Forest Dynamics and Distrubance Regimes Studies from Temperate Evergreen - Deciduous Forests

Lee Frelich provides a major contribution to the study of temperate-zone forest dynamics by considering three important themes: the combined influence of wind, fire, and herbivory on the successional trajectories and structural characteristics of forests; the interaction of deciduous and evergreen tree species to form mosiacs; and the significance of temporal and spatial scale with regard to the overall impact of disturbances. These themes are explored via case studies from the forests in the Lake States of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, where the presence of large primary forest remnants provides a unique opportunity to study the long-term dynamics of near-boreal, pine, and hardwood-hemlock forests.

Lee Frelich is a Research Associate in the Department of Forest Resources at the University of Minnesota, St Paul and Founder Director of the University of Minnesota Center for Hardwood Ecology. His research experience spans studies of the impact of acid rain on forest growth, paleoecological studies of forest change, tree population dynamics, old-growth forest dynamics and forest disturbance ecology, including the effects of fire, windstorms and grazing.