INTRODUCTION (summarized)
The Bulkley Valley Research Centre hosted a dynamic conference in February of 2007, attracting some of the province’s top forestry professionals as well as prominent researchers from Alberta and the United States.
This conference was organized as a way for researchers, managers, silviculturists, and other practitioners to update themselves on current developments in the science of managing complex forest stands. In the past 5 years there have been substantial advances in our understanding of complex stand dynamics, in our knowledge of non-timber values, and in an array of simulation models and decision support tools to support decision-making around complex stands. Much of this is driven by the current mountain pine beetle epidemic. Such models continue to be modified and improved. The conference and proceedings are ways to distribute this information more broadly.
Our definition of ‘complex stands’ for this conference is fairly simple. ‘Complex stands’ have: multiple tree species, species of multiple ages, multiple layers, a variety of other organisms, and are managed for multiple values.
On the first day of this conference, speakers shared their different perspectives on complex stand management. The second day of the conference focused on active research projects addressing some of the questions and challenges that researchers have encountered over the past 5 years. The three main topic areas were: (1) Research on complex stands and succession, (2) management and research related to mountain pine beetle infected stands, and (3) growth models and decision support tools for complex stand management.
The conference was followed by a two day SORTIE-ND workshop which introduced foresters to the latest software that will offer an innovative approach to modeling complex stand structures.
