Objective Climate change is a major challenge for sustainable forest management. Impacts on the disturbance regime are particularly relevant in this regard. In a sound science-based sustainable forest management/ ecosystem management approach (SFEM) potential changes in climate and disturbance regimes need to be considered explicitly. Disturbance dynamics, however, are still poorly understood especially in ecosystems with interacting, climate-sensitive disturbance agents. Currently, most available model approaches suffer either from a limited spatial extent to address large scale interacting disturbance regimes (i.e. stand models) or a coarse structural resolution with regard to the information needs in resource management (i.e. landscape models). The objective of the proposed research is to bridge this gap in (i) developing an individual-based landscape modeling framework; (ii) adopting process-oriented disturbance modules and utilizing existing ecological understanding to model disturbance interactions, and (iii) testing the model framework in two case studies in the temperate forest biome. To successfully address (interactions between) disturbances as emerging property of the modeled system as well as to provide relevant levels of information in the context of SFEM an individual-based, process-oriented landscape modeling approach is proposed. The development will bring together recent advances in forest landscape modeling with efficient algorithms of modeling individual-based tree competition and process-based production. Existing disturbance models for selected agents will be adopted focusing on interactions and climate sensitivity. The framework will be parameterized and evaluated in two cases studies in the Eastern Alps (Austria) and the Pacific Northwest (USA). Overall, the modeling framework aims at contributing to questions of SFEM under changing climate and disturbance regimes and facilitating a landscape perspective in forest resource management. Fields of science agricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesforestrysilviculturenatural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyecosystemsnatural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesclimatologyclimatic changes Keywords climatic change disturbance interactions ecosystem management individual based forest model landscape ecology landscape model sustainable forest management Programme(s) FP7-PEOPLE - Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013) Topic(s) FP7-PEOPLE-IOF-2008 - Marie Curie Action: "International Outgoing Fellowships for Career Development" Call for proposal FP7-PEOPLE-IOF-2008 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme MC-IOF - International Outgoing Fellowships (IOF) Coordinator UNIVERSITAET FUER BODENKULTUR WIEN EU contribution € 220 857,32 Address GREGOR MENDEL STRASSE 33 1180 Wien Austria See on map Region Ostösterreich Wien Wien Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Administrative Contact Manfred J. Lexer (Prof.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Total cost No data
