From ecosystem dynamics to ecosystem management

Understanding how natural disturbance regimes shape forest ecosystems hasbecome a key element of new approaches to forest management. Indeed, manyof the conservation and management problems in the temperate rain forests ofwestern North America relate directly to the differences between the manage-ment regimes we have imposed on the forests and the natural disturbanceregimes that dominated the forests before the arrival of European settlers andindustrial development. A variety of recent initiatives in forest policy in boththe United States and Canada have emphasized the processes and structuralconsequences of natural disturbance as models for management (Swansonet al. 1993; Scientific Panel for Sustainable Forest Practices in ClayoquotSound 1995a). Implementing this approach, however, is limited by our under-standing of natural disturbance regimes, by our ability to make direct man-agement recommendations from what we do know, and by constraints im-posed by the social context in which forest management takes place.
The current focus on using natural disturbance patterns as models for man-agement in temperate rain forests is part of a much broader shift toward eco-system-based management regimes in both Canada and the United States."Ecosystem management" includes more elements of landscapes than forests,however, and many more considerations than natural disturbance regimes.Key dimensions of ecosystem management include the integration of socialand ecological data and values and the application of the principles of adaptivemanagement. Nonetheless, understanding the processes responsible for shaping temperate rain forests and maintaining their biodiversity in the pastis fundamental to successful ecosystem management.