Special Session - Applying landscape ecology in forests of the northern Great Lakes region Chair(s): Saunders, Sari¹, ¹ Michigan Technical University, Houghton, MI
Wednesday, March 31, 2004 1:00 PM - 5:20 PM Apollo Room 2

The Great Lakes Region has been a focal area for landscape ecological research during the past decade. Landscape ecologists have studied the patterns of ecological processes, such as carbon flux, decomposition, and natural disturbance regimes; and compositional or structural features, such as the diversity of fauna and flora. The interrelationships among these variables have been examined within focal ecosystems at the landscape level and over the mosaic of multiple ecosystems at a regional level. Both retrospective work and predictive modeling of management impacts have been undertaken on a variety of landscape ecosystems. In our symposium, we anticipate synthesizing the major discoveries of several active research groups to assess how this research (1) enhances understanding of the functioning of managed landscapes; and (2) guides management and policy actions that strive to meet multiple goals for restoration, conservation, recreation, and resource extraction. The symposium will highlight both the limitations and successes of this research to knowledge and management of these intensely modified landscapes. We hope that lessons learned from these groups will also be explored by the general landscape ecology community to promote the development of the science and its applications.

Understanding Spatio-temporal Patterns of Boreal Forest Landscape Dynamics. Perera, Ajith^*,1, ¹ Ontario Forest Research Institute, Sault Ste. Marie, ON

ABSTRACT- Large-scale spatio-temporal patterns in boreal forest are determined by omni-present fire and insect disturbance regimes and subsequent forest vegetation responses. Therefore, the knowledge of these disturbance dynamics could serve as insight to developing spatial strategies to manage forest landscapes. Specifically, this knowledge provides a logical null model for comparing alternate management strategies; identifying potential species-aging patterns; and providing a basis for the emerging trend of attempts to emulate natural disturbances. BFOLDS is a hybrid model that spatially and stochastically simulates the fire and forest cover dynamics in boreal forests over millions of hectares and several centuries. This model is being used as an exploratory tool, in generating spatially explicit null hypotheses of patterns in fire disturbance/recovery, forest cover distribution, and aging. In addition, BFOLDS simulations form the basis for two new forest landscape management policies in Ontario, Canada, which address a)the range of variation in potential forest disturbances and b)the strategies for old-growth forest conservation.

KEY WORDS: Simulation modeling, Disturbance regimes, Boreal forest, BFOLDS, Ontario