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Product and Production Innovations for Using Alberta’s Surplus Poplar to Enhance Carbon Sequestration
Testing Novel Wood Flaker for the First Time in North America This project was funded through ERA’s Food, Farming and Forestry call and tested a novel method of making wood flakes using a unique combination of equipment. While the project was ultimately terminated, this equipment combination is the first attempted use in North America and
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Biochar Production for Commercial Use and Research/Development in Alberta
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Demonstrating Reversing Soil Carbon Losses in Disturbed Coal Mine Land Using Municipal Biosolids and Woody Biomass Crop Establishment
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FF Commercial Pilots, AI-Enabled Site Selection, Demonstrations of Land (Disc-Trencher) and Air (Drone) Deployment Systems and BIological Technology in Alberta’s Boreal Forests (2025 – 2027)
Flash Forest aims to advance its drone-based tree planting technology by integrating AI-driven site selection software, incorporating land-based planting techniques, and diversifying tree species to enhance carbon sequestration. Informed by extensive collaboration with forestry experts and data analysis, Flash Forest has identified site and species selection as critical components of successful reforestation practices. To optimize
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Linear Restoration Equipment Modernization and Deployment
Project Overview Approved for funding through ERA’s Food, Farming, and Forestry Challenge in 2021, Cenovus explored innovative equipment and technologies to improve restoration efficiency and effectiveness. By completion in 2023, the project produced a stand-out technology, the amphibious Bracke, which enhanced operational efficiency while maintaining ecological efficacy; however, further testing and implementation at an operational
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Flash Forest Commercial Pilots and Demonstrations of Rapid Drone Reforestation Technology for 2021 to 2023
Project Overview Approved for funding through ERA’s Food, Farming, and Forestry Challenge in 2021, Flash Forest developed and field-tested a scalable tree planting technology solution in Alberta. By completion in 2024, the project advanced technologies for RPAS hardware, aerial mapping software, automation, and biological seed pod technology that aims to reforest areas rapidly. Innovative Processes
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Incorporating Wetland Carbon Values into Spatially Explicit Tools to Inform Land Use Decisions
Protecting Wetlands with Data-Driven Strategies Freshwater wetlands sequester and store substantial amounts of organic carbon, but once a wetland is drained, it loses carbon rapidly. If the wetland is restored, it can capture greenhouse gases (GHG) again, but it can take significant time before carbon stores are completely recharged. Given this, tools need to be
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Identification of regionally appropriate grazing systems for the reduction of greenhouse gasses in Alberta, now and in the future
Investigating the Link Between Drought, Cattle Management and Soil Carbon This project studied the role of different cattle grazing systems in maximizing carbon storage and minimizing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions throughout Alberta’s grasslands. Funded through the Biological GHG Management Program in 2015, the project aimed to better understand how grazing affects carbon storage in grasslands
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Artificial photosynthesis for managing industrially produced CO2 emissions
Using Captured CO2 for Artificial Photosynthesis Funded through the Biological Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Management program in 2014, this project developed a non-living system that mimics photosynthesis to convert industrial carbon emissions into valuable chemicals. The project aimed to demonstrate a scalable, modular technology for carbon capture and utilization. This technology uses captured industrial CO2, light,
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Tree Species Adaptation Risk Management
ERA provided $3 million to the Tree Species Adaptation Risk Management Project. The climate change adaptation project replicated climate variations through strategic plantings at test sites of species from other regions of the province (for example, planting northern species in southern Alberta). This knowledge is crucial to the province’s forest industry as well as the
