Nicole Fenton - Staff Member Profile

Nicole Fenton, Ph. D.

Professeure titulaire

Institut de recherche sur les forêts (IRF)

Titulaire

Chaire institutionnelle sur la biodiversité nordique en contexte minier

Campus de Rouyn-Noranda

Room :: F-219
Phone :: 819 762-0971 ext 2312
Toll-free :: +1 877 870-8728 ext 2312

Email :: nicole.fenton@uqat.ca

Education

Postdoctorat UQAM-UQAT 2006-2009
Doctorat UQAT Ph. D. 2006
M. Sc. Biologie, Université du Nouveau-Brunswick, Saint-John, 2001
B. Sc. Biologie, Université de Winnipeg, 1998

Areas of expertise

Biodiversité végétale
Bryophytes
Dynamique de la pessière à mousses

Publications

Source: ORCID(opens in a new tab)

2026

BRYOPHYTE FUNCTIONAL TRAITS REGULATE ROOT AND SOIL MICROBIAL RESPONSES TO SNOW DECLINE IN BOREAL FORESTS
Preprint
DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.6666840(opens in a new tab)
Drivers of soil invertebrate communities in a mining region as assessed by COI metabarcoding
Preprint
DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.6876144(opens in a new tab)

2025

When Climate Changes, How Do Valuable Tree Species Distribution Change in the Sudanian Domain of Senegal?
Preprint
DOI: 10.20944/preprints202512.1477.v1(opens in a new tab)
Spatiotemporal assessment of lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) contamination in urban tree rings near an industrial smelter: high intraspecific variability but limited spatial differentiation
Journal article
Atmospheric Pollution Research
DOI: 10.1016/j.apr.2025.102582(opens in a new tab)
A Meta‐Regression of 18 Wildfire Chronosequences Reveals Key Environmental Drivers and Knowledge Gaps in the Boreal Nitrogen Balance
Journal article
Global Change Biology
DOI: 10.1111/gcb.70398(opens in a new tab)

2024

Functional responses of understory plants to natural disturbance‐based management in eastern and western Canada
Journal article
Ecological Applications
DOI: 10.1002/eap.3011(opens in a new tab)
How will climate change and forest harvesting influence the habitat quality of two culturally salient species?
Journal article
Science of The Total Environment
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172148(opens in a new tab)
Using Camera Traps to estimate Habitat Preferences and Occupancy Patterns of Vertebrates in Boreal Wetlands
Journal article
Wetlands
DOI: 10.1007/s13157-024-01773-z(opens in a new tab)
Planting density and mechanical site preparation effects on understory composition, functional diversity and planted black spruce growth in boreal forests
Journal article
Silva Fennica
DOI: 10.14214/sf.23029(opens in a new tab)

2023

How does understory vegetation diversity and composition differ between monocultures and mixed plantations of hybrid poplar and spruce?
Journal article
Forest Ecology and Management
DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2023.121434(opens in a new tab)
Factors Driving Changes in Plant Understory Communities Between Coniferous and Broadleaf Deciduous Boreal Forests
Journal article
The Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America
DOI: 10.1002/bes2.2103(opens in a new tab)
Drivers of contrasting boreal understory vegetation in coniferous and broadleaf deciduous alternative states
Journal article
Ecological Monographs
DOI: 10.1002/ecm.1587(opens in a new tab)
Nine-years effect of harvesting and mechanical site preparation on bryophyte decomposition and carbon stocks in a boreal forested peatland
Journal article
Forest Ecology and Management
DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2023.121020(opens in a new tab)
Soil and tree phyllosphere microbial communities differ between coniferous and broadleaf deciduous boreal forests
Journal article
Plant and Soil
DOI: 10.1007/s11104-023-05959-y(opens in a new tab)

