Scientific Research at the Montréal Botanical Garden

Scientific research is key to the development and advancement of knowledge, and a fundamental part of the work done by an institution the size of the Montréal Botanical Garden. In fact, it is partly this research that has earned the Garden its national and international reputation and helped to forge links with the scientific community around the world. Research activities are carried out by the members of the Scientific Research and Development Division, working at the Botanical Garden, in association with researchers from the Université de Montréal, at the Plant Biology Research Institute (IRBV).

Fields of research at the Montréal Botanical Garden

Current research falls into two main categories:

1. Plant collections, a gold mine for botanical research

The Garden's plant collection of 21,000 species and cultivars represents an inexhaustible source of plant material for botanical studies. Different research projects are being conducted into some of the plant families that are well represented in our collections (aroids, begonias, orchids).

Some projects involve field exploration and the collection of samples, occasionally taking botanists into the tropical forest and providing an ideal opportunity to enrich our collections at the same time.

2. Research on ecology and environmental concerns

The City of Montréal stands out among large municipalities because of its especially strong commitment to protecting the environment and to developing and promoting the use of its green spaces. For this reason, the Botanical Garden has been encouraged to conduct research on environmental issues facing urban and suburban centres: re-naturalizing degraded spaces, reforestation, ecologically responsible development, etc. Some of these research activities take place in Montréal and focus on projects that will benefit Montrealers (such as natural aquatic ecosystems for treating water at the beach on Parc des Îles); in other cases, the activities may be conducted in the natural environment, on the Island of Montréal or in outlying regions.

Expertise

The botanists in the Scientific Research and Development Division have put their training and experience to good use, developing valuable expertise in many areas. The Botanical Garden and the City of Montréal consult our researchers from time to time for advice on specific problems.

Botanists' fields of expertise Aquatic ecosystems Biodiversity Forest ecology Information Science Integrated pest control Management of natural spaces Plant pathology Restoration Scientific museology Sustainable farming practices Sylviculture Systematics Taxonomy Tree physiology Urban tree physiology