BES Facebook pageBES Annual Meeting 2010
7 - 9 September,
University of Leeds, UK
Understanding the impact of disturbance on plant communities: integrating theoretical, field-based, remote sensing and paleoecological approaches.
Dr Tim Baker, Dr Katy Roucoux and Dr Geertje van der Heijden
Understanding the impact of disturbance events on plant communities is important for many ecological questions, from understanding past human impacts on forest structure, teasing apart the relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem function, or understanding whether plant communities act as a source or sink of carbon. This session will integrate new insights from palaeoecological, remote sensing, theoretical, field and modelling studies, that are reinvigorating these debates by deepening our understanding of the underlying processes and quantifying the impacts of disturbance with a precision that has not previously been possible.
Keynote speaker:
Prof. Dr Hermann Behling
Title: Drivers of vegetation change in the Brazilian Amazon
During the Holocene, forests in the tropics have responded to climatic variation and the impact of human activity. Disentangling these influences is important for a wide range of questions about the maintenance of species diversity and changes in carbon storage. This talk considers the processes that have led to vegetation change in the tropics over millennial timescales, and their importance for interpreting current patterns in forest structure and dynamics.
Invited speakers:
Prof. Frans Bongers, Wageningen University, Netherlands
Dr Emanuel Gloor,University of Leeds, UK
If you have any comments or questions about this thematic topic, please contact Tim directly.
