focus on preserving the intriguing badlands landscape for both ecological and recreational benefit for decades to come.
	Katherine Baird, MScF Student (2017 - 2020) Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Danijela Puric-Mladenovic Katherine finished her Master of Science in Forestry (MScF) student at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Forestry. Her research involved investigating the properties and performance of Floristic Quality Assessment (FQA) for natural areas management in Lake Simcoe watershed. Katherine’s research specifically investigated: (1) performance of FQA metrics against disturbance gradient; (2) differences in FQA among different vegetation communities; and (3) sensitivity of FQA metrics to variation in species detection level. Her analysis was based on vegetation inventory data collected June-August 2017 from 422 plots sampled in natural areas using VSP (Puric-Mladenovic & Kenney 2015). Katherine’s research has contributed valuable knowledge to natural areas management in Lake Simcoe watershed to help answer questions such as how best to measure ecosystem health and conservation value using FQA.

Professional Master of Forest Conservation Students - Learn More

2020
Madison Postma	Assessing the Introduction and Age of the Acer platanoides (Norway maple) invasion within Wilket Creek ravine in Toronto, Ontario.
Amal Siddiqui	Assessing the connectivity of natural systems in the Golden Horseshoe: an application of the effective mesh size.
Krishna Selvakumar	Species Encroach as Shaped by Changes in Land Use Over Time within UTSC’s Forested Property.
Adam Tweedle	Framework for Seed Stand Implementation within the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus Woodlot
Rajeshwari Sriram	Planting Priority for Forest Restoration in the Ottawa Area (Co-supervised with Dr. W.A. Kenney)
2019
Samuel Asirifi	Exploring the diversity and healt of urban street tress: The case of the city of Brampton
Madaleine Sansom	Climate change vulnerability assessment of forest plants in the Credit River watershed: an application of NatureServe's CCVI tool
Jacqueline De Santis	Impact of residential intensification on urban forest in the Long Branch neighbourhood, Toronto Capstone Video Presentation
Mamta Goyal	Delineating seed source species and seed stands based on monitoring data
Graham Ricketts-Moncur	Indicators of natural cover quality: Management applications in the City of Toronto
Matthew Shakespeare	The current state of natural succession of Pine plantations at Huron natural areas
Janice Ka Ching Lam	Options for monitoring urban naturalization success
Rakika Rimsa	How do fenced vs unfenced woodlands in Mississauga differ
Madeline Baroli	The Assisted Tree Range Expansion Project (ATREP): A Citizen Science Initiative Designed for Private and Community Forest Landowners in Northwest Lower Michigan
2018
Xiaoyu Huang	Single tree urban inventory updates
Amber-Lynne Lammers	Monitoring forest patch condition in Hamilton’s natural areas
Luis Reynoso	Evidence based management of Common Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica L.) in urban woodlots
Thuyen Hoang	Red oak regeneration in Mississauga's woodlands
Kathleen Pita	Balancing the needs of recreation and conservation: an evaluation of the state of invasive plant species at an Ontario summer camp property
Jenna O'Brien	Impacts of Urban Forest Structure on Bat Populations in Kitchener, Ontario
Mohammed Master	Managing a 400 Hectare Private Forest for old-growth characteristics
Qianli Yu	Tree inventory application in urban forest management
2017
Brodey, Laura	Rare Vascular Plants in the Lake Simcoe Watershed: Planning, Prediction and Protection
Chu, Tiffany	Quantifying the Impact of Emerald Ash Borer and Ash Loss within the Lake Simcoe Watershed
Das, Joy	Plant Diversity in Pine Plantations in the Lake Simcoe Watershed.
Hong, Ying	The Habitat Preference of The Invasive Common Buckthorn in West Holland Sub-watershed, Ontario
Sathiyasiri, Artheez	Beech Bark Disease in Ontario: Implications to Forest Structure and Composition.
Prevost, Glen	Victoria Park Woodlot Management Plan, Cambridge, ON
Rowcliffe, Megan	Using Coefficients of Conservatism to prioritize patches for natural area management in Kitchener, Ontario
Yung, Yuki	State of Urban Forest Policy and By-laws across Ontario Municipalities
2016
Barakat, Rebecca	A Comparison of Aboveground Biomass Estimates from Different Allometric Formulas using Vegetation Sampling Protocol in Rouge National Urban Park
Chavez, Elpidio	Inventory of Available Spaces for Planting New Trees in the St. George Campus of the University of Toronto
Scott, Joe	Silviculture for conservation of urban woodlots in the City of Kitchener
Martin, Pamela	Management applications of vegetation composition, as a monitoring indicator, in the Lake Simcoe Watershed.
Yang, Yuqi	Future of Ash genus (Fraxinus spp.) in Prospect Cemetery--A Management Plan
Young, Megan	Tree Condition and Composition as a Function of Residential Density in Cobourg, Ontario
2015
Thurston, Emma	Urban Natural Areas: Managing for people and the environment. A Case study from Kitchener, Ontario.
Dschankilic, Christen	Natural Heritage System planning: Is there more to learn?
Pang, Steven	Projected Shade Cover of Trees Planted in Toronto
Ramkumar, Tania	Quantifying the presence and intensity of Rhamnus cathartica (common buckthorn) throughout various woodlots in Kitchener
Harding, Matt	Schoolyard Tree Stewardship
Chevalier, Daniel	Managing cemeteries as multifunctional urban green spaces through tree inventory
Perry, Suzanne	An Evaluation of Coarse Woody Debris in Rouge National Urban Park
Bowley, Emma	Natural Forest Regeneration in Rouge National Urban Park (RNUP): What the Future May Hold
2014
Poulat, Ricardo	Carbon offset markets towards conservation of peri-urban forests in southern Ontario
2013
Borges, Noah	Spatial analysis of invasive plant species in the Niagara Escarpment plan area.
2012
Parkes, Steven	Vegetation Criteria and Indicators to Assess Forests within the Niagara Escarpment Plan.
Parzei, Stephanie	Rouge National Urban Park: Conservation Plan Strategy
Stanger, Nathaniel	Vegetation Gap Analysis for the Region of Peel.
Brouwer, Giana	Preserving and Celebrating Heritage Trees in Cobourg
2011
Spyron, Suzanne	Projecting tree dimensions and age from tree diameter of Maple trees in the Town of Oakville
Ali, Farhad	Measures of Tree Species Diversity in the Urban Forest
Tremblay, Amanda	Woodlot Management Response Plan for the City of Ottawa Using Ecological and Social Risk Assessments for Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis)
Day, Aaron	Assessing forest inventory and monitoring information to support forest management and conservation planning in the lake Simcoe watershed
2010
Kalkowski, Izabela	An assessment of current forest-cover mapping practices in Southern Ontario: a case study in the Regional Municipality of York.
Lewandowski, Marcin	Landscape Scale Assessment of the Oak Ridges Moraine Foundation Funded Ecological Restoration Projects between 2003 and 2009. Call for Better Data Reporting.
2009
Aslam, Shahwar	The Application of Pre-Settlement Vegetation Mapping in the Conservation of Southern Ontario’s Landscapes: The Perspective of Practitioners and End-users.
2008
MacIntosh, Alexander	An Assessment of Vegetation Mapping to Support Species at Risk (SAR) Recovery Planning in Southern Ontario.

