Barb Thomas, PhD, MSc, BSc (Agr)

Professor, Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sci - Renewable Resources Dept

Associate Dean, Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sci - Deans Office

Contact Overview Announcements Courses Publications Links

Contact

Professor, Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sci - Renewable Resources Dept

Email: bthomas@ualberta.ca
Phone: (780) 492-8016
Address: 442 Earth Sciences Building
11223 Saskatchewan Drive NW

Edmonton AB

T6G 2E3

Associate Dean, Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sci - Deans Office

Email: bthomas@ualberta.ca

Overview

Area of Study / Keywords

tree improvement forest genetics ecophysiology climate resilience

About

Job/Research Area: Applied tree improvement and ecophysiology.

Awards/Board Membership:

2014-2024– Associate NSERC Industrial Research Chair in Tree Improvement
2014-present: Member of the Technical Review & Steering Committees for the 5-year review of the Alberta Forest Genetic Resource Management & Conservation Standards.
2012-present: Elected member of the Executive Committee, International Poplar Commission (FAO). Rome, Italy.
2012-present: Founding Board member of Tree Improvement Alberta.
2009-present: Member & writer of the technical review committee: AB Afforestation Carbon Credit Protocol.
2009-present: Member of the Genetics Working Group, Poplar & Willow Council of Canada.
2010-2014: Communications Chair of the Alberta Forest Genetic Resources Council (AFGRC).
2009-2014: Chair, Poplar & Willow Council of Canada.
2002-2014: Industrial Sector Member – Alberta Forest Genetics Resources Council.
2001-2009: Co-Chair of the Genetics Working Group for the Poplar Council of Canada.

Research

Thomas Tree Improvement Lab Website: https://people.ales.ualberta.ca/barbthomas/

Thomas RES-FOR Website: https://resfor.ualberta.ca/

Major Responsibilities/Research Interests: My interests include addressing both basic and applied questions to enhance conifer seed orchard productivity, assess the impact of elite breeding in white spruce on increasing gain, and understanding trade-offs in selection for growth versus wood quality and drought resistance. Additional interests include integrating genetic gain into growth and yield models and if growth increases can be achieved through disparate population breeding in balsam poplar. A more fundamental research interest is to understand mechanisms underlying the distribution of aspen clones in terms of size and gender on the landscape.

Students will be given exposure to industrial and government challenges and be expected to develop their research projects while considering both policy implications and industrial application. An evaluation of both the genetic value combined with the social and energy sector pressures on the landbase will also be undertaken through development of a model designed to evaluate tree improvement programs across the province.

Provincial Industrial & Government Partners: Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries Inc., Alberta Newsprint Timber Ltd., Canadian Forest Products Ltd., Millar Western Forest Products Ltd., Huallen Seed Orchard Company Ltd., West Fraser Mills Ltd. including: North Central Woodlands, Blue Ridge Lumber, Hinton Wood Products, Sundre Forest Products, and Weyerhaeuser Company Ltd. including: Grande Prairie Timberlands & Pembina Timberlands and Alberta Agriculture and Forestry.

Teaching

RenR 368/768 Management and Utilization of Forest Genetic Resources

Announcements

Current positions available for both PhDs and PDFs – Please contact me directly or visit: https://ales-ssl.ales.ualberta.ca/gradpositions

Courses

REN R 368 - Management and Utilization of Forest Genetic Resources

Basic principles in plant genetics and resource utilization including tree improvement and reclamation will be covered. Regular lectures will be supplemented with guest lectures and one lab exercise or field trip per month, an individual or group term report and a group report presentation/poster will be assigned. Lab exercises may include field trips, with times to be confirmed. Requires payment of additional student instructional support fees. Refer to the Tuition and Fees page in the University Regulations section of the Calendar. Prerequisite: 30 units.

Winter Term 2026

REN R 912B - Research Project

The final research project that comprises REN R 912 is a final capping exercise for the degrees of MAg and MF. Its practical and professional focus should integrate the core areas of study in the program. The successful completion of the project entails (1) a research topic approved by the supervisor; (2) the presentation of a draft research proposal; and (3) the presentation of the research as a written document to the supervisor. The project may take the form of any of the following: (1) a formal analysis of management practice, organizational processes or policy; (2) a formative or summative evaluation of a research project or program; (3) a case study, using secondary documents, survey data, or interviews; or (4) replication of a previous study, with either the introduction of a new variable or an analysis in a changed context.

