FREE Seminar at the ERI - 3rd September 2009,

27th August 2009

Forthcoming Seminar at the ERI, Thursday 3rd September 2009, 17:00

A requiem or renaissance for mixed-pine forest ecosystems in the
northern Lake States of the USA?

Speaker: Dr Charles Goebel - Ohio State University

Dr Charles Goebel is an Associate Professor of Forest Ecosystem
Restoration and Ecology in the School of Environment and Natural
Resources at The Ohio State University in Wooster, Ohio, USA. His
research program focuses on understanding how natural and human
disturbances influence the composition, structure, and function of
forest ecosystems.

Mixed-pine forest ecosystems dominated by red pine (Pinus resinosa
Ait.), eastern white pine (P. strobus L.), and jack pine (P. banksiana
Lamb.) once dominated large portions of the northern Lake States of the
United States and adjacent Canada. However, the legacies of
turn-of-the-century logging, catastrophic wildfires, land conversion,
and fire suppression have lead to a dramatic decline of these once
extensive forest ecosystems. Many of those that remain have altered
composition and structure, with extremely high and potentially dangerous
fuel loadings. We have been studying these mixed-pine forest ecosystems
in an effort to better understand how they develop over time and
interact with fire. These efforts, in conjunction with structured
decision-making analyses, are the framework for a new consortium of fire
specialists, scientists, resource managers, and policymakers dedicated
to conserve and restore these important forest ecosystems.


Accompanied by wine and nibbles….. All welcome !!


We hope you can attend and look forward to your company.

Regards

Bill

Bill Gray
Administrator
Environmental Research Institute
North Highland College
UHI Millennium Institute
Castle Street
Thurso
Scotland
KW14 7JD
UK

Tel + 44 (0) 1847 889589
Fax + 44 (0) 1847 890014
e-mail william.gray[AT]thurso.uhi.ac.uk