Strategic Research Framework for Landscape Ecology in West-Central B.C.
Project Reference Number: 2002-01
Project Status: Complete
Led by: Liz Osborn, Wildland Nexus, Smithers
Funded by: BC Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management
In 2002-3, Liz Osborn prepared a “Strategic research framework for landscape ecology in west-central B.C.” that identifies the landscape characteristics having the most relevance to forest management in B.C. and, based on these, identified three priority topics for research in our area.
Landscape characteristics
Three landscape characteristics are generally recognized as having the most relevance to forest management in B.C.:
Fragmentation describes the break-up of a more or less continuous landscape into smaller patches, which can become isolated from one another by distance and lack of connectivity between them. Research into the ecological effects of landscape fragmentation and the importance of landscape connectivity has produced conflicting results and is hampered by lack of long-term studies.
Distinctive components of old-growth forests – Old growth forests are the ones most affected by forest harvesting, but what is it about them that makes them so important? Earlier analyses identified large live trees, coarse woody debris (downed dead wood) and snags (standing dead trees) as the critical habitat components of old forests, but the dynamics and function of these features are not well understood.
Effects of disturbances, both natural and human-caused – landscape patterns seen today are the product of preceding disturbances, small and large. Disturbances vary in intensity and scale, and the landscape pattern can influence the susceptibility of the forest to disturbance (e.g. large tracts of homogeneous forest are susceptible to insect or disease epidemics). Currently dominating disturbances are forest harvesting and the mountain pine beetle epidemic.
Research priorities
Research priorities for west-central B.C. fall into three main categories:
1. Functioning of natural ecosystems
- characteristics of natural disturbances
- ecology and habitat requirements of poorly-known vertebrates
2. Limits to ecological functioning
- critical species requirements
- identification of and threshold values for ecological indicators
3. Ecological responses to forest management
- comparisons of natural and managed ecosystems
- implications for landscape management
Research approaches include both field studies and modelling. Field studies provide basic biological understanding of current patterns and processes and (from techniques such as dendrochronology and lake sediment sampling) also of historical conditions. Modelling uses current knowledge to understand ecological systems, and models can be built to predict future consequences of disturbance and succession. Over time, as the real-world consequences become known, our understanding of the processes is improved and our ability to predict future consequences is refined. Scale is among the most important considerations – patterns and processes that affect the life of a lichen are very different from those affecting a hawk, a marten or even a mouse. Typically, research is most lacking on large scales and over long time frames.