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What is forest landscape ecology?
If you are thinking about using expert knowledge and want to know more about it, check out a new book entitled Expert Knowledge and Its Application in Landscape Ecology, the writing team for which was led by OFRI research scientist Ajith Perera.
So what do we mean by expert knowledge? In an ideal world, resource managers would have all the data they need to make sound decisions about managing forests. In the real world, research can take years to produce results, or it may be too costly or just not feasible. So what can resource managers do when data or information is uncertain, incomplete, or unavailable?
Typically, they seek out expert knowledge: advice or recommendations based on the expert’s experience, often as an interim step until data is available. For example, new legislation might require that MNR protect habitat for a certain wildlife species, but what if we have no data to show what age forest that animal prefers? Experts can use their knowledge and experience to help develop interim recommendations until research results are available.
Expert knowledge can also be useful for building computer-based resource management tools, such as decision support systems (BFOLDS is one example) and predictive models, which help users to determine how likely a given outcome is. For example, experts may be able to fill in the blanks in models designed to predict what type of forest is likely to grow back if a given type of forest is clearcut.
While expert knowledge can be very helpful, users don’t always document who provided the knowledge, what knowledge they provided, and how the knowledge was evaluated and applied. This lack of rigour makes it difficult to repeat the process or verify accuracy, reducing the information’s reliability.
However, proper methods to collect and use expert knowledge have been developed in other disciplines, and researchers are now adapting them for use in ecology and resource management. All that and more is documented in the new expert knowledge book, which also covers:
- What is expert knowledge?
- Who are the experts?
- What are the advantages and pitfalls of using expert knowledge?
- How can resource professionals best use expert knowledge?
- What are some examples of successful use of expert knowledge?
Expert Knowledge and Its Application in Landscape Ecology was published early in 2012 by Springer and is available from online booksellers.
For information about related research and publications, visit Ajith Perera's profile on OFRI's People page or the Forest Landscape Ecology Program website.
What is forest landscape ecology?
- It involves studying large forested areas over long time periods. It gives the big picture view of these landscapes and allows researchers to zoom out and see patterns that aren’t visible when they focus on smaller land areas.
- The data used are spatial (linked to geographic locations) and usually come from remote sensing (cameras and sensors mounted on satellites or aircraft).
- Studying landscape ecology helps ensure that we understand and sustain the parts of the ecosystem that need large areas of land and/occur over long time periods, such as boreal forest fire patterns, development of old growth pine forests, caribou and songbird migration, and forest insects and disease.
- Over the past 20 years, forest landscape ecology research has focused on developing software tools that help resource managers to explore landscape patterns and processes and make better-informed choices for sustaining forests, wildlife, and other values across large areas and over long time periods.
