Forest Dynamics and Disturbance Regimes: Studies from Temperate Evergreen-Deciduous Forests

Description

Temperate-zone forests have been shaped by fire, wind and grazing over thousands of years. This book provides a major contribution to the study of their dynamics by considering three important themes: - The combined influence of wind, fire and herbivory on the successional trajectories and structural characteristics of forests - The interaction of deciduous and evergreen tree species to form mosaics which, in turn, influence the environment and disturbance regime - The significance of temporal and spatial scale with regard to the over all impact of disturbances These themes are explored via case studies from the forests in the Lake States of the USA (Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan) where the presence of large primary forest remnants provides a unique opportunity to study the long-term dynamics of near-boreal, pine and hardwood-hemlock forests. The comparability of these forests to forests in other temperate zones allows generalizations to be made that may apply more widely.

Lee Frelich is a Research Associate in the Department of Forest Resources at the University of Minnesota, St Paul and Founder Director of the University of Minnesota Center for Hardwood Ecology. His research experience spans studies of the impact of acid rain on forest growth, paleoecological studies of forest change, tree population dynamics, old-growth forest dynamics and forest disturbance ecology, including the effects of fire, windstorms and grazing.

'... easy to read and a helpful synthesis of a broad range of topics relating to disturbance, forest dynamics, and succession.' Journal of Vegetation Science