Remembering the Sounds of Helene
Remembering the Sounds of Helene For the rest of my years, I think the last Friday of September will be memorable. It’s normally a wonderful time of year in the mountains of southern Appalachia, and Friday’s tend to be a time to work on my research and writing in quiet. This last Friday of September…
On the road again
Heading back to Costa Rica with a wonderful group of students. Each time is a new adventure
Finding A Forest
When I started my sabbatical, I told (almost promised) myself that I would write more reflective pieces about our nascent work on forest restoration in Costa Rica. After a month and half here I still haven’t done much to meet that goal. Today might be the day that pushes me into telling more forest stories.…
Overshoot
What is overshoot? When I thinking of the progression of successional forests, I start with Eugene Odum’s basic principles presented in his 1968 classic paper. … Net primary starts slow, then picks up speed. As systems approach their site-dependent carrying capacity, more and more energy goes into maintenance and respiration, and less goes into new…
Release
There must be a better name than this. When things fall apart? It is interesting to think about personal and social analogs. As a 57 year old who needs to put on their glasses to write or take their Advil after a long day at the farm or in the field, the idea seems clear.…
Regeneration
What comes next? Origins – seeds and seed dispersal Include descriptions of different specific species Landscape
Emerging Complexity
Plantations are often the antithesis of complexity. Uniformity simplifies management and shifts a functionally diverse system towards a limited set of goals. What is Complexity? Does Complexity Matter? Complexity and Resistance / and Productivity / and Diversity
(How) Can Plantations Become Forests?
When we think about tree plantations (whether Christmas trees in western NC, loblolly pine in the piedmont, or fast growing trees in the tropics) the first words or thoughts that come to mind may be uniformity, simplicity, conformity, optimized, or production. Alternatives like natural, diverse, or forest seem to not quite fit (no me suena).…
Forest Beginnings
Between the 1940s and 1980s, Costa Rica went through a rapid phase of deforestation, losing about 50% of its existing forest. In an abrupt change, policies and scientific efforts were accelerate to protect forest, manage natural forest regeneration, and reforest deforested and degraded areas. In the early 1990s I got to observe a small part…
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