Research Assistants

Joseph Renton (Seot. 2019- March 2020) assisted with the project quantifying volunteering restoration activities, and assessing the effectiveness of restoration monitoring within the City of Toronto.

Rebecca Maria Barakat (2016 - Sep. 2019) was a member of the VSP inventory and monitoring teams for Rouge National Urban Park (2016), Lake Simcoe Watershed Natural Vegetation Cover Monitoring project (2017) and the City of Kitchener (2018). She worked on a collaborative project with the OMNRF and the University of Toronto as a Settled Landscapes Research Analyst where she contributed to the creation of an urban forest municipal database for Ontario and a literature review on urban carbon inventory research. She is currently working as an Urban and Peri-urban Forest research assistant under Dr. Danijela’s supervision.

Shannon MacDonald (2017 - 2019) is a GIS research assistant and is involved in the aspects of database management, spatial analysis, map design, report writing and editing.  Shannon assisted with and co-authored two scientific reports: 1) Integrative multipurpose sampling design to support natural cover monitoring in the Rouge National Urban Park which discusses the change over time analysis used to identify vegetation strata of conservation value to guide sampling design; and 2) National Urban Forest Trends: Study of Urban Forest Carbon Stocks and Management by municipalities which discusses methods to improve the Federal estimations of urban forest carbon stock by incorporating land use stratification into the calculations.
  
Katherine Baird (2016 - 2017) was a member of the VSP Lake Simcoe Watershed Natural Vegetation Cover Monitoring project conducting vegetation inventories and providing GIS support. As a GIS research assistant (2016) she coordinated database management, analysis, GIS mapping and report writing. The objective of the Natural areas monitoring in the City of Guelph report produced through her work, was to inform Guelph's Urban Forest Management Plan and Emerald Ash Borer Plans. Katherine also contributed to the mapping of the historical vegetation report for Rouge National Urban Park (RNUP) (2017) with the objective of facilitating management and monitoring efforts.

Yuki Yung (2017 - 2018) was a member of the VSP inventory and monitoring teams in Rouge National Urban Park (2016) and the City of Kitchener (2018). Under the guidance of Dr. Danijela Puric-Mladenovic and Dr. Adrina Bardekjian, and with support from Mitacs Accelerate and Tree Canada, Yuki contributed to Canada’s Urban Forestry Footprint: Mapping the extent and intensity of urban forestry activities by capturing quantitative and qualitative information related to urban forestry across municipalities. The primary goal of this research project was to evaluate the extent of urban forestry activities and their spatial distribution across Canada’s municipalities, and represent the findings as an interactive map.

Catherine Wisniowski (2015-2017) was a member of the VSP Lake Simcoe Watershed Natural Vegetation Cover Monitoring project conducting vegetation field inventory and monitoring. As a research assistant, she helped with other project aspects such as database management, land owner contact, project management, report writing and editing. Visit Catherine's Online Portfolio and LinkedIn.

Tania Ramkumar (2014-2017) was a member of the VSP inventory and monitoring teams for the City of Kitchener (2015, 2016) and the Lake Simcoe Watershed Natural Vegetation Cover Monitoring project (2017). Tania also assisted with editing the VSP manual and website, data verification and landowner contact.

Aleks Biroac (2015) contributed to a literature review pertaining to forest conservation research initiatives in settled and urban landscapes. Aleks also assisted with drafting the Neighbourwoods inventory and monitoring protocol.

Olivia Sorka (2014-2015) assisted with project coordination and planning for the Lake Simcoe Watershed Natural Vegetation Cover Monitoring project. Olivia also assisted with drafting the VSP manual and VSP field forms.

Annie McKenzie (2014) assisted with land owner contact and other project activities for the Lake Simcoe Watershed Natural Vegetation Cover Monitoring project.

Suzanne Spyron (2013-2014) contributed to a literature review pertaining to forest conservation research initiatives in settled and urban landscapes. Susan also contributed to the Successful approaches for landowner contact and partnership: Natural cover monitoring for the Lake Simcoe watershed (2017) report for the OMNRF.

Izabela Kalkowski (2011) contributed to a literature review pertaining to forest conservation research initiatives in settled and urban landscapes.