The urban forest, made up of street trees, park trees, trees on private land and woods, supports the quality of life of human beings through the benefits it renders to society. More specifically, urban and peri-urban trees contribute to our health and well-being through their aesthetic, recreational and heritage functions, as well as the ecosystem services they provide.

By sequestering carbon dioxide every year and storing impressive quantities of carbon,urban forests play a crucial role in climate regulation. Itscooling island effect is undeniable, since its absence is usually associated with urban heat islands. Urban trees also act as umbrellas, capturing and reducing run-off water, thus reducing the amount of water that needs to be treated by wastewater treatment plants. Shoreline wetlands act like a great sponge, filtering pollutants and mitigating flooding. Located at the interface of aquatic and terrestrial environments, they promote biodiversity and connectivity, benefiting numerous species.

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Urban trees improve air quality. Their foliage intercepts atmospheric pollutants, while their stomata absorb them. Every year, they remove thousands of grams of carbon monoxide, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and micro-particles from urban air, in addition to generating large quantities of oxygen and water vapor.

Urban trees have an intangible landscape and cultural value, as well as an ornamental value that can be assessed in monetary terms and is even recognized in the courts. For example, it is possible to assess and claim the cost of replacing a private tree that has been illegally cut down by a neighbor.

Last but not least, urban woodlands have an important recreational value, as they are ideal for a variety of activities such as hiking, snowshoeing, wildlife watching and birdwatching in particular. Enjoying these activities, or simply being close to nature and trees, generates feelings of calm and well-being. The benefits of trees for physical health (e.g. reduced cardiovascular disease, faster recovery) and mental health (e.g. reduced anxiety or depressed mood) are increasingly demonstrated by science.

Natural forest stands support human quality of life, contributing to our health and well-being through their aesthetic, recreational and heritage functions, as well as the ecosystem services they provide.

A forest management plan is a tool for planning activities over a 10-year horizon. It provides a description of the forest composition of the woodlot, an assessment of its forestry, maple syrup or wildlife potential, the identification of areas to be protected and a prioritization of actions to be taken to enhance a woodlot.

A forest management plan is a prerequisite for registering as a forest producer and benefiting from available government programs.

MRCs are also required to adopt tactical integrated forest management plans (PAFIT), which set out the sustainable forest management objectives for each of the region's management units, as well as the strategy chosen to ensure that allowable cuts are respected and that these objectives are met.

PAFITs are drawn up every five years and adapted to the realities of each development unit.

Habitat's preferred approach to increasing the resilience of forests to environmental stress is to increase the functional diversity of urban trees and forest stands.

By relying on the diversity of a set of tree characteristics (functional traits), rather than on their membership of a species, it is possible to minimize potential losses in the face of a wide variety of disturbances, such as the arrival of an exotic pest or a prolonged episode of drought.

This scientific approach to the sustainable management of forest ecosystems was developed by Christian Messier, one of Habitat's co-founders. The team therefore benefits from his unique expertise to produce management master plans for urban and natural forests, enabling regions, municipalities and indigenous communities not only to protect their forest stands, but also to enhance their value and better measure their importance to society and biodiversity.