Summer Term 2025

Browse more courses taught by Barb Thomas

Featured Publications

An analysis of age-age correlations in white spruce and lodgepole pine and how it applies to the growth and yield projection system (GYPSY) in Alberta

Luo, D., and Thomas, B.R.

Forest Ecology and Management. 2021 February; 482

Best of both worlds: hybrids of two commercially important pines (Pinus contorta x P. banksiana) combine increased growth potential and high drought tolerance

Bockstette, S.W., de la Mata, R., and Thomas, B.R.

Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 2021 January;

Reforestation policy has constrained options for managing risks on public forests

Lieffers, V.J., Pinno, B.D., Beverly, J.L., Thomas, B.R., Nock, C.

Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 2020 April;

Growth parameters and resistance to Sphaerulina musiva-induced canker are more important than wood density for increasing genetic gain from selection of Populus spp. hybrids for northern climates

Niemczyk, M., Thomas, B.R.

Annals of Forest Science. 2020 March; 77 (26):1-14

Increment coring induced traumatic resin ducts in white spruce but not in lodgepole pine

Klutsch, J., Kee, C., Cappa, E., Ratcliffe, B., Thomas, B.R., & Erbilgin, N.

Tree-Ring Research. 2020 January; 76 (1):54-58

Selection of poplar genotypes for adapting to climate change

Niemczyk, M., Hu, Y. & Thomas, B.R.

Forests . 2019 November; 10 (11):1041

Impact of genotype and parent origin on the efficacy and optimal timingof GA4/7 stem injections in a lodgepole pine seed orchard

Bockstette, S. & Thomas, B.R.

New Forests. 2019 August; 51

Differences in drought tolerance revealed in nine North American hybrid poplars

Arshad, M., Biswas, K., Bisgrove, S., Schroeder, W., Thomas, B.R., Mansfield, S., Mattson, J. & Plant, A.

Trees. 2019 April; 33

A financial analysis of using improved planting stock or white spruce and lodgepole pine in Alberta, Canada: Genomic selection versus traditional breeding

Chang, W-Y, Gaston, C., Cool, J., & Thomas, B.R.

Forestry: An International J of For Res.. 2019 March; 92 (3):297-310

Hormones and heterosis in hybrid balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera L.)

Hu, Y. & Thomas, B.R.

Forests. 2019 February; 10 (2):143

Economic evaluations of tree improvement for planted forests: a systematic review

Chang, W-Y., Wang, S., Gaston, C., Cool, J., An, H., & Thomas, B.R.

BioProducts Business . 2019 February; 4 (1):1-14

Spatial partitioning of competitive effects from neighbouring herbaceous vegetation on establishing hybrid poplars in plantations

Goehing, J., Henkel-Johnson, D., Macdonald, E.S., Bork, E.W., & Thomas, B.R.

Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 2019 January; 49 (6):595-605

Variation in aquaporin and physiological responses among Pinus contorta families under different moisture conditions

Khan, S., Thomas, B.R., de la Mata, R., Randall, M.J., Zhang, W. & Zwiazek, J.J.

Plants. 2019 January; 8 (13)

Accelerating the selection process for Populus and Salix clones using short-term photosynthetic acclimation responses under greenhouse conditions

Mamashita, T., Larocque, G. R., DesRochers, A., Beaulieu, J., Thomas, B. R., Mosseler, A., Major, J. and Sidders, D.

Écoscience. 2017 August; 24 (1-2):59-73

Forest industry investment in tree improvement–a wise business decision or a bottomless pit? Answers from a new tree improvement valuation model for Alberta, Canada

Schreiber, S. G., & Thomas, B. R.

The Forestry Chronicle. 2017 March; 93 (1):38-43

Effects of alternative establishment systems on resource availability, understorey, composition, and tree performance in juvenile hybrid poplar plantations

Goehing, J., Thomas, B.R., Macdonald, and S.E., Bork, E.W.

Forestry. 2017 March; 90 (4): 515-529

Biomass from young hardwood stands on marginal lands: Allometric equations and sampling methods

Lupi, C., Larocque, G. R., DesRochers, A., Labrecque, M., Mosseler, A., Major, J., Beaulieu, J., Tremblay, F., Gordon, A. M., Thomas, B. R., Vézina, A., Bouafif, H., Cormier, D., Sidders, D., Krygier, R.

