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A Theory of Forest Dynamics: The Ecological Implications of Forest Succession Models
A Theory of Forest Dynamics The Ecological Implications of Forest Succession Models Author:Herman H. Shugart To the human eye, a forest is a slowly changing ecosystem that, superficially, looks alike from one year to the next. This seeming quiet though is a balance between the tremendous progenerative potential of tress and an equally tremendous mortality rate. The intrinsic nature of the trees that comprise a forest make it all but impossible to colle... more »ct complete data sets on the dynamics of natural forests and our understanding of the long-term dynamics of forests is based largely on scientific inference. Because of this reliance on inference, mathematical models of forest dynamics offer a valuable formalization of what we believe to be the important mechanisms involved in forest succession. Originally published in 1984, A Theory of Forest Dynamics is intended for scientists and graduate students in ecology and forestry. The book includes: a review of ecological succession; coverage of forest dynamics models and detailed analysis of several models of forest succession. Mathematical models of forest dynamics are inspected and evaluated. The models are applied to ecological problems on scales ranging from small forest gaps to entire landscapes and over years to millennia.« less