Forest Ecology and Management (FEAM) Group

Researchers in our group work on applied problems in forest ecology and forest management focusing on an understanding of the linkages between forest ecosystem dynamics, forest policy, and social concerns. The major goal of our research program has been to understand the role of natural and anthropogenic disturbance regimes in forest ecosystems and to apply our results to problems of forest management and conservation.

Over the past decade, many research projects have focused on climate as a driver of fire in forest stands and landscapes. Other projects focus in First Nation’s traditional knowledge and community forestry as a context for their work. An ongoing interest in the lab is understanding the long-term coupled dynamics of climate, ecosystems, and people. Research projects are carried out at a range of spatial and temporal scales, using approaches from population, community, ecosystem, palaeo and landscape ecology. These projects often involve working closely with government and non-government agencies. A number of products arising from our research are available for download from the lab web site (for instance GL/A, popular software for analyzing hemispheric canopy photographs).