Colloquium Natural & Life Sciences - Klaus J. Puettmann & Rita Sousa-Silva

Session Topic: Anthropocene forest ecosystems

Topic Klaus J. Puettmann - Active, passive, or ? Managing forest in the Anthropocene

Forestry has a long management history with an emphasis on wood production. Recent developments challenge the traditional management approaches, among others because of the increased demand for a wider variety of ecosystem services and increased influence of human driven global change agents, such as climate change and associated disturbances or invasive exotic species. The presentation will introduce aspects of adaptive capacity of forest ecosystem and sets the stage for a discussion about management approaches that aim at increasing the capacity of forests to adapt to changes while at the same time providing the desired ecosystem services.

Topic Rita Sousa-Silva - Making Meaning Of Urban Forests In The Anthropocene

The world is becoming increasingly urbanized, with the majority of people already living in cities. Set in this context, built by and for humans, urban greening has become a priority for many cities as they become more aware of the benefits of trees in urban areas. These benefits have motivated local, regional, and global initiatives that promote the planting of urban trees, many of which are often seen as the one-size-fits-all solution to multiple environmental and social problems. However, while planting thousands of trees may make good publicity, it is ultimately not a direct measure of their benefits and may fail to help people if the wrong trees are planted in the wrong places. In this presentation, I will discuss why we need more trees in cities and the role of urban forests in creating more sustainable, inclusive, and desirable places to live.