• Corriveau, A.
  
• Beaulieu, J.
  
• Mothe, F.
  

White spruce is one of the preferred species for pulp and paper production and it is used in numerous ways by the lumber industry. In Quebes, white spruce is an important species that plays a major role in reforestation and genetic improvement programs. Its range covers most of Quebec south of the tree line and includes a variety of forest regions: coniferous, deciduous, and mixed. Ecoclimatic diversity suggest high genetic variability, and exploitation of this variability to increase reforestation productivity can be counted among the most promising approaches. The primary objective is to increase paper yield and structural qualities of white spruce. Two characteristics that are closely related to productivity and that can easily be measured are growth and wood density; both can be improved by genetic means.