Issues Facing Forest Management in Canada, and Predictive Ecosystem Management Tools for Assessing Possible Futures

Forestry has been changing throughout its history in response to changing needs of human populations and changing supplies of forest resources and values to satisfy these needs. Canadian forestry has undergone a series of changes that reflect much of the global pattern of the change in this human activity, and considering the extent and diversity of Canadian forests, they are now amongst the best managed in the world. However, change continues in the face of continuing challenges and environmental, social and economical issues. Some of these are discussed briefly in this chapter. We also describe one contribution to the resolution of some of these issues in forestry: hybrid simulation, ecosystem management models that span from individual trees (for complex mixed stands) to landscapes of various sizes. The family of models that is briefly described is based on the FORECAST model. Emphasis is given to the LLEMS landscape model.

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