2022

Dominance of coniferous and broadleaved trees drives bacterial associations with boreal feather mosses
Journal article
Environmental Microbiology
DOI: 10.1111/1462-2920.16013(opens in a new tab)
Above‐ and belowground drivers of intraspecific trait variability across subcontinental gradients for five ubiquitous forest plants in North America
Journal article
Journal of Ecology
DOI: 10.1111/1365-2745.13894(opens in a new tab)
Irregular forest structures originating after fire: An opportunity to promote alternatives to even‐aged management in boreal forests
Journal article
Journal of Applied Ecology
DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.14186(opens in a new tab)
Dominance of coniferous and broadleaved trees drives bacterial associations with boreal feather mosses
Preprint
DOI: 10.1101/2022.01.07.475413(opens in a new tab)
Bryophyte Community Responses 20 Years after Forest Management in Boreal Mixedwood Forest
Preprint
DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.4292682(opens in a new tab)
Responses of Tree Species Richness, Diversity, Composition, Structure and Carbon Stocks to Forest Management in the Sudanian Domain of West Africa
Preprint
DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.4295351(opens in a new tab)

2021

Sphagnum and feather moss-associated N2 fixation along a 724-year chronosequence in eastern boreal Canada
Journal article
Plant Ecology
DOI: 10.1007/s11258-021-01157-x(opens in a new tab)
Factors explaining the composition and diversity of vascular plant understories along a transcontinental gradient in the Canadian boreal forest
Journal article
Journal of Vegetation Science
DOI: 10.1111/jvs.13058(opens in a new tab)
Partial Harvest in Paludified Black Spruce Stand: Short-Term Effects on Water Table and Variation in Stem Diameter
Journal article
Forests
DOI: 10.3390/f12030271(opens in a new tab)

2020

Examining boreal forest resilience to temperature variability using bryophytes: forest type matters
Journal article
Ecosphere
DOI: 10.1002/ecs2.3232(opens in a new tab)

2018

The colonization of young fire initiated stands by the crustose lichen Trapeliopsis granulosa and its potential effect on conifer establishment and stand succession
Journal article
Silva Fennica
DOI: 10.14214/sf.7791(opens in a new tab)

2017

Are post-fire residual forest patches refugia for boreal bryophyte species? Implications for ecosystem based management and conservation
Journal article
Biodiversity and Conservation
DOI: 10.1007/s10531-016-1281-9(opens in a new tab)
Boreal bryophyte response to natural fire edge creation
Journal article
Journal of Vegetation Science
DOI: 10.1111/jvs.12552(opens in a new tab)
Ground-layer composition affects tree fine root biomass and soil nutrient availability in jack pine and black spruce forests under extreme drainage conditions
Journal article
Canadian Journal of Forest Research
DOI: 10.1139/cjfr-2016-0352(opens in a new tab)
Ground-layer composition may limit the positive impact of precommercial thinning on boreal stand productivity
Journal article
Forest Science
DOI: 10.5849/FS-2017-062R2(opens in a new tab)
Interannual variation in bryophyte dispersal: Linking bryophyte phenophases and weather conditions
Journal article
Botany
DOI: 10.1139/cjb-2017-0054(opens in a new tab)
On the diversity and richness of understory bryophytes at Nectandra Cloud Forest Reserve, Costa Rica
Journal article
Biodiversity Data Journal
DOI: 10.3897/BDJ.5.e11778(opens in a new tab)

