1. Introduction to Forest Stand Dynamics

2. Stand Dynamics including stand behaviour during and after disturbances
the study of changes in forest stand structure with time,
including stand behaviour during and after disturbances

3. Seminar
The word seminar is derived from the Latin word seminarium, meaning "seed plot".
It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some particular subject, in which everyone present is requested to actively participate

4. Jan. 6 Monday Introduction to Stand Dynamics
Jan Thursday Plant interactions and limitations to growth
Jan Monday Plant interactions and limitations to growth
Jan Thursday Tree architecture and growth
Jan Monday Tree architecture and growth
Jan Thursday Disturbances
Jan Monday Overview of stand development patterns
Jan Thursday Readings I

5. Feb. 3 Monday Temporal and spatial patterns of tree invasion
Feb. 6 Thursday Stand initiation stage
Feb Monday HOLIDAY (Family Day)
Feb Thursday TBA
Feb Monday WINTER BREAK
Feb Thursday WINTER BREAK
Feb Monday Stem Exclusion stage
Feb Thursday Stem Exclusion stage
Mar. 3 Monday Stem Exclusion stage
Mar. 6 Thursday Readings II

6. Mar. 10 Monday Understory reinitiation
Mar Thursday Field Trip
Mar Monday Old growth
Mar Thursday Multi cohort
Mar Monday Multi cohort
Mar Thursday Stand Models
Mar Monday Stand Models
Apr. 3 Thursday Stand Models
Apr Monday Landscapes and Summary

7. Webpage

8. Introduction to Forest Stand Dynamics

17. Systems Thinking What is a system? Why systems?
Systems - complexes of elements standing in interaction (von Bertalanffy, 1968)

18. Types of Systems Closed Isolated from their enviromnemt
Lab experiments: everything is stable and controlled
Open
Influx and outflow of energy
Every living organism
Complex
Combination of open and closed systems

19. Complex Adaptive Systems
They are adaptive; in that the individual and collective behaviour mutate and self-organize corresponding to the change-initiating micro-event or collection of events.

20. Open Systems More applicable to biological sciences
Forests, ecosystems, trees = open systems
Influx and outflow of nutrients, light, matter

21. Rules of Systems Entropy or Evolution theory? Contradiction
Entropy is positive in closed systems
Entropy may be balanced off by system production in open systems
Entropy - trend of events in physical nature toward states of maximum disorder and leveling down of differences
evolution theory – transition towards higher order, heterogeneity and organization.

22. History of Evolutionary Thinking
1850s – most 20th century: systems come to a stable end
Darwin: nature → humans
Marx: economy → communism
Clements: ecosystem → climax
1910-present:
Gleason: community variation and importance of chance events
Holling: stages and adaptive cycles
Gleason vs. Clements: Barnes p

23. What is a “paradigm”? that is unquestioningly accepted and has
In The Structure of Scientific Revolutions,
Thomas Kuhn describes a paradigm as:
a set of beliefs, theories, or a world view
that is unquestioningly accepted and has
become established as "truth."

24. SAVANNA
OPEN
DENSE
COMPLEX
UNDERSTORY

25. Holling
UNDERSTORY
OPEN ??
DENSE

26. Stand Dynamics
Forest stand dynamics – the study of changes in forest stand structure with time, including stand behavior during and after disturbance
Stand – spatially continuous group of trees and associated vegetation having similar structures and growing under similar soil and climatic conditions
Oliver & Larson p.1 (other definitions “stand development” “stand structure” also)
Stand structure is the physical and temporal distribution of trees and other plants in a stand. It is vertical arrangement and spatial organization of the plants.
Stand development is the part of stand dynamics concerned with changes in stand structure over time.

27. Stand Dynamics
Studying stages of development (cycles) in an open system
Studying patterns of stand development
Characteristics of emergent properties (e.g. species dominance)
Connectedness of system elements (e.g. mixed-species stands)
Speed of transition (disturbance and/or site quality)

28. Focussing on patterns opened door to transfer of experience and knowledge from one geographic area to another
Systems approach

29. The Stand? Forest Types Stands Sub-stands Strips or clumps Groups
Individuals
James Toumey, Foundations of Silviculture, 1928

30. Toumey (cont’d)
These divisions are drawn from more or less artificial bases and are of temporary importance

31. Stand Dynamics Among Disciplines
diagram (O&L) p.3
Oliver and Larson, 1996

32. Why do patterns keep appearing?
The big picture

33. Floralistic Regions

34. Continental Drift Extinction event
The Canadian Encyclopedia © 2012 Historica-Dominion

35. Prevailing Winds

36. Ocean Currents

37. Although stand dynamics needs to have a systems rather than a reductionist approach,
the patterns of development make most intuitive sense when individual trees are considered in the simplest of terms

38. Chaos theory
Pattern bigger than the process
Mandelbrot set
Fractals

39. Mandelbrot set example
X(n+1) =( Xn )(2+k)

40. K = -0.1

41. k = -1.1

42. k = -1.3

43. k = -1.9