Out of Ontario’s 107.6 million hectares, 66 per cent is forest. The province contains almost two per cent of the world’s forests and plays an important role in local and global carbon storage, biodiversity, water quality and economic development.

As wildfires rage across Western Canada, the topic of forest management is top of mind for many. For one Redeemer professor who has studied forests for more than 20 years, understanding ecosystem change is what he lives and breathes.

Dr. Kenneth Anyomi, assistant professor of biology, led a group of summer research students on two forest management research projects this summer. Kaylena Jacobson, recent biology and psychology graduate, and Jessica Hart, third-year biology student, alongside fourth-year student Jiezi Duan from Hong Kong Polytechnic University, focused on studying forest resiliency in Ontario. These students were part of a larger group of student summer researchers who presented at Redeemer University’s 19th annual Sciences Undergraduate Research Symposium on August 8, 2025, spanning the disciplines of health sciences, biology, mathematics, chemistry and environmental science.

The Value of Undergraduate Research

Prior to joining Redeemer, Anyomi worked with the Ontario Public Service as a senior research analyst and a forest succession research scientist. His research interests in ecology and forest science have led him toward a number of projects that have involved student research assistants. In addition to internal funding, his summer projects were funded by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC USRA), Mitacs (GRI) and TD Friends of the Environment Foundation.

For Anyomi, the call to take care of creation is preceded by the call to understand it.

“Biblically, we are instructed to steward these resources, and you cannot steward them if you don’t know them, if you don’t know what’s going on … We need to understand the dynamics of the forest ecosystem. What are the drivers of these dynamics? How are these drivers shaping what we have?”

Biblically, we are instructed to steward these resources, and you cannot steward them if you don’t know them, if you don’t know what’s going on …

The summer student research program allows students to learn important, transferable research skills and receive direct faculty mentorship. Students may also get the opportunity to write and submit papers for publishing in peer-reviewed journals. These opportunities at Redeemer are unique because it’s uncommon for undergraduate students to obtain direct faculty mentorship across the entire research pipeline (research planning, data collection, data analysis and results write up).

“It’s a very important part of the puzzle because some of our students have an interest in grad school, they want to continue onto masters and PhDs, so the summer research offers an opportunity to do hands-on work and participate in the  design and implementation of projects … It adds to the rich scholarship experience we offer here at Redeemer.”

Understanding the Environment

The first research project, “The Impact of Successive Disturbances on Tree Regeneration in Ontario,” involved analyzing the Ontario forest inventory data going back to 1970 to determine how the forest has changed as a result of different back-to-back natural and man-made events (known as disturbances in ecology). The desired long-term insight is to be able to answer the question, “Are we heading into a future where the forest is fundamentally different from what we have today?”

The work involved examining information from over 1,500 study sites across Ontario forests, analyzing the effects of disturbances such as insect outbreaks, wind storms, wildfires and human activities using data from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry’s Growth and Yield Program Database.

One major finding was that tree regeneration density and species richness were affected in different ways based on frequency of events. Jacobson discovered that tree seedling density and species diversity were lower on sites that had experienced successive disturbances compared to sites that had experienced single disturbance events over the monitoring period. She found it particularly interesting how the findings “fit into the overall story” and help confirm their hypothesis. Looking back on the summer, Jacobson shares that she gained “so many skills,” such as data analysis, statistical modeling and even some coding. “All of these skills can be valuable in any research topic.”

Studying Forest Resiliency

For the second research project, “From uprooting to renewal: a study of tip-up mound microsites in a deer overbrowsed Carolinian forest,” Anyomi led Hart and Duan in planting tree seedlings preferred by deer on tip-up mounds–exposed root structures produced by wind storms—in a local deciduous (also known as Carolinian) forest. While only making up one per cent of Canadian forests, the Carolinian forest in Ontario is home to 25 per cent of Canada’s at-risk species. Also, this region also experiences elevated windstorm events and has a high density of deer with the potential for intense browsing of tree seedlings. The purpose of the project is to determine how windstorms are shaping the resilience of the forest and if forest self renewal is possible through the creation of tip-up mounds. Specifically, they wanted to determine if mounds were suitable microsites for seedling establishment and due to their elevated height, whether they are able to provide an escape from deer browsing (or feeding). The most recent data available on deer density (also known as browsing pressure) is from the Hamilton Conservation Authority and is over 10 years old, so this project is also helping to obtain current browsing pressure data.

Hart contributed to this project by finding suitable sites, identifying and measuring tip-up mounds, collecting soil samples for lab analysis and planting seedlings (red oak and black cherry). Through this research process, Hart says she learned the importance of being flexible and adaptive. She will be returning to the research this fall to continue assisting with data collection.

“In the past two years I’ve found that the faculty wants you to learn and grow from these work experiences,” says Hart. “I feel so blessed to have the work and experience that working under faculty has provided.”

This research project first began last summer as a test, where 10 tip-up mounds were identified for seedling planting. This year, through Hart’s work, 80 tip-up mounds were identified, greatly improving the potential for reproducible results.

In the past two years I’ve found that the faculty wants you to learn and grow from these work experiences. I feel so blessed to have the work and experience that working under faculty has provided.

By the end of the summer, seedling survival data paired with lab analysis of soil samples revealed interesting insights into the nature of microsites these tip-up mounds provide to seedlings. Duan found that many seedlings, approximately 60 per cent, died before they could even be browsed, due to a hotter than usual summer. But quite interestingly, cherry tree seedlings actually did better on the mounds than the ground, and conversely, Red oak survived better on the ground. Duan’s conclusion was that this was due to soil moisture levels and drought tolerance. This project revealed that contrary to widely held assumptions that the forest floor (ground) provides the optimum condition for seedling survival, the top of mounds offered a better microsite for cherry tree survival.

Duan liked engaging in data analysis, “interpreting the patterns behind the data,” and getting the opportunity to develop her critical thinking skills. She enjoyed working with Anyomi and appreciated his close support. “He went out to the field with me,” she says. “I didn’t expect that kind of commitment.” This kind of faculty support went well above what she had experienced in the past.

Science That Stewards Creation

In biological and life sciences, Redeemer offers nine programs, each taught from a Christian worldview and including opportunities for lab experience, research and experiential learning. For Anyomi, pursuing science as a Christian means, through careful study, working with creation rather than against it. For example, one current solution for managing herbivores is surrounding tree seedlings with fencing, but he deeply believes there is a better way—to come alongside what the ecosystem is already doing: “Our mandate is to steward the forest ecosystem carefully so it can self-sustain, so that it can maintain itself and renew itself over time.”