2016

Applied ecology in Canada’s Boreal: A holistic view of the mitigation hierarchy and resilience theory
Journal article
Botany
DOI: 10.1139/cjb-2016-0123(opens in a new tab)
Bryophyte species assemblages in fire and clear-cut origin boreal forests
Journal article
Forest Ecology and Management
DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2015.09.031(opens in a new tab)
Can retention harvest maintain natural structural complexity? A comparison of post-harvest and post-fire residual patches in boreal forest
Journal article
Forests
DOI: 10.3390/f7100243(opens in a new tab)
Climate, soil organic layer, and nitrogen jointly drive forest development after fire in the North American boreal zone
Journal article
Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems
DOI: 10.1002/2015MS000576(opens in a new tab)
Deadwood abundance in post-harvest and post-fire residual patches: An evaluation of patch temporal dynamics in black spruce boreal forest
Journal article
Forest Ecology and Management
DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2016.03.012(opens in a new tab)
Dispersal of bryophytes and ferns is facilitated by small mammals in the boreal forest
Journal article
Ecoscience
DOI: 10.1080/11956860.2016.1235917(opens in a new tab)
Introduction to “bryophytes and graminoids: Key roles in restoring boreal wetlands and forests”
Journal article
Botany
DOI: 10.1139/cjb-2016-0178(opens in a new tab)
Prescribed burning after clearcut limits paludification in black spruce boreal forest
Journal article
Forest Ecology and Management
DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2015.09.037(opens in a new tab)
Prescribed burning of harvested boreal black spruce forests in eastern Canada: Effect on understory vegetation
Journal article
Canadian Journal of Forest Research
DOI: 10.1139/cjfr-2015-0439(opens in a new tab)
Short-term response of Cladonia lichen communities to logging and fire in boreal forests
Journal article
Forest Ecology and Management
DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2016.04.007(opens in a new tab)
Silviculture to sustain productivity in black spruce paludified forests
Journal article
Forest Ecology and Management
DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2016.05.037(opens in a new tab)
So close and yet so far away: long-distance dispersal events govern bryophyte metacommunity reassembly
Journal article
Journal of Ecology
DOI: 10.1111/1365-2745.12637(opens in a new tab)

2015

Bryophytes in forest ecosystems
Book
Routledge Handbook of Forest Ecology
DOI: 10.4324/9781315818290(opens in a new tab)
Buried Wood: A Common Yet Poorly Documented Form of Deadwood
Journal article
Ecosystems
DOI: 10.1007/s10021-015-9850-4(opens in a new tab)
Can we use forest inventory mapping as a coarse filter in ecosystem based management in the black spruce boreal forest?
Journal article
Forests
DOI: 10.3390/f6041195(opens in a new tab)
Distinguishing and mapping permanent and reversible paludified landscapes in Canadian black spruce forests
Journal article
Geoderma
DOI: 10.1016/j.geoderma.2014.08.011(opens in a new tab)
Mechanical site preparation: Key to microsite creation success on Clay Belt paludified sites
Journal article
Forestry Chronicle
DOI: 10.5558/tfc2015-030(opens in a new tab)

2014

Composition and Dynamics of the Understory Vegetation in the Boreal Forests of Quebec
Book
The Herbaceous Layer in Forests of Eastern North America
DOI: 10.1093/acprof:osobl/9780199837656.003.0012(opens in a new tab)
Effects of topography and thickness of organic layer on productivity of black spruce boreal forests of the canadian clay belt region
Journal article
Forest Ecology and Management
DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2014.07.013(opens in a new tab)
Landscape-scale influence of topography on organic layer accumulation in paludified boreal forests
Journal article
Forest Science
DOI: 10.5849/forsci.13-025(opens in a new tab)
The role of mineral soil topography on the spatial distribution of organic layer thickness in a paludified boreal landscape
Journal article
Geoderma
DOI: 10.1016/j.geoderma.2014.01.003(opens in a new tab)

2013

Lessons learned from 12 years o
Journal article
Forestry Chronicle
DOI: 10.5558/tfc2013-065(opens in a new tab)
Managing understory vegetation for maintaining productivity in black spruce forests: A synthesis within a multi-scale research model
Journal article
Forests
DOI: 10.3390/f4030613(opens in a new tab)
Stochastic processes dominate during boreal bryophyte community assembly
Journal article
Ecology
DOI: 10.1890/12-1944.1(opens in a new tab)

2012

Boreal forests of eastern Canada revisited: Old growth, nonfire disturbances, forest succession, and biodiversity
Journal article
Botany
DOI: 10.1139/B2012-034(opens in a new tab)
Effects of variable canopy retention harvest on epixylic bryophytes in boreal black spruce - feathermoss forests
Journal article
Canadian Journal of Forest Research
DOI: 10.1139/X2012-054(opens in a new tab)

