25 January 2010
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(Vienna, 25 January 2010) - Managing for wildlife habitat, soil stability, water, medicinal plants and foods - nuts, berries, and mushrooms - as well as timber resources, are now all part of most forest development plans and goals.
Today's forest management looks toward sustaining a variety of resources as well as revenue from timber products. That's at least partly because "a diversity of plant and animal species can improve the ability of a stand to survive under dramatic changes in environmental conditions including climate change," says Dr. Valerie LeMay, Professor of Forest Biometrics and Measurements at Canada's University of British Columbia.
It's a change from the past when forests were managed primarily for timber resources. Today's forest managers realize that even the structure of a stand - the variation in tree heights, diameters, location and species and the number of dead trees standing or lying in it - is an important aspect of managing for multiple benefits, she said.
Large gaps in a tree stand, for instance, provide light for new tree growth, but also for grasses, herbs, shrubs and other vegetation that often provide food for deer and other wildlife.
The question though, is how best to manage all this? Dr. LeMay and Dr. Peter Newton, Research Scientist at Natural Resources Canada, will coordinate a session that deals with managing and measuring stand structure for a diverse array of forest products at the 2010 IUFRO World Congress in Seoul.
MEDIA CONTACTS
Peter Newton: (+1) 705-541-5615 or peter.newton(at)nrcan.gc.ca
Gerda Wolfrum: +43 1 877 0151 17 or wolfrum(at)iufro.org
RELATED LINKS
1. XXIII IUFRO World Congress
http://www.iufro2010.com/
Hardwood Plantation in Southern Ireland.
Photo taken by Valerie Lemay
Measuring coarse woody debris and other structural elements below the tree canopy.
Photo taken by UBC Forest Biometrics Research Lab
Thinnings bundled for sale as fuel wood in northern Wales, UK.
Photo taken by Valerie Lemay
Forest-water interface near Whistler, Canada.
Photo taken by Felipe Crecente-Campo
Stand structural variation in sizes and species of tree and other vegetation.
Photo taken by UBC Forest Biometrics Research Lab
2. Press Release
English (pdf) - Español (pdf) - Français (pdf) - Deutsch (pdf)
View previous stories related to the IUFRO World Congress 2010
http://www.iufro.org/media/iwc2010-news-stories/