What causes forests to change from one ecosystem type to another? What are the processes, both external and internal to a forest that resist or facilitate dramatic change in its composition or function? These are the types of questions that we will address as we study the abiotic and biotic drivers, and management activities that can either stimulate or suppress forest change. In addition, we will cover the methods used to detect change and project (model) how a forest will change in the future.
In a broad sense, these topics fall under the study area of 'resilience' and an early focus of this course will be the history of what is known as 'Resilience thinking' as articulated by C.S. Holling. However, we will quickly move into the literature on how and why forests are changing with some reference back to the earlier work by Holling.
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: Graduate student standing. Previous course(s) in ecology, silviculture, or biology are recommended but are not required.
