Large and intense wildfires are integral to the globally important boreal forest biome. While much is known about boreal wildfires, the focus on forest remnants that either escape or survive these intense fires is a recent phenomenon: academics now study ecological processes of wildfire residuals, forest policymakers use their patterns to design harvest strategies, forest managers consider their economic value, and conservationists recognize their intrinsic ecological importance. Ecology of Wildfire Residuals in Boreal Forests is the first book to explore ecological patterns and processes of what does not burn within boreal wildfires. Following a brief introduction to the boreal forest biome, it discusses the processes that form wildfire residuals; how they are studied, with various approaches and methods; the types, extent, and ecological functions of wildfire residuals; and their role in forest management applications, all in the context of ecological scale. This book is a reference for researchers and graduate students studying boreal forest ecology, as well as for policymakers and forest managers. It adopts a non-reductionist perspective that will be of interest to scientists from conservation science, forest ecology, forest management, and timber production. Brings together fire behaviour, ecological scale, vegetation ecology, and conservation biology to provide a cross disciplinary, multi-scale, and an integrative discussion of forest fire residuals Captures the state of knowledge with a meta-analysis of research trends during the past few decades, with a comprehensive review of the literature, a compilation of key references, and a list of key topics relevant to the study of boreal wildfire residuals Identifies the major gaps and uncertainties in the present body of knowledge, including a critique of study techniques and reporting practices to date, and proposes a set of terms and definitions and a list of research questions and priorities Includes the authors’ observations and research experience from boreal Canada, and information extracted from interactions with North American and European ecologists, forest managers, and conservationists

In many places in the world, forests dominate landscapes and provide various products. Future climate change could profoundly alter the productivity of forest ecosystems and species composition. Until now, climate impact research has primarily focused on the likely impacts of rise in temperature, increased atmospheric CO2 concentration, and varying precipitation on unmanaged forests. The issue that now needs to be addressed is how to sustainably manage climate change for timber production and biomass. Though climate change is a global issue, impacts on forests depend on local environmental conditions and management methods, so this book will look at the issue under varying local contexts.

The Ecological Importance of High-Severity Fires, presents information on the current paradigm shift in the way people think about wildfire and ecosystems. While much of the current forest management in fire-adapted ecosystems, especially forests, is focused on fire prevention and suppression, little has been reported on the ecological role of fire, and nothing has been presented on the importance of high-severity fire with regards to the maintenance of native biodiversity and fire-dependent ecosystems and species. This text fills that void, providing a comprehensive reference for documenting and synthesizing fire's ecological role. - Offers the first reference written on mixed- and high-severity fires and their relevance for biodiversity - Contains a broad synthesis of the ecology of mixed- and high-severity fires covering such topics as vegetation, birds, mammals, insects, aquatics, and management actions - Explores the conservation vs. public controversy issues around megafires in a rapidly warming world

Presenting a summary of the development in boreal forest management, this book provides a progressive vision for some of the world's northern forests. It includes a selection of chapters based on the research conducted by the Sustainable Forest Management Network across Canada. It includes a number of case histories.

This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue "Fire Regimes: Spatial and Temporal Variability and Their Effects on Forests" that was published in Forests

Due to residual tree mortality, the complement of snag and downed wood residuals increased in time. After three years, abundance of large diameter residual trees was very low, and congruent with directions provided in the NDPE guide for retaining residual trees post-harvest. Local fire intensity appeared to be the most important global determinant of occurrence of residual trees, but with an inverse relationship. Our results do not support the hypotheses that pre-burn forest cover and site conditions are reliable global predictors of residual tree occurrence."--Abstract

This open access book explores a new conceptual framework for the sustainable management of the boreal forest in the face of climate change. The boreal forest is the second-largest terrestrial biome on Earth and covers a 14 million km2 belt, representing about 25% of the Earth’s forest area. Two-thirds of this forest biome is managed and supplies 37% of global wood production. These forests also provide a range of natural resources and ecosystem services essential to humanity. However, climate change is altering species distributions, natural disturbance regimes, and forest ecosystem structure and functioning. Although sustainable management is the main goal across the boreal biome, a novel framework is required to adapt forest strategies and practices to climate change. This collaborative effort draws upon 148 authors in summarizing the sustainable management of these forests and detailing the most recent experimental and observational results collected from across the boreal biome. It presents the state of sustainable management in boreal forests and highlights the critical importance of this biome in a context of global change because of these forests' key role in a range of natural processes, including carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling, and the maintaining of biodiversity. This book is an essential read for academics, students, and practitioners involved in boreal forest management. It outlines the challenges facing sustainable boreal forest management within the context of climate change and serves as a basis for establishing new research avenues, identifying future research trends, and developing climate-adapted forest management plans.

The media coverage of natural disasters (hurricanes, fires, floods, ice storms, etc.) indicates the prevalence of natural disasters in most, if not all, ecosystems. In order for scientists to study, understand, and ultimately predict how these disturbances affect ecosystems, it is necessary for them to know more about the physical processes involved in these disturbances and to learn how to couple these processes to the ecological systems. Essential for all ecologists, forest researchers, and conservation biologists, this book includes chapters on the disturbance processes, how the disturbance causes necrosis or death to individuals, and their effects on population or community processes. In Plant Disturbance Ecology, physical scientists who study disturbances provide an introduction to the physical disturbance processes, while ecologists relate this information to the way the vegetation responds to the disturbances. This reference is also key for all researchers hydrology, geomorphology, and environmental management. - Includes coverage on six different disturbance processes: Wind, Gravity, Geomorphic, Hydrologic, Combustion, and Biotic - Provides a clear explanation of how some of the physical processes of disturbance affect plant ecological processes - Offers ecologists an up-to-date understanding of the physical processes and allows them to predict future affects of disturbances - Unites two related fields by linking the disturbance processes and ecological responses - Presents physical scientists with ideas of how they might usefully apply their knowledge to advance understanding of ecological systems