ESRM 450Wildlife Ecology and Conservation

MANAGING DYNAMIC LANDSCAPES

Complexity, as mediated by disturbance, can exist at many spatial scales

Reconstruction of firemortality in forest burnedbetween 1800-1900,Cascade Range, Oregon(Morrison & Swanson 1990)

A conceptual forest landscape:Steady-state shifting mosaic

Y = young, M = mature, O = old(Lertzman & Fall 1998)

A conceptual forest landscape:Non steady-state shifting mosaic

Stand dynamics vs. landscape dynamics

(Lertzman & Fall 1998)

A landscape state-space diagram:Spatial and temporal disturbance patterns

Can you think of systems represented by these conditions?

(Lertzman & Fall 1998)

Landscape and stand diversity:Effects of disturbance and management

(Lertzman & Fall 1998)

Tools for multiscale spatial analysis:From stands to landscapes

(Lertzman & Fall 1998)

Lertzman & Fall (1998) take-home messages

Paying attention to scale matters.

Multiscale study and analysis are critical for understanding the roles of disturbance.

Equilibrium may not exist at any scale.

Small-scale processes interact to create bottom-up controls of landscape pattern and process.

Large-scale processes exert top-down control, forming a context for stand-scale dynamics.

Human activities change the spatial and temporal nature of disturbance regimes.

Tools for multiscaled spatial analysis are available, but can be challenging to integrate and use.

What kinds of data would you collect to characterize forest structure, forest patterns, and wildlife habitat in this landscape?