| A subalpline forest valley in the Kootenays, an interior region of BC.
K. Lertzman |
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| Investigators |
| Dr. Dan Gavin, College of Forest Resources, University of Washington
Peter Corbett, RP Biol., Mirkwood Ecological Consultants Ltd.
Dr. Ken Lertzman, School of Resource and Environment Management, Simon Fraser University
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What is the Issue? |
| UNDERSTANDING THE EFFECTS OF DISTURBANCE ON FOREST ECOSYSTEMS |
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Current research is demonstrating that the Engelmann Spruce/Subalpine Fir (ESSF) zone has a high degree of biodiversity and provides critical habitat for many wildlife and plant species. The suppression of wildfires and the introduction of timber harvesting has the potential to radically change the structural and functional components of these ecosystems. In order to understand the mechanisms that drive the ecology of the ESSF, a fire history of the area is needed as a starting point. This study forms part of an ongoing project to determine the disturbance history of the West Kootenays, British Columbia. Analyses of plant macrofossils retrieved from lake sediment encompassing the last 2,000 years are being conducted as part of a combination of methods designed to describe the sensitivity of the fire regime to climate change and its effect on the landscape mosaic of forest age classes. The ultimate goal of the project is to determine how the disturbance regime changes across the landscape.
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What is our goal? |
| COMPILING A FIRE HISTORY RECORD THROUGH PLANT FOSSIL ANALYSIS.
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Where we currently stand. |
| This project commenced in August 2000. Sediment cores were taken from two lake bottoms, and tree cores were taken from eight areas. Early indications suggest that these sites will have high-resolution records of fire events. Analyses of the sediment cores will be completed by June, 2001. Further phases will be carried out in subsequent years. Data gathered from this study will help guide researchers in determining where and how habitats are restored, and assist in implementing restoration strategies which will best mimic natural disturbances.
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You can help this project - find out how. |
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