Forest Biodiversity: Lessons from History for Conservation

by James K. Agee (Editor), Darryll R. Johnson (Editor)

The need for cooperation among government agencies as well as an interdisciplinary approach to the increasingly challenging and complicated problem of managing park and wilderness areas prompted the University of Washington College of Forest Resources, the National Park Service, and the Forest Service to sponsor an ecosystem management workshop for scientists, planners, and managers. To develop an improved conceptual approach to managing change in ecosystems crossing natural and political boundaries, the workshop focused on defining terms, uncovering areas of misunderstanding and barriers to cooperation, and developing methods to determine the most important problems and issues. Three needs emerged from the prioritization process: a precise definition of the management objectives for park and wilderness lands and how to integrate them with objectives for surrounding lands, nationally as well as site-specific; more information about physical, biological, and social components of park and wilderness ecosystems from both sides of political boundaries; and key indicators of ecosystem condition as well as methods for evaluating management effectiveness. All of these common themes point to a need for more precise direction in management goal setting and more accurate assessment of progress toward goals. The book includes an introductory chapter by the editors and summary in which they outline a direction for ecosystem management in the next critical decades. The other chapters by individual contributors include studies on laws governing park and wilderness lands, paleoecological records that reveal the historic effects of climatic variations on vegetation change, succession and natural disturbance in relation to the problems of what can and should be preserved, managing ecosystems for large populations of vertebrates, the management of large carnivores, effects of air pollution, lake acidification, human ecology and environmental management, the role of economics, cooperation in ecosystem management, and management challenges in Yellowstone National Park.

by James K Agee (Author)

It was once widely believed that landscapes become increasingly stable over time until eventually reaching a climax state of complete stability. In recent years, however, that idea has been challenged by a new understanding of the importance and inevitability of forces such as storms and fires that keep ecosystems in a state of constant change. The dynamics of fire ecology has emerged as a central feature of the new understanding as scientists and land managers redefine traditional assumptions about the growth and development of ecosystems. Fire Ecology of Pacific Northwest Forests is a historical, analytical, and ecological approach to the effects and use of fire in Pacific Northwest wildlands. James K. Agee, a leading expert in the emerging field of fire ecology, analyzes the ecological role of fire in the creation and maintenance of the natural forests common to most of the western United States. In addition to examining fire from an ecological perspective, he provides insight into its historical and cultural aspects, and also touches on some of the political issues that influence the use and control of fire in the United States. In addition to serving as a sourcebook for natural area managers interested in restoring or maintaining fire regimes in Pacific Northwest wildlands, this volume provides an essential base of knowledge for all others interested in wildland management who wish to understand the ecological effects of fire. Although the chapters on the ecology of specific forest zones focus on the Pacific Northwest, much of the book addresses issues not unique to that region