2011

Dynamic old-growth forests? A case study of boreal black spruce forest bryophytes
Journal article
Silva Fennica
See publication(opens in a new tab)
Growth and nutrition of black spruce seedlings in response to disruption of Pleurozium and Sphagnum moss carpets in boreal forested peatlands
Journal article
Plant and Soil
DOI: 10.1007/s11104-011-0767-1(opens in a new tab)
Growth of planted black spruce seedlings following mechanical site preparation in boreal forested peatlands with variable organic layer thickness: 5-Year results
Journal article
Annals of Forest Science
DOI: 10.1007/s13595-011-0136-5(opens in a new tab)
Partial harvests in the boreal forest: Response of the understory vegetation five years after harvest
Journal article
Forestry Chronicle
DOI: 10.5558/tfc87086-1(opens in a new tab)

2010

Contrasting effects of season and method of harvest on soil properties and the growth of black spruce regeneration in the boreal forested Peatlands of Eastern Canada
Journal article
Silva Fennica
See publication(opens in a new tab)
Decomposition rates of bryophytes in managed boreal forests: Influence of bryophyte species and forest harvesting
Journal article
Plant and Soil
DOI: 10.1007/s11104-010-0506-z(opens in a new tab)
Do harvest methods and soil type impact the regeneration and growth of black spruce stands in northwestern Quebec?
Journal article
Canadian Journal of Forest Research
DOI: 10.1139/X10-128(opens in a new tab)

2009

Emulating natural disturbances: The role of silviculture in creating even-aged and complex structures in the black spruce boreal Forest of eastern North America
Journal article
Journal of Forest Research
DOI: 10.1007/s10310-009-0134-8(opens in a new tab)

2008

Does time or habitat make old-growth forests species rich? Bryophyte richness in boreal Picea mariana forests
Journal article
Biological Conservation
DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2008.03.019(opens in a new tab)

2007

Sphagnum community change after partial harvest in black spruce boreal forests
Journal article
Forest Ecology and Management
DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2007.01.028(opens in a new tab)
Sphagnum establishment and expansion in black spruce (Picea mariana) boreal forests
Journal article
Canadian Journal of Botany
DOI: 10.1139/B06-148(opens in a new tab)

2006

Facilitative succession in a boreal bryophyte community driven by changes in available moisture and light
Journal article
Journal of Vegetation Science
DOI: 10.1658/1100-9233(2006)017[0065:FSIABB]2.0.CO;2(opens in a new tab)
Fire severity and long-term ecosystem biomass dynamics in coniferous boreal forests of eastern Canada
Journal article
Ecosystems
DOI: 10.1007/s10021-004-0168-x(opens in a new tab)
Soil oxygen within boreal forests across an age gradient
Journal article
Canadian Journal of Soil Science
DOI: 10.4141/S05-004(opens in a new tab)
Sphagnum spore availability in boreal forests
Journal article
Bryologist
DOI: 10.1639/0007-2745(2006)109[173:SSAIBF]2.0.CO;2(opens in a new tab)
Structure of Pinus nigra Arn. populations in Bulgaria revealed by chloroplast microsatellites and terpenes analysis: Provenance tests
Journal article
Biochemical Systematics and Ecology
DOI: 10.1016/j.bse.2006.01.011(opens in a new tab)

