Colin Laroque
Department Head (Soil Science) and Professor

I was born and raised in Saskatoon and our family farm is near Duck Lake Sk.  I was first struck by science when I completed my undergraduate degree here at the U of S, and then I conducted both my Master's and Ph.D degrees on the west coast of Canada in Victoria. I then jumped all the way to the East coast of Canada to teach for ten years in the Maritimes.  I have now taken the opportunity to return to Saskatoon and complete my full circle back to the U of S.

Soil Science

School of Environment and Sustainability

My research interests focus on past and future climates in Canada, especially on how they relate to dynamic ecosystem and geomorpholgical processes. My specialization is dendrochronology (tree-ring analysis) and I use dendrochronological techniques to gain an understanding about past climates, past glacier activity and extents, past ecosystem dynamics, and even past human activities through dendroarchaeological and dendrochemical investigations.

Research web page: http://www.madlabsk.ca/

• Dendrochronology
• tree ring/soil relationships
• alpine and northern treed ecosystems
• environmental education

• Ph.D., University of Victoria 
• M.Sc., University of Victoria 
• B.Sc., University of Saskatchewan

Maillet, J., Laroque, L., and Bonsal, B.  2017.  A dendroclimatological assessment of shelterbelt trees in a moisture limited environment.  Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 237-238: 30-38.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2017.02.003

Amichev, B.Y., Bentham, M.J., Kulshreshtha, S.N., Laroque, C.P., Piwowar, J.M., and Van Rees, K.C.J.  2016.  Carbon sequestration and growth of six common tree and shrub shelterbelts in Saskatchewan, Canada.  Canadian Journal of Soil Science, 97(3): 368-381  https://doi.org/10.1139/cjss-2016-0107 

Amichev, B.Y., Bentham, M.J., Kurz, Y.A., Laroque, C.P., Kulshreshtha, S., Piwowar, J.M., and Van Rees, K.C.J.  2016.  Carbon sequestration by white spruce shelterbelts in Saskatchewan, Canada: 3PG and CBM-CFS3 model simulations.  Ecological Modelling, 325: 35-46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2016.01.003

Danek, M., Bell, T., and Laroque, C.P.  2015.  Some considerations in the reconstruction of lead levels using laser ablation: lessons from the design stage of dendrochemistry study, St. John's, Canada.  Geochronometria, 42(1): 217-231.   https://doi.org/10.1515/geochr-2015-0024

Kershaw, G.G.L., Castleden, H., and Laroque, C.P.  2014.  An argument for ethical physical geography research on Indigenous landscapes in Canada.  The Canadian Geographer, 58(4): 393-399.  https://doi.org/10.1111/cag.12092

Davis, E.L.,  Laroque, C.P., and Van Rees, K.  2013.  Evaluating the suitability of nine shlterbelt species for dendrochronoligcal purposes in the Canadian Prairies.  Agroforestry Systems, 87(3): 713-727.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-012-9591-8

Anderson,  F., Brunt, J., Cameron, R., Caverhill, B., Clapp, D., Clapp, H., Coulthard, B., Hart, S., Helmer, L., Hubley, S., Hurlburt, D., Imlay, T., Jameson, R., Kidd, P., Laroque, C.P., Marotte, R., Marshall, K., Mitchell, S.C., Neily, T., Nickerson, K., O'Neill, N., Phillips, B., Pross, C., Proulx, G., Reardon, C., Todd, J., and Towers, J.  2012.  Bioblitz of the Lake Rossignal Wilderness Area.  Proceedings of the Nova Scotian Instutute of Science, 47: 33-57.

Kershaw, G.G.L. and  Laroque, C.P.  2012.  The dendroclimatological potential of White Birch (Betula papyrifera) in Labrador, Canada.  The Northeastern Geographer, 4: 28-38.

Hart, S.J. and  Laroque, C.P.  2012.  Searching for thresholds in climate-radial growth relationships of Engelmann spruce and subalpine fir, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada.  Dendrochronologia, 31(1): 9-15.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dendro.2012.04.005

• EVSC 110.3 - Renewable Resources and Environment 
• ENVS 401.3 - Sustainability in Action 
• SLSC 824.1 - Tree Ring Systems Sampling and Measurement