Our
Mission

Professors Dupras, Gonzalez and Messier launched Eco2Urb to meet a growing demand for their approach to the analysis and management of the connectivity, biodiversity and ecosystem services supplied by natural ecosystems and urban green infrastructure.
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The Eco2Urb team runs state-of-the-art research laboratories in ecology and evolution, forest science and ecological economics. They offer innovative approaches to the development of solutions for landscape planning. They place particular emphasis on long-term planning that takes into account risks arising from different scenarios for climate change and land use change.

Latest
News

Pictureunpoincinq.ca

​October 31, 2018
​''How to help animals to adapt to climate change?''. Andrew Gonzalez explains to Unpoincinq how he has built maps showing the biological connectivity of animal species within the Great Montreal territory.
Read the full article here (in french).

Some
​Definitions

Our 
Services

Resilience through diversity
Resilience through connectivity
Resilience through ecological economy and governance


Resilience through diversity

It seems obvious that more diverse communities can better tolerate and/or adapt to perturbations. However, it has been shown that it is not species number per se that are most linked to resilience but rather the diversity of the species’ biological characteristics (or functional traits).

In order to increase resilience through increased functional diversity, we propose the following steps that are offered individually or in combination with each other.
STEP 1
​Inventory current and future stresses associated with your region
We propose to inventory current and future stresses affecting your region’s ecosystems  (e.g. diseases, invasive species) and assess the changes in climate, expected for your region in the next decades, including estimated trends concerning the frequency and strength of extreme climatic events (e.g. drought).
STEP 2
Assess of the diversity of existing vegetation cover​
Using existing data or by conducting a comprehensive inventory of your ecosystems, we assess several metrics of diversity (e.g. functional diversity, species diversity) at multiple spatial scales (e.g. private property, neighborhood, city, region).
STEP 3
Develop a diversification strategy specific to your region ​and objectives​​
By combining results from steps 1 and 2, we identify high-risk areas (low diversity and/or high threats) and propose customized diversification strategies. These are based on particular species and their associations, adapted to the predicted changes as well as innovative operational approaches aiming at optimizing the balance between costs (associated with planting and maintenance) and tree health.

​Resilience through connectivity

Isolated natural sites do not adapt well to change. A healthy network of interconnected natural sites enables species to migrate, exchange resources and thrive in a dynamic environment.
To help you build a healthy network, we offer the following measures individually or in combination with each other.
STEP 1
​Analyze your environmental strategies and their effects on ecological networks
As a first step, we examine all existing regulations and policies and meet with strategic people in your organization to conduct interviews. Assembled data are used to conduct a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats), allowing us to evaluate the specific characteristics of your local and regional frame of reference.
STEP 2
Characterize the diversity of your ecosystems​
Using existing data or by conducting a comprehensive inventory of your ecosystems, we assess several metrics of diversity (e.g. functional diversity, species diversity) at multiple spatial scales (e.g. private property, neighborhood, city, region).
STEP 3
Model impacts of future changes in climate, land use and species migration patterns
Maps developed in step 2 are used to explore landscape change according to future climate, land use and species migration scenarios, enabling our team to rank habitat quality of each site over time and thus its importance in the network.

STEP 4
Develop environmental strategies to increase connectivity and long-term viability of ecological networks
Based on the analyses conducted in step 3, we identify conservation and restoration priorities and we provide recommendations to increase the connectivity and hence the resilience of the network. ​

Resilience through ecological

economy and governance

It is well known that ecosystems and human activities are tightly interlinked. Human development not only influences the size and the quality of other species’ habitats but also the services that our surrounding ecosystems provide to the human population. These include positive impacts on human health and well-being, economic benefits linked to erosion prevention, water filtration or retention and  more.
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To increase the resilience of our ecosystems and maintain vital ecosystem functions and services, we develop economic and governance structures that respect the support capacity of the biosphere while being socially equitable in your context. More specifically, we measure and analyze the contributions of your regional biodiversity and ecosystems for the well-being of surrounding human communities.
STEP 1
Socio-ecological modeling
Although we know that human activity and the functioning of the ecosystem are closely interlinked, the exact nature of this dependence is poorly or misunderstood. To shed light on this relationship, we use modeling tools to explore how your current and planned activities and regulations impact your ecological network. In this way, we can better understand how the different types of interventions affect ecosystem services (e.g. identify urban planning scenario with least impact on water quality). 
STEP 2
​Economic analyses of ecosystems
For almost 20 years now, economic analyses of regional biodiversity and ecosystems have been used to integrate their importance and value in our management and planning decisions. Only by understanding how much value your ecosystems contribute to society or what costs are associated with their loss, will you be better equipped to integrate those dimensions into any decision-making process.
STEP 3
Governance and public
​decision-making
Although economic analyses of biodiversity and ecosystems have increased exponentially in the last decade, their actual integration into public and private strategic planning is still limited. To facilitate the integration of environmental aspects into your decision-making process, we develop multiple case studies on governance strategies including resource management, environmental regulations and conservation priorities to explore their impact on your socio-ecological reality.