Future Developments

This chapter undertakes the task to try to identify the areas of the field (forest ecophysiology and modeling, in this case) that require, or are likely to reward, particular attention from the research community concerned with this field. These may include areas where knowledge and understanding are limited, and where the problems derive from lack of scientific understanding, as well as areas where scientific understanding may be quite good, but where there are clear opportunities for practical applications that have not yet been developed. Science is concerned with understanding the way natural systems function, and in the biological and ecological fields it is concerned with understanding the mechanisms that drive processes and the way systems respond to changing external conditions and stimuli. On the basis of that understanding it is the hope to be able to predict the behavior and responses of systems, at the levels of interest, and to manage that behavior. Management involves making decisions and taking actions, with the intention of achieving some specified result or goal. The decisions taken are more likely to lead to the desired results, or achievement of the goal, if they are based on sound knowledge about the (eco) system being managed and the way it will respond to change. In relation to tree physiology, it is possible that knowledge of the factors that determine tree growth and the way trees respond to change may be useful in breeding for improved plantation species, and that process-based models will be used to explore the likely implications of various selection criteria and strategies. In relation to forest ecosystems, it is the concern to predict responses to changes, such as rising atmospheric CO2 concentration, as well as to management actions such as thinning and fertilization. The remainder of this chapter outlines the areas where there is need for particular research focus because the scientific understanding of the processes is inadequate, and the areas where exciting opportunities for the application of available knowledge to the business of predicting the behavior and responses of forest ecosystems is seen.