Forest dynamics: a broad view of the evolution of the topic, including some recent regional contributions

During the last two centuries, social perception of forest roles has suffered deep changes. New environmental roles, i.e. CO2 storage and biodiversity, have been added to erosion control and watershed regulation. These changes require new knowledge and tools to develop a new understanding of forest dynamics. Some come from studies on past vegetation responses to climate changes. I recall here some old ideas on plant communities and their dynamics in ecology and forestry and the trend to use quantitative and modelling approaches under a new community concept based on environmental constraints, life-histories of available species and disturbances. New succession mechanisms have been added to the Clementsian facilitation, legacy after disturbance is now considered essential and succession has been described as a cycle by including the phases of community decline and resources and space liberation. I summarize some ideas related to Mediterranean ecosystems and to the relation between forest dynamics and global change and I review some main types of models used in forest dynamics studies. Finally, I consider fire ecology and some advances made in our institute on this topic.