2007-08 Starker Lectures Series

Global Plantations, Evolving Markets, and PNW Forests
Planted forests are an important source of material for the PNW forest products industry, and help maintain its competitiveness in the world market. Still, intensively managed plantations in other countries grow faster and entail lower costs, so have dramatically intensified competition. Robert Flynn of RISI and Darius Adams of OSU's College of Forestry will explore the evolution of plantation forestry and its current and potential impacts on markets, especially with respect to the Pacific Northwest.

Environmental Services from Plantations- Biomass, Biofuels, Carbon Sequestration - Part I
The marketplace recognizes many non-timber benefits of planted forests, including storage of carbon, providing a source of bioenergy, and yielding other ecosystem services desired by society. Returns from providing ecosystem services contribute to the overall management strategy for planted forests.
Challenges to be discussed include compensating landowners for conservation of biodiversity, enhancing water quality or in-stream habitat; supporting wildlife populations for hunting or viewing, and; providing recreational settings and services.

Environmental Services from Plantations- Biomass, Biofuels, Carbon Sequestration - Part II
Forests provide important functions and values in carbon storage, and also can offer a major source of bioenergy and other desirable ecosystem services. The choice of management strategies and tools for planted forests, however, can substantially affect both the nature and levels of returns of these ecosystem services.

The Role of Planted Forests in Conserving Biodiversity in Forest Stands and Landscapes
Managed forest landscapes are a patchwork of forest types that vary by species composition, age class, and management intensity. Planted stands are a dominant component of this landscape in many regions such as the Pacific Northwest and the Southeast, so their relative value for conserving forest biodiversity is important to the development of successful management strategies. A large variety of options are available for managing planted forests, and each has significant implications for the value of a stand relative to other landscape components such as old-growth remnants, commercial and residential developments, and less intensively managed second- and third-growth stands.