Disturbance dynamics and ecosystem-based forest management

Abstract

Ecosystem-based management is intended to balance ecological, social and economic values of sustainable resource management. The desired future state of forest ecosystem is usually defined through productivity, biodiversity, stability or other terms. However, ecosystem-based management may produce an unbalanced emphasis on different components. Although ecosystem-based management respects the ecology of individual ecosystem components or values, it may focus on individual objectives rather than producing an integrated and balanced system. An important part of understanding the complexity of the ecosystem is to understand the role that disturbance, natural and anthropogenic, plays in the proper functioning of that ecosystem.