Proposed alteration to the focus of WP 8.02.02
by Steve Pawson
Dear 8.02.00,
At the recent IUFRO world congress in Korea, Antoine Brin (France), Kimiko Okabe (Japan) and myself (Steve Pawson, New Zealand) took on the role of managing 8.02.02 Forest Biodiversity and Resilience.
Since then we have been having some discussions about a slight change to the focus of the working party. We would like to broaden the research theme around the topic of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in forests. Given that the IUFRO board have now approved the new structure until 2014 it is not proposed that we change the title of the working party until then. However we are proposing some minor changes to the unit description and objectives.
All of the working party coordinators from 8.02.02, and Alex Mossler (the working group leader for 8.02.00), will be present at the International Symposium on Dynamics and Ecological Services of Deadwood in Forest Ecosystems in Rouyan-Noranda (Quebec) next month. At this meeting we will be holding a short business session to discuss these changes. If you are attending this conference it will be great to catch up with you in person, if not, and you wish to make a contribution, please email me your comments and I will pass them on for consideration at the meeting.
Finally be sure to note the Second International Conference on Biodiversity in Forest Ecosystems and Landscapes in Cork (Ireland) next year (http://www.ucc.ie/en/iufro2012/)
Proposed changes
The current unit statement reads:
The main objective of the new Working Party will be to encourage and support the co-operation among forest scientists in order to investigate the impact of diversity loss on forest ecosystem functioning. Special attention will be given to the potential of biodiversity restoration for increasing forest sustainability.
The proposed unit statement reads:
The main objective of the new Working Party will be to encourage and support the co-operation among forest scientists in order to quantify the relationship between biodiversity and forest ecosystem functioning. Special attention will be given to the ecology and dynamics of dead wood dependent species.
The state of knowledge statement currently reads
The world is faced with an unprecedented loss of biodiversity, mainly due to human activities. Boreal, temperate and tropical forests offer a wide array of habitats for plants, animals and micro-organisms, collectively representing the majority of terrestrial biodiversity. Forest biodiversity is rapidly being lost due to deforestation, fragmentation and degradation of forests. While the dramatic extinction rate of forest species is undoubtedly an important conservation concern, there is a potentially equally dramatic degradation of forest ecosystem properties and functioning. The scientific community has come to a consensus on two main aspects of the relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning: changes in plant species richness and composition may have a strong effect on ecosystem productivity as well as their susceptibility to the invasion by exotic species. However patterns of responses to changes in species richness are strongly influenced by the functional traits of the species involved. Furthermore, these responses are less clear when several trophic levels are being considered, i.e. when analyses focus not only on producers but also on responses of herbivores to plant diversity loss. Finally most of the scientific evidence for such relationships has been provided by observations and experiments on grasslands communities whereas few relevant studies have addressed the question in perennial ecosystems such as forests. Greater efforts at testing the biodiversity - ecosystem functioning hypothesis in forest constitute a clear need for future investigation
The proposed state of knowledge statement:
The world is faced with an unprecedented loss of biodiversity, mainly due to human activities. Natural and planted forests in the boreal, temperate and tropical zones offer a wide array of habitats for plants, animals and micro-organisms, collectively representing the majority of terrestrial biodiversity. Forest biodiversity is rapidly being lost due to deforestation, fragmentation and degradation of forests. While the dramatic extinction rate of forest species is undoubtedly an important conservation concern, there is a potentially equally dramatic degradation of forest ecosystem properties and functioning. The scientific community has come to a consensus on two main aspects of the relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning: changes in plant species richness and composition may have a strong effect on ecosystem productivity as well as their susceptibility to the invasion by exotic species. However patterns of responses to changes in species richness are strongly influenced by the functional traits of the species involved. Furthermore, these responses are less clear when several trophic levels are being considered, i.e. when analyses focus not only on producers but also on below ground processes and detritus food webs, e.g., saproxylic communities. Finally most of the scientific evidence for such relationships has been provided by observations and experiments on grasslands communities whereas few relevant studies have examined complex forest ecosystems. Greater efforts at testing the biodiversity - ecosystem functioning hypothesis in forest constitute a clear need for future investigation
Kind regards
Steve Pawson
Antoine Brin
Kimiko Okabe
Steve Pawson
Scientist (Entomology)
Scion
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