Forests are usually described as an ecosystem dominated by trees, but is it really that simple? To understand forests from a perspective of disturbance ecology, it is important to remember the many species processes and interactions that take place in a forest ecosystem.<\/p>\r\n
Consider a managed timber farm and a mostly untouched stand. A timber farm will likely have low diversity as compared to the untouched stand, but does that make it any less of a forest? The answer, obviously, is no. A major key to defining forests and their health is to first understand that forests come in all shapes and sizes. For our purposes in this course, consider a\u00a0[pb_glossary id=\"23\"]forest[\/pb_glossary] to be any plant community where major disturbance is relatively infrequent, allowing for long-living plants to develop.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
It can become a bit of a headache to think about forests from an ecological point of view. Stand composition\/structure, natural abiotic\/biotic factors, and human interactions combine to create a hard to predict future. Time can further complicate predictions, as disturbance events in the short term may seem random, but can display patterns over long periods of time. This long term pattern of disturbance events is referred to as its\u00a0[pb_glossary id=\"21\"]natural disturbance regime[\/pb_glossary].<\/p>\r\n
One of the chief concepts in forest disturbance ecology is stand\u00a0[pb_glossary id=\"25\"]diversity[\/pb_glossary] and how it relates to a forest's\u00a0[pb_glossary id=\"27\"]stability[\/pb_glossary]. Throughout this course we will learn more about how disturbance affects diversity (and vice versa) and how that in turn can make or break stand stability and therefore health.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
There are many definitions of forest health:<\/p>\r\n\r\n
EXAMPLES:<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/header>\r\n
As you can see, these definitions are not all alike; the definition of forest health tends to change based on the objectives of the person defining it. True assessment of forest health involves multiples aspects such as:<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n Forests are usually described as an ecosystem dominated by trees, but is it really that simple? To understand forests from a perspective of disturbance ecology, it is important to remember the many species processes and interactions that take place in a forest ecosystem.<\/p>\n Consider a managed timber farm and a mostly untouched stand. A timber farm will likely have low diversity as compared to the untouched stand, but does that make it any less of a forest? The answer, obviously, is no. A major key to defining forests and their health is to first understand that forests come in all shapes and sizes. For our purposes in this course, consider a\u00a0forest<\/a> to be any plant community where major disturbance is relatively infrequent, allowing for long-living plants to develop.<\/p>\n It can become a bit of a headache to think about forests from an ecological point of view. Stand composition\/structure, natural abiotic\/biotic factors, and human interactions combine to create a hard to predict future. Time can further complicate predictions, as disturbance events in the short term may seem random, but can display patterns over long periods of time. This long term pattern of disturbance events is referred to as its\u00a0natural disturbance regime<\/a>.<\/p>\n One of the chief concepts in forest disturbance ecology is stand\u00a0diversity<\/a> and how it relates to a forest’s\u00a0stability<\/a>. Throughout this course we will learn more about how disturbance affects diversity (and vice versa) and how that in turn can make or break stand stability and therefore health.<\/p>\n There are many definitions of forest health:<\/p>\n EXAMPLES:<\/p>\n<\/header>\n As you can see, these definitions are not all alike; the definition of forest health tends to change based on the objectives of the person defining it. True assessment of forest health involves multiples aspects such as:<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n any plant community where major disturbance is relatively infrequent, allowing for long-living plants to develop<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n \t
What is a Forest?<\/h1>\n
Forest Ecology Basics<\/h1>\n
Health & Management<\/h1>\n
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