1. Oregon State University Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Hatfield Marine Science Center, 2030 SE Marine Science Drive, Newport, OR 97365, USA. 2. Oregon State University Department of Forest Engineering, Resources and Management, 218 Richardson Hall, Corvallis, Oregon, 97331; [email protected] 3. Oregon State University Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, 1084 Cordl...

Fire is the primary form of disturbance in temperate and boreal forest ecosystems. However, our knowledge of the biochemical mechanisms by which fire stimulates forest N cycling is incomplete. Charcoal is a major byproduct of forest fires and is ubiquitous in soils of most forest ecosystems, yet the biological function of charcoal in soils of forest ecosystems has been greatly overlooked. We co...

The distributions and abundances of species and populations change almost continuously. Understanding the processes responsible is perhaps ecology s̓ most fundamental challenge. Kelp-forest ecosystems in southwest Alaska have undergone several phase shifts between algaand herbivore-dominated states in recent decades. Overhunting and recovery of sea otters caused the earlier shifts. Studies focus...

The forests of Central Europe play an important role in the retention of atmospheric carbon dioxide. Carbon sequestration is rarely the main objective of forest management and is often an underappreciated by-effect of practical forest management, whereas timber production and protection against natural hazards in mountain regions are the main forest functions. Climate change is expected to alte...

The accumulation of CO2 in the atmosphere due to fossil fuel use, deforestation and other anthropogenic sources is changing the global climate (Harries et al. 2001; IPCC 2002). Current understanding of the global carbon cycle suggests that managing forests and agricultural lands to increase the sequestration of greenhouse gases (GHG) provide credible policy options (Dixon and Turner 1991, Winju...