2005

Bryophyte (moss and liverwort) conservation under remnant canopy in managed forests
Journal article
Biological Conservation
DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2004.09.003(opens in a new tab)
Chloroplast microsatellite differentiation in jack pine (Pinus banksiana) populations in Quebec
Journal article
Belgian Journal of Botany
See publication(opens in a new tab)
Dissimilar patterns of Pinus heldreichii Christ. populations in Bulgaria revealed by chloroplast microsatellites and terpenes analysis
Journal article
Biochemical Systematics and Ecology
DOI: 10.1016/j.bse.2004.06.017(opens in a new tab)
Paludification and management of forested peatlands in Canada: A literature review
Journal article
Environmental Reviews
DOI: 10.1139/a05-006(opens in a new tab)
Paludification in black spruce (Picea mariana) forests of eastern Canada: Potential factors and management implications
Journal article
Forest Ecology and Management
DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2005.03.017(opens in a new tab)
Structure of Pinus sylvestris L. populations in Bulgaria revealed by chloroplast microsatellites and terpenes analysis: Provenance tests
Journal article
Biochemical Systematics and Ecology
DOI: 10.1016/j.bse.2005.07.011(opens in a new tab)

2003

Changes in forest floor bryophyte (moss and liverwort) communities 4 years after forest harvest
Journal article
Canadian Journal of Botany
DOI: 10.1139/b03-063(opens in a new tab)

Positions

Professeure titulaire

Titulaire

Workplace

Locations

Education

Areas of expertise

Publications

BRYOPHYTE FUNCTIONAL TRAITS REGULATE ROOT AND SOIL MICROBIAL RESPONSES TO SNOW DECLINE IN BOREAL FORESTS

Drivers of soil invertebrate communities in a mining region as assessed by COI metabarcoding

When Climate Changes, How Do Valuable Tree Species Distribution Change in the Sudanian Domain of Senegal?

Spatiotemporal assessment of lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) contamination in urban tree rings near an industrial smelter: high intraspecific variability but limited spatial differentiation

A Meta‐Regression of 18 Wildfire Chronosequences Reveals Key Environmental Drivers and Knowledge Gaps in the Boreal Nitrogen Balance

Functional responses of understory plants to natural disturbance‐based management in eastern and western Canada

How will climate change and forest harvesting influence the habitat quality of two culturally salient species?

Using Camera Traps to estimate Habitat Preferences and Occupancy Patterns of Vertebrates in Boreal Wetlands

Planting density and mechanical site preparation effects on understory composition, functional diversity and planted black spruce growth in boreal forests

How does understory vegetation diversity and composition differ between monocultures and mixed plantations of hybrid poplar and spruce?

Factors Driving Changes in Plant Understory Communities Between Coniferous and Broadleaf Deciduous Boreal Forests

Drivers of contrasting boreal understory vegetation in coniferous and broadleaf deciduous alternative states

Nine-years effect of harvesting and mechanical site preparation on bryophyte decomposition and carbon stocks in a boreal forested peatland

Soil and tree phyllosphere microbial communities differ between coniferous and broadleaf deciduous boreal forests

Dominance of coniferous and broadleaved trees drives bacterial associations with boreal feather mosses

Above‐ and belowground drivers of intraspecific trait variability across subcontinental gradients for five ubiquitous forest plants in North America

Irregular forest structures originating after fire: An opportunity to promote alternatives to even‐aged management in boreal forests

Dominance of coniferous and broadleaved trees drives bacterial associations with boreal feather mosses

Bryophyte Community Responses 20 Years after Forest Management in Boreal Mixedwood Forest

Responses of Tree Species Richness, Diversity, Composition, Structure and Carbon Stocks to Forest Management in the Sudanian Domain of West Africa

Sphagnum and feather moss-associated N2 fixation along a 724-year chronosequence in eastern boreal Canada

Factors explaining the composition and diversity of vascular plant understories along a transcontinental gradient in the Canadian boreal forest

Partial Harvest in Paludified Black Spruce Stand: Short-Term Effects on Water Table and Variation in Stem Diameter

Examining boreal forest resilience to temperature variability using bryophytes: forest type matters

The colonization of young fire initiated stands by the crustose lichen Trapeliopsis granulosa and its potential effect on conifer establishment and stand succession

Are post-fire residual forest patches refugia for boreal bryophyte species? Implications for ecosystem based management and conservation

Boreal bryophyte response to natural fire edge creation

Ground-layer composition affects tree fine root biomass and soil nutrient availability in jack pine and black spruce forests under extreme drainage conditions

Ground-layer composition may limit the positive impact of precommercial thinning on boreal stand productivity

Interannual variation in bryophyte dispersal: Linking bryophyte phenophases and weather conditions

On the diversity and richness of understory bryophytes at Nectandra Cloud Forest Reserve, Costa Rica

Applied ecology in Canada’s Boreal: A holistic view of the mitigation hierarchy and resilience theory

Bryophyte species assemblages in fire and clear-cut origin boreal forests

Can retention harvest maintain natural structural complexity? A comparison of post-harvest and post-fire residual patches in boreal forest

Climate, soil organic layer, and nitrogen jointly drive forest development after fire in the North American boreal zone

Deadwood abundance in post-harvest and post-fire residual patches: An evaluation of patch temporal dynamics in black spruce boreal forest

Dispersal of bryophytes and ferns is facilitated by small mammals in the boreal forest

Introduction to “bryophytes and graminoids: Key roles in restoring boreal wetlands and forests”

Prescribed burning after clearcut limits paludification in black spruce boreal forest

Prescribed burning of harvested boreal black spruce forests in eastern Canada: Effect on understory vegetation

Short-term response of Cladonia lichen communities to logging and fire in boreal forests

Silviculture to sustain productivity in black spruce paludified forests

So close and yet so far away: long-distance dispersal events govern bryophyte metacommunity reassembly

Bryophytes in forest ecosystems

Buried Wood: A Common Yet Poorly Documented Form of Deadwood

Can we use forest inventory mapping as a coarse filter in ecosystem based management in the black spruce boreal forest?

Distinguishing and mapping permanent and reversible paludified landscapes in Canadian black spruce forests

Mechanical site preparation: Key to microsite creation success on Clay Belt paludified sites

Composition and Dynamics of the Understory Vegetation in the Boreal Forests of Quebec

Effects of topography and thickness of organic layer on productivity of black spruce boreal forests of the canadian clay belt region

Landscape-scale influence of topography on organic layer accumulation in paludified boreal forests

The role of mineral soil topography on the spatial distribution of organic layer thickness in a paludified boreal landscape

Lessons learned from 12 years o

Managing understory vegetation for maintaining productivity in black spruce forests: A synthesis within a multi-scale research model

Stochastic processes dominate during boreal bryophyte community assembly

Boreal forests of eastern Canada revisited: Old growth, nonfire disturbances, forest succession, and biodiversity

Effects of variable canopy retention harvest on epixylic bryophytes in boreal black spruce - feathermoss forests

Dynamic old-growth forests? A case study of boreal black spruce forest bryophytes

Growth and nutrition of black spruce seedlings in response to disruption of Pleurozium and Sphagnum moss carpets in boreal forested peatlands

Growth of planted black spruce seedlings following mechanical site preparation in boreal forested peatlands with variable organic layer thickness: 5-Year results

Partial harvests in the boreal forest: Response of the understory vegetation five years after harvest

Contrasting effects of season and method of harvest on soil properties and the growth of black spruce regeneration in the boreal forested Peatlands of Eastern Canada

Decomposition rates of bryophytes in managed boreal forests: Influence of bryophyte species and forest harvesting

Do harvest methods and soil type impact the regeneration and growth of black spruce stands in northwestern Quebec?

Emulating natural disturbances: The role of silviculture in creating even-aged and complex structures in the black spruce boreal Forest of eastern North America

Does time or habitat make old-growth forests species rich? Bryophyte richness in boreal Picea mariana forests

Sphagnum community change after partial harvest in black spruce boreal forests

Sphagnum establishment and expansion in black spruce (Picea mariana) boreal forests

Facilitative succession in a boreal bryophyte community driven by changes in available moisture and light

Fire severity and long-term ecosystem biomass dynamics in coniferous boreal forests of eastern Canada

Soil oxygen within boreal forests across an age gradient

Sphagnum spore availability in boreal forests