2008 Research Highlights
Montreal Process Helps Monitor Forest Stressors
A collaborative Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center paper details the societal and ecological relationships among the Montreal Process Criteria and Indicators (MPCI), with particular emphasis on how biotic and abiotic stressors initially affect ecological processes and subsequently degrade forest ecosystems. The degree of degradation depends on the number, type, and magnitude of the stressors.
The research also demonstrates how indicators developed for the Forest Inventory and Analysis and Forest Health Monitoring programs relate to ecological processes and therefore monitor stressor effects. Research also helps to interpret probable causal agents when negative impacts on forest ecosystems are observed. This research was suggested to be a critical link in the U.S. efforts related to the MPCI by demonstrating the soundness and effectiveness of MPCI to evaluate forest health and sustainability.
The paper is important for policymakers, managers, and scientists working at regional, national, and international levels to manage forest ecosystems in a sustainable manner.
Contact: Ken Stolte, research ecologist, (919) 549-4022, kstolte@fs.fed.us
Partners: U.S. Forest Service (retiree and Washington Office)
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