Real-time cinematic relighting of large, forest ecosystems remains a challenging problem, in that important global illumination effects, such as leaf transparency and inter-object light scattering, are difficult to capture, given tight timing constraints and scenes that typically contain hundreds of millions of primitives. A solution that is based on a lattice-Boltzmann method is suggested. Ref...

To find the possible equilibrium states of forest ecosystems one are suggested to use the theory of differential games. At within the 4-tier model of mosaic forest communities it established the existence of the Nash equilibrium states in such ecosystems. Key–Words: Forest ecosystem, the equilibrium of the ecosystem, differential game, Nash equilibrium October 30, 2016

Reasons for building an ecosystem model are discussed, stressing the importance of objectives. A model is required for any research programme aiming to take a firm grasp of forest responses. The Edinburgh Forest Model (EFM) is outlined. This is a standard model of the genre, taking account of pools and fluxes of carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and water. It comprises tree, soil and water submodels. Th...

Forest ecosystems store approximately 45% of the carbon found in terrestrial ecosystems, but they are sensitive to climate-induced dieback. Forest die-off constitutes a large uncertainty in projections of climate impacts on terrestrial ecosystems, climate-ecosystem interactions, and carbon-cycle feedbacks. Current understanding of the physiological mechanisms mediating climate-induced forest mo...

Araucaria angustifolia (Bert.) O. Ktze., a native forest tree from Brazil, is under extinction risk. This tree depends on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi for growth and development, especially in tropical low-P soils but, despite being a conifer, Araucaria does not form ectomycorrhiza, but only the arbuscular endomycorrhiza. This study aimed at surveying data on the spore density and root coloniza...

Coarse woody debris (CWD) is an essential component in defining the structure and function of forest ecosystems. Long-term dynamics of CWD characteristics not only affect the release rates of chemical elements from CWD, but also the species diversity of inhabiting plants, animals, insects, and microorganisms as well as the overall health of ecosystems. However, few quantitative studies have bee...

In recent decades, concerns have arisen about the proper valuation of the world's forests. While some of these concerns have to do with market distortions for timber products or inadequate data on non-timber forest products, an additional issue has been the challenge of uncovering the economic worth of non-market services provided by forest ecosystems (Kramer, Healy and Mendelsohn). This has le...