Ecological Silviculture: A Natural Model

Season 3 | Episode 10 | January 4, 2023

One of the most interesting aspects of silviculture is that our understanding keeps growing. We look to old approaches, new research, and field practice to better manage our forests for a host of societal needs. And perhaps there is no better place to look than how these forests function in the natural world – a natural models approach. This is the basis of ecological silviculture and the tools behind emulating natural disturbance. Join us for a conversation with Dr. Tony D’Amato from the University of Vermont and Dr. Brian Palik from the U.S. Forest Service Northern Research Station, authors of Ecological Silviculture: Foundations and Applications.

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GUESTS ON THIS EPISODE

Tony D’Amato

Professor of Silviculture, University of Vermont

Dr. Tony D’Amato is a professor of silviculture and applied forest ecology and director of the forestry Program at the University of Vermont. He was a faculty member for seven years in the Department of Forest Resources at the University of Minnesota, as well as a Bullard Fellow at Harvard University’s Harvard Forest prior to joining the University of Vermont in January 2015. His research focuses on long-term forest dynamics, disturbance effects on ecosystem structure and function, and silvicultural strategies for conferring adaptation potential within the context of global change, including introduced insects and diseases.

Brian Palik

Science Leader, Applied Forest Ecology, U.S. Forest Service Northern Research Station

Dr. Brian Palik is science leader for applied forest ecology with the USDA Forest Service-Northern Research Station in Grand Rapids, Minn. He has B.S. in biology from Alma College, an M.S. in plant ecology from Michigan State University, and Ph.D. in forest ecology from Michigan State University. He works broadly on questions related to the ecological sustainability of managed forests through use of operational-scale and long-term silviculture research.

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Episode Show Notes

Palik, Brian J., Anthony W. D’Amato, Jerry F. Franklin, and K. Norman Johnson. Ecological Silviculture: Foundations and Applications. Waveland Press, 2020.
D’Amato, Anthony W.; Palik, Brian J. 2020. Building on the last “new” thing: exploring the compatibility of ecological and adaptation silviculture. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 51: 172-180.
Franklin, Jerry F.; Mitchell, Robert J.; Palik, Brian J. 2007. Natural disturbance and stand development principles for ecological forestry. Gen. Tech. Rep. NRS-19. Newtown Square, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northern Research Station.
Palik, Brian J.; D’Amato, Anthony W. 2019. Variable retention harvesting in Great Lakes mixed-pine forests: emulating a natural model in managed ecosystems. Ecological Processes. 8(1): art. 16.
Palik, Brian J.; D’Amato, Anthony W. 2017. Ecological forestry: Much more than retention harvesting. Journal of Forestry. 115(1): 51-53.
D’Amato, Anthony W.; Palik, Brian J.; Franklin, Jerry F.; Foster, David R. 2017. Exploring the Origins of Ecological Forestry in North America. Journal of Forestry. 115(2): 126-127. https://doi.org/10.5849/jof.16-013.
Restoring Old-Growth Characteristics. MassWoods

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Ecological Silviculture: A Natural Model