Forested ecosystems are no exception, and we report on an IUFRO conference to address biodiversity and sustainable forest management.
Forested ecosystems undergo natural disturbances of fire and windthrow and disturbances involved in management (thinning, harvesting, control burning).
Population level diversity is what provides ecosystem services, such as the keystone role that salamanders play in the soil ecosystems, including the nutrient cycling that supports wetland and forested ecosystems.
Forested ecosystems diversified more than 350 Ma to become major engines of continental silicate weathering, regulating the Earth's atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration by driving calcium export into ocean carbonates.
Forested ecosystems are major engines of biological weathering in terrestrial environments, but we know almost nothing about how the strength of these engines changed as tree lineages and their root-associating fungal symbionts evolved.
The growth of commercial pine plantation silviculture in the north has played a significant role in replacing agriculture and more natural forested ecosystems, although plantation forests are also an important renewable source of wood and fiber (Wear et al. 2007; Napton et al. 2010; Oliver et al. 2014).
Maintenance of genetic diversity in reforestation stock of long-lived tree species such as WWP is key to helping ensure the continued presence of this species in forests and forested ecosystems.
Well-established remote sensing methods capture change over forested ecosystems, however the return of forest vegetation in disturbed locations is infrequently documented and not well understood.
In forested ecosystems, management decisions are driven by variables such as forest composition, forest structure (both vertical and horizontal), and other ancillary data (i.e., topography, soils, slope, aspect, and disturbance regime dynamics).
Alternative silvicultural approaches to timber management, such as regeneration treatments with different degrees of stand retention, may mitigate negative effects of clear-cutting or shelterwood cuts in forested ecosystems, including changes in old-growth forest bird communities.
This empirical evidence provides insights to forest management and biological conservation across different types of forested ecosystems.
