Session Report III Community Patterns and Dynamics

Abstract

Community pattern concerns the spatial heterogeneity, both vertical and horizontal, of climate, soil, vegetation and fauna of forests. The observed pattern is dominated by the trees themselves but to what extent and in what way do the trees determine the pattern of other forest characteristics? Or, to what extent are the patterns observed in the forest determined by the physical-chemical environment or by historical events? The dynamics, that is the rate and direction of change within forest communities, require us to distinguish short-term fluctuations from long-term trends; to assess the relative importance of extrinsic and intrinsic factors; and to develop the ability to predict changes in the forest community which occur naturally or through management.