Since the dawn of agriculture, humans have primarily resided in the temperate zone between the tropics of Capricorn and Cancer, with only limited agriculture practiced in the harsh humidity/heat of the tropics, or the frigid and heat-limited conditions of the boreal (cool) regions found primarily in the northern latitudes of North America (Canada) and Eurasia (Scandinavia and Russia), as well as mountainous regions across the world (e.g. Himalayas). With climate change causing rising temperatures northwards, agriculture has begun to expand into these boreal regions. However, there is very little information available on the practicability or logistics of agriculture in boreal regions, or even whether it would be advantageous or not to promote this sort of expansion into regions with potentially poor soils and fragile ecosystems, not to mention poor human capital and infrastructure.

Our network performs cutting-edge research into this subject of boreal agriculture, and has connections across the boreal region. We are determined to provide data-based scientific research to assist and inform farmers, municipalities, and governmental policymakers with all of the information they need to assess and execute boreal agriculture in a fashion that takes into account the unique nature of boreal landscapes and the inherent challenges in these regions.

The work on this website stems from the work carried out at the Memorial University of Newfoundland by the team of Prof. Adrian Unc, and investigators and collaborators from other institutions, and might also link to relevant work carried by other researchers and research teams. Please browse around, visit our individual student webpages for insight into the diverse research projects we conduct, and learn a little more about boreal agriculture!