OOS 12
Enhancing Linkages between Forest Management and Ecological Theory

Tuesday, August 6, 2013: 1:30 PM-5:00 PM
101B, Minneapolis Convention Center
Organizer:
Benjamin Ramage, Randolph-Macon College
Co-organizer:
Matthew D. Potts, University of California, Berkeley
Moderator:
Matthew D. Potts, University of California, Berkeley
Substantial research exists on 1) active forest management and 2) basic ecological theory, but these fields are largely isolated from each other. While forest management is undoubtedly influenced by theory, the focus tends to be on decades-old concepts (e.g. succession, the intermediate disturbance hypothesis), with limited consideration of the cutting-edge theories and topics that are frequently discussed in the current non-applied ecological literature. The goal of this Organized Oral Session is to facilitate and encourage the integration of applied forest management and emerging ecological theory. Enhancing such linkages is important for improving immediate conservation outcomes as well as re-focusing theoretical inquiries on issues with greater applied relevance. Due to the simultaneous consideration of basic and applied research questions, we expect that this topic will be interesting to a very broad swatch of ESA's membership, ranging from theorists to practitioners. We anticipate ordering the talks as follows. To provide a broad conceptual framework, we will begin the session with a discussion of forests as complex adaptive systems, encompassing general linkages to complexity science as well as examples of applications to forest management. Next, two speakers will present two different approaches to landscape-level forest management. The first will focus on predicting and managing insect outbreaks in boreal forests with the aid of process-based models, and the second will focus on maximizing biodiversity in tropical production forest landscapes via harvest plans that are informed by estimates of beta diversity. The next three talks will center on relationships between natural disturbance regimes and forest management practices. The first of these will deal with inter-specific variation in disturbance adaptations in hyper-diverse tropical forests and the resulting management challenges. The next speaker will discuss uneven-aged temperate forest management practices that emulate natural distance regimes, with a particular emphasis on the importance of utilizing brief windows of opportunity to achieve management objectives. This disturbance-themed subsection will conclude with a talk focused on incorporating uncertainty into conservation-oriented decision-making processes, using examples related to fire management in temperate conifer forests. The next speaker will consider ways in which forest restoration strategies might be improved by an enhanced understanding of ecological processes, including a specific assessment of applied nucleation in degraded tropical landscapes. Finally, the session will conclude with a discussion of the relevance of broad macroecological principles to specific forests and management objectives.
1:30 PM
 From complexity science to forest management
Klaus J. Puettmann, Oregon State University; Christian Messier, Université du Québec à Montréal
1:50 PM
 Spatially explicit forest management planning: Putting theory into practice
Marie-Josée Fortin, University of Toronto; Brian R. Sturtevant, U.S. Forest Service
2:10 PM
 The perils of ignoring beta diversity when conducting applied research and developing management plans
Benjamin Ramage, Randolph-Macon College; Matthew D. Potts, University of California, Berkeley
2:30 PM
 The relationship between phylogenetic diversity, trait diversity, and temporal biomass dynamics in tropical successional forests
Jesse R. Lasky, Columbia University; Maria Uriarte, Columbia University; Vanessa Boukili, Earthwatch Institute; David L. Erickson, Smithsonian Institution; W. John Kress, Smithsonian Institution; Robin L. Chazdon, University of Connecticut
3:10 PM
3:20 PM
 Applying conservation decision tools to forests: Fire management in the Sierra Nevada
Koren Nydick, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service; Mark W. Schwartz, University of California, Davis; James H. Thorne, University of California, Davis
3:40 PM
 Applied nucleation as a forest restoration strategy
Karen D. Holl, University of California, Santa Cruz; Rakan A. Zahawi, Organization for Tropical Studies; J. Leighton Reid, Missouri Botanical Garden
4:00 PM
 Can a general theory of forest structure and dynamics based on metabolic scaling laws provide insights to forest managers?
John J. Battles, University of California, Berkeley; Robert A. York, Blodgett Forest
4:20 PM
 Invoking life history theory to understand species' responses to human disturbance
Leone M. Brown, University of Georgia; Catherine H. Graham, Stony Brook University