Resilience theory provides a framework for assessing and promoting ecosystem persistence and the ongoing provision of ecosystem goods and services. Threats from a changing climate, altered disturbance regimes, invasive pests, the extinction crisis, and shifts in public values suggest it is prudent to conduct vulnerability analysis and adopt risk reduction strategies. Examples from forests in North America and New Zealand illustrate resistance, recovery, and adaptive pathways, all of which may constitute resilience. Forest thinning, forest diversity, and forest continuity can promote general forest resilience, but novel and cumulative stresses can render them ineffective. Much like considerations of sustainability, evaluating and managing for resilience must identify ‘of what,’ ‘to what’, and ‘over what time frame.’

The Natural Resources & Environmental Studies Institute (NRESi) at UNBC hosts a weekly lecture series at the Prince George campus. Anyone from the university or wider community with interest in the topic area is welcome to attend. Presentations are also made available to remote participants through Livestream. Go to http://www.unbc.ca/nres-institute/colloquium-webcasts to view the presentation remotely.

Past NRESi colloquium presentations and special lectures can be viewed on our video archive, available here.

Please Note: The presenter will be providing his presentation remotely.