Who we are

The Future Forest Ecosystems Centre is a brand new research-oriented team at the Forest Carbon and Climate Services Branch of the Office of the Chief Forester (BC Ministry of Forests).

Started in 2022, the FFEC has put together a team of researchers to answer complex questions about the stability and resilience for British Columbia’s forests to the effects of ongoing climate change, drought, pests and fire.

To answer these complex questions, we use a using a variety of approaches from advanced statistical modelling to downscale climate projections and complex ecological landscape simulation modelling, to collecting and analysing dendrochronological data to investigate tree and stand responses to climate warming and drought.

Team profiles

Dr Aseem Sharma, Research Climatologist

Aseem is a Research Climatologist at FFEC bringing his expertise as a hydro-climatologist to the team. He is interested in understanding how climate variability and atmospheric dynamics influence surface hydro-climatology, extreme climate events, and wildfires. Currently, his research work is focused on improving our understanding of how extreme weathers events occur and impact our forest, ecosystems, and communities. Previously he worked in research projects that investigated the role of atmospheric blocking on wildfires, lightning occurrences and wildfires, Atmospheric Rivers and their impacts on water resources, climate change and their impacts, especially on the mountainous region of Himalayas and the Canadian Rockies, and climate change risk assessments.

Dr Ceres Barros, Research Scientist (CFS)

Ceres has a strong passion for understanding and predicting ecosystem resilience to multiple disturbances. She has experience using complex ecological simulation models to explore fundamental and applied questions related to ecosystem stability to climate change, drought, fire, land-use changes and permafrost thaw. Her research is also strongly focused on the development of integrated, reusable and transparent modelling workflows that can be used not only for research purposes, but also to support and inform end-users within and beyond government.

Dr Colin Mahony RPF, Research Climatologist, Team Lead

Colin has a 25 year career in forestry and climate change adaptation. He started as a consultant in the areas of basic silviculture, timber supply analysis, restoration of forests disturbed by mountain pine beetle, wildfire hazard reduction around communities, and ecosystem mapping. Motivated by climate change impacts he witnessed in the field, Colin left consulting in 2013 to pursue a PhD in ecological climatology with Prof. Sally Aitken at UBC Forestry, focusing on the emergence of novel climate types in BC. He joined the BC Government in 2020 as Research Climatologist in the Office of the Chief Forester. As Team Lead, Colin coordinates the operations and strategic direction of the FFEC, and contributes to the development of decision support tools. Colin lives in Victoria with his wife and two kids.

Dr Courtney Collins, Climate Change Research Ecologist

Courtney is a plant community ecologist and biogeographer, with a motivation for understanding the myriad drivers of species range dynamics and their responses to global change. She has expertise in alpine tundra ecosystems and is excited to be transitioning to a focus on the beautiful forest ecosystems of British Columbia. Much of her research focuses on the combination of biotic and abiotic drivers that shape species responses to the environment, including competitive dynamics, plant-soil interactions, and plant phenology and functional traits. Courtney has a passion for data science and ecological modeling and loves employing a diverse set of statical modeling frameworks to address challenging ecological questions.

Destany Crane, Data Architect

Kiri Daust, Data Scientist

Vanessa Comeau MSc, Research Ecologist

Vanessa Comeau uses forest ecology and dendrochronology to better understand the impacts of anthropogenic climate change on forests in British Columbia. She is particularly interested in applied research that is collaborative with local stakeholders and Indigenous Peoples. Vanessa earned an MSc from the Faculty of Forestry at the University of British Columbia focused on understanding the climatic drivers of yellow-cedar decline on Haida Gwaii.

Dr Vivek Srivastava, Data Scientist

Vivek is a PhD graduate from the University of British Columbia and is currently working with the BC Ministry of Forests as a Forest Health Research Climatologist. He is also an Honorary Research Associate at the University of British Columbia. He holds a bachelor’s degree in forestry, a master’s degree in remote sensing and GIS and a Ph.D. in Forest Ecology and Integrated Pest Management with specialization in forest health, ecological modelling, data analysis, GIS and applied machine learning.

Xin Yuan MSc RPF, Manager

Xin Yuan is a manager in British Columbia Ministry of Forests. Since 2023, Xin has led the work of forest carbon and climate in the branch. Prior to that, Xin provided policy analysis on the province’s Forest and Range Practices Act amendment. Xin joined the ministry in 2013 and since then she has held roles within the provincial government in forest operations, provincial forest legislation, and stakeholder engagement. Xin is a registered professional forester and holds a Masters of Science in Forestry from the University of New Brunswick. Xin began studying forestry because of her interest and passion for trees. She enjoys learning climate change through her work and collaborating with her amazing team!