Introduction: Ecology and silviculture of temperate mixedwood forests

Abstract

Mixed-species forests are, or were, a common feature of most forested regions around the globe (Bauhus et al. 2017b). The ecology and silviculture of these systems has been a consistent area of study given the potential benefits of mixed-species forests in relation to minimizing forest health and climate change impacts (Bauhus et al. 2017a) and the occasional higher levels of productivity observed for species mixtures relative to single-species stands (Lu et al. 2016). Nevertheless, the restoration and maintenance of mixed-species forests remains a significant challenge given the complexities of developing silvicultural systems that accommodate a range of silvical traits and resource requirements, particularly where historic land use and current stressors limit recruitment opportunities for constituent species (Pach et al. 2018).