Summer school on modelling of forest management
by brendel＠nancy.inra.fr
Hello,
some information on a summer school co-organized by our institute :
4th NFZ Summer School FORMOD "Modelling forest community
organisation, functions and dynamics for improving forest management"
Le Tholy (France), September 2008 6th-14th
NFZForest.net, a European research and training network in forest
sciences (8 Universities and Research Institutes at Nancy, Freiburg,
Zürich) organizes its 4th Summer School in Le Tholy (Vosges
Mountains, near Epinal, North-East France), on September 2008, 6th to
14th.
FORMOD is directed at post graduate students (end of Master, PhD or
Post Doc).
Scope :
In forestry, traditional tools for decision-making are based upon
phenomenological models of site quality, stand dynamics and wood
properties (site-productivity models, yield tables, dynamic or
allometric models). The design of these tools makes intensive use of
data bases, permanent plot networks, mathematical and statistical
methods (dynamic systems, multivariate analysis, regression, mixed
models). They are efficient for representing the variety of
silvicultural scenarios and their impact on stand demography, tree
growth and morphology, dynamics of quality criteria. Recent
progresses in GIS, data base combinations and statistical modelling
create new fields of applications: species habitat mapping, landscape-
level community dynamics, resource evaluation.
A major challenge to the phenomenological approach is raised by
ongoing trends in ecosystem dynamics and forest management. The
assumption that site is stationary is contradicted by the evidence of
long-term trends in climate, CO2 and atmospheric depositions, soil
chemistry, with measurable impacts on tree growth and plant community
structure. Management criteria enlarge to a broad range of objectives
and constraints : high quality timber, pulp, panels, fuelwood ;
biodiversity, carbon storage and substitution, landscape, soil
fertility and water quality. Much more attention is paid to
evaluating forest vulnerability and resilience with regard to
disturbances, devising adaptive strategies and focusing on risk
management.
At the same time, physiology, ecology and wood sciences have
accumulated a large knowledge corpus on forest response to
environment, tree functioning, species habitats and leaf traits,
relationships between wood formation and industrial performance. This
led to the design of mechanistic process-based models, more
responsive to environment variations. Due to their high number of
parameters, specific problems of model fitting, evaluation and
practical application have to be addressed. To associate generality
and precision, different forms of hybrid models have been
investigated.
The objective of the Summer School is to illustrate the interest and
diversity of modelling approaches, for both understanding forest
ecosystem dynamics and improving their management. General lectures
on modelling different scientific problems are associated with in-
depth methodological lectures and debates (current policy issues,
management needs, training systems).
Interested students are invited to make a pre-registration. You'll
find more informations and the pre-registation form at this address :
https://www2.nancy.inra.fr/collectif/formod/
_________________________________________________________
Oliver Brendel UMR Ecologie et Ecophysiologie Forestiere
INRA - Centre de Nancy 54280 Champenoux France
brendel(a)nancy.inra.fr TEL 0033/383/394100 FAX /394022
16 years, 8 months
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International Fellowships Available at the World Forest Institute
by John Stanturf
International Fellowships Available at the World Forest Institute
Portland, Oregon, USA
The World Forest Institute Fellowship Program brings forestry and natural
resources professionals from around the world to work at the World Forest
Institute for 6 to 12 months. Fellows conduct an independent research
project developed in conjunction with his/her sponsor. Projects are
typically either policy or marketing studies, and may be environmental,
social or economic in focus. Activities involve information gathering
through interviews, meeting with forestry organizations, and taking
organized field trips. Fellows typically summarize their projects in a
report and poster published by the WFI. A large component of the program
involves traveling and visiting with professionals in the Pacific Northwest
forest sector. Fellows visit forestlands, research sites, manufacturing
facilities, and NGOs. Additionally, Fellows gain valuable cultural
experience and English language skills. Project proposals are now being
accepted, and a matching grant is available to cover up to half of the
Fellowship fee. WFI is located in beautiful Portland, Oregon, a short drive
to forests, mountains, beach, and desert. Oregon is the largest producer of
forest products among the 50 US states. For more information visit
http://wfi.worldforestry.org or contact Angie DiSalvo
adisalvo(a)worldforestry.org.
Angie DiSalvo
International Fellowship Program Manager
World Forest Institute, a program of the World Forestry Center
4033 SW Canyon Road, Portland, OR 97221 USA
(503) 488-2137
http://wfi.worldforestry.org
John A. Stanturf, Ph.D.
Project Leader
Center for Forest Disturbance Science
320 Green Street
Athens, GA 30602 USA
Phone 001-706- 559-4316
Private Fax 001-706-559-4315
Unit Fax 001-706- 559-4317
E-mail: jstanturf(a)fs.fed.us or
drdirt_ms(a)yahoo.com
Research URL: http://www.srs.fs.fed.us/disturbance
16 years, 9 months
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