Joe, As long as there is a POPULATION there is genetic diversity unless we are talking about a group of genetic clones. Even in a relatively small stand there is genetic diversity, and through natural selection the species evolves.
The question becomes how broad is the genetic diversity. As more trees are cut (or die) in a stand, the genetic diversity dimishes leaving behind a forest impoverished, less capable of resistance, resilience, etc. to disturbances, whether they be natural or artificial (anthropogenic). Genetic Diversity is critical to the natural selection and therefore evolution of a species; as the environment changes, the species can change. Gary On Nov 5, 2008, at 10:02 AM, Joseph Zorzin wrote: The issue of genetic diversity raises the issue about "scale". If GD is a goal, then at what scale? GD may not exist if looking at a small forest, but if considering a county, it may be very good. My questioning of the scientific validity of the concept continues until there is a way to quantify "forest health". How healthy is any given forest, at whatever scale? I'm not sure what Lee meant by "productive"- productive in what way? Certainly "species richness" is also based on scale. I have no idea how academia currently views this concept but I've seen too much use of the term in ways that seem bogus. Perhaps more discussion can result in developing a solid, scientific definition which will be useful for research and management purposes. I'd like to see the concept of "forest health" but without the term "health"- which seems relevant to individual organism, not collections of organisms. Life on Earth will survive no matter what we do- in that sense it will always be healthy- if health has to do with survival. A new word is needed to replace it. Joe Forestry videos: http://vimeo.com/1993866 "A Tale of Two Clearcuts" http://vimeo.com/2090043 "Uneven vs. Even aged silviculture" ----- Original Message ----- From: "Beluzo Gary A." <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, November 05, 2008 9:19 AM Subject: [ENTS] Re: Rendezvous Report > Lee, > > I appreciate your clear and concise definition and I would suggest an > amendment; that the definition explicitly include GENETIC DIVERSITY. > I know that genetic diversity is implicit in your definition but for > others this is often poorly understood and understated. There may be > species richness but without genetic diversity (species complexity) > how long could this be maintained into the future? > > Gary > On Nov 4, 2008, at 5:24 PM, Lee Frelich wrote: > > Bob: > > Excellent report. I just arrived home in MN after stopping in PA > Sunday evening and at my brothers house in WI Monday night. This is > not exactly the frigid land you mention--it was over 70 degrees here > today and yesterday. We are in an unusual November heat wave, and have > not had snow like that I drove through in PA on the way out to MA. > > Here is my definition of forest health that you requested: > > A forest is healthy as long as it maintains the productivity and > species richness (all taxonomic groups) of the pre-European settlement > forest over time. > > Lee > > > >> >> >> Introduction >> >> >> >> The time has arrived for the 2008 western Mass ENTS >> rendezvous to be entered into the ENTS record book. Let it be noted >> that the rendezvous officially commenced on Oct 30, 2008 and ended >> at the close of November 2nd. We had an informal, if not subdued, >> gathering, but the event produced some highly significant results. >> The report below covers the details of the 2008 rendezvous. However, >> before discussing the particulars, let me note that for October >> 2009, we are considering switching to <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 >> ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Cook Forest >> State Park for our ENTS fall gathering. Details will be forthcoming. >> >> >> > > > > >> > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org You are subscribed to the Google Groups "ENTSTrees" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
