Key issues in disturbance dynamics in boreal forests: Introduction

Abstract

In 1989, when the idea of this workshop first seeded
\nin our minds, our objective was to build bridges between
\nresearchers mainly from North America and northern
\nEurasia working in the boreal forest. The idea stemmed
\nfrom the fact that a limited number of researchers were
\nworking in the boreal forest on both sides of the Atlantic, and that there was a need to attain a critical mass of
\nscientists with a common interest in boreal ecosystems.
\nWe selected disturbance dynamics as the theme because
\nit was clear at that time that disturbance was increasingly recognized as the driving ecological force in all
\necosystems (Pickett & White 1985), and especially in
\nboreal systems (Shugart et al. 1992). Since the first
\nworkshop (Engelmark & Bradshaw 1992; Engelmark et
\nal. 1993), many developments can be seen which contribute to the success of our enterprise. The workshop
\npapers (Bergeron & Frisque 1996) and this Special
\nFeature include a large spectrum of research dealing
\nwith disturbances in the boreal forest. Some major themes
\nemerge from this collection.