Five things that really matter in predicting forest disturbances and ecosystem responses

Richard H. Waring, Oregon State University, richard.waring@oregonstate.edu (Presenter)

Monitoring forest disturbance provides a good spatial and temporal record, but the real challenge is to predict with reasonable accuracy where outbreaks of fire, insects, and disease are likely and why. To achieve this goal at a spatial resolution useful to managers requires some refinements in remote sensing and data analyses to recognize: 1) where climatic conditions approach critical biological thresholds, 2) where the biological composition of forests matters, 3) where the ages of trees matter, 4) where soils matter, and 5) where management practices affect the probability of outbreaks. My talk will illustrate the importance of building models that include these critical variables and provide evidence that the remote sensing community is making progress toward this goal.

Presentation: 2015_Apr22_AM_Waring_32.pptx (57675k)

Presentation Type:  Plenary Talk

Session:  Theme 4: Human influence on global ecosystems

Presentation Time:  Wed 10:48 AM  (18 minutes)