Biomass and Bioenergy. 2017 January; 98

Relationships between understory vegetation and hybrid poplar growth and size in an operational plantation

Grenke, J. S., Macdonald, S. E., Thomas, B. R., Moore, C. A., & Bork, E. W.

The Forestry Chronicle. 2016 December; 92 (4):469-476

Impact of planting container type on growth and survival of three hybrid poplar clones in central Alberta, Canada

Thomas, B.R., Schreiber S.G., Kamelchuk, D.P.

New Forests. 2016 July; 47

Climate change risk management in tree improvement programs:selection and movement of genotypes

Gray L.K., Hamann A., John S., Rweyongeza D., Barnhardt L., Thomas B.R.

Tree Genetics & Genomes. 2016 March; 12

Influence of weed composition, abundance, and spatial proximity on growth in young hybrid poplar plantations

Henkel-Johnson, D., Macdonald, S. E., Bork, E. W., & Thomas, B. R.

Forest Ecology and Management. 2016 February; 362

Evaluating sampling designs and deriving biomass equations for young plantations of poplar and willow clones

Lupi, C., Larocque, G., DesRochers, A., Labrecque, M., Mosseler, A., Major, J., Beaulieu, J., Tremblay, F., Gordon, A.M., Thomas, B.R., Vézina, A., Bouafif, H., Cormier, D., Sidders, D., Krygier, R., Thevathasan, N., Riopel, M., Ferland-Raymond, B.

Biomass and Bioenergy. 2015 December; 83

Short-term growth and morphological responses to nitrogen availability and plant density in hybrid poplars and willows

Mamashita, T., Larocque, G.R., DesRochers, A., Beaulieu, J., Thomas, B.R., Mosseler, A., Major, J., Sidders, D.

Biomass and Bioenergy. 2015 October; 81

Leaf size serves as a proxy for xylem vulnerability to cavitation in plantation trees

Schreiber, S.G., Hacke, U.G., Chamberland, S., Lowe, C.W., Kamelchuk, D., Bräutigam, K., Campbell, M.M., Thomas, B.R.

Plant, Cell and Environment. 2015 July; 39

Testing the ‘hybrid susceptibility’ and ‘phenological sink’ hypotheses using the P. balsamifera – P. deltoides hybrid zone and Septoria leaf spot [Septoria musiva]

LeBoldus, J. M., Isabel, N., Floate, K.D., Blenis, P., and Thomas, B.R.

PLOS ONE. 2013 December; 18 (12):e84437

Wood quality and growth characterization across intra- and inter-specific hybrid aspen clones

Hart, J.F., deAraujo, F. Thomas, B.R., and Mansfield, S.D.

Forests. 2013 September; 4 (4):786-807

Frost hardiness vs. growth performance in trembling aspen: an experimental test of assisted migration

Schreiber, S.G., Ding, C., Hamann, D, Hacke, W.G., Thomas, B.R., and Brouard, J.S.

Journal of Applied Ecology. 2013 May; 50

Research on hybrid poplars and willow species for fast-growing tree plantations: its importance for growth and yield, silviculture, policy making and industrial applications

Larocque, G.R., Desrochers, A., Lacheveque, M., Tremblay, F., Beaulieu, J., Mosseler, A., Major, J., Gaussiran, S., Thomas, B.R., Sidders, D., Perinet, P., Kort, J., Labrecque, M., Savoie, P., Masse, S., Bouman, O.T., Kamelchuk, D., Benomar, L., Mamashita, T., Gagne, P.

Forestry Chronicle. 2013 February; 89 (1):32-41

From the Arctic Circle to the prairies – a case study of silver birch acclimation capacity

Rousi, M, Possen, B.J.H.M., Hagqvist, R., & Thomas, B.R.

Silva Fennica. 2012 December; 46 (3):355-364

The potential of aspen clonal forestry in Alberta: breeding regions and estimates of genetic gain from selection

Gylander, T., Hamann, A., Brouard, J.S., and Thomas, B.R.

PLoSONE. 2012 August; 7 (8):e44303

Sixteen years of winter stress: An assessment of cold hardiness, growth performance and survival of hybrid poplar clones at a boreal planting site

Schreiber, S.G., Hamann, A., Hacke, U.G., Thomas, B.R.

Plant, Cell and Environment. 2012 August; 36 (2):419-428

Predicting the productivity of a young hybrid poplar clone under intensive plantation management in northern Alberta, Canada using soil and site characteristics

Pinno, B.D., Thomas, B.R. & Bélanger, N.

New Forests. 